Promising method for the restoration of tea plantations

Today, in the Krasnodar Krai, there is a need for the restoration of abandoned tea plantations and the reclamation of inefficient old ones. To develop measures for the reconstruction of tea plantations in the Krasnodar Krai, the authors analyzed foreign experience in the tea cultivation technology. In particular, they considered some cases of pruning tea plants (light, deep, heavy, and root pruning) and the algorithm for their implementation. Experimental studies conducted in 2016-2021 in the Republic of Georgia established the dependence of the tea plantation yield on the type of pruning. The research results showed that in the first year after heavy pruning, the tea plantation yield decreased by 70.6%, however, in the next 5 years, the average yield increased by 122.6%. In the second year after light-heavy and heavy pruning, tea plants came into vegetation 6-12 days earlier. Thus it can be concluded that the choice of the optimal pruning method depends on the state of a tea plant, the strategy of farmers, the technical and technological capacities of tea producers. It is noted that for old tea plantations aged 40-60 years, the most rational operation is heavy pruning at a height of no more than 10…15 cm from the root collar. In the case of using semi-heavy pruning at a height of 25…40 cm from the root collar, under the upper nodes in subsequent years, trellis pruning is recommended. When re-laying the plantation, only new varieties of seeds should be used, with an emphasis on the Kolkhida variety. An optimal technological map for establishing tea plantations has been proposed, including trench plowing and soil cultivation, the application of organic fertilizers, the plantation division into plots of 5…10 ha, and the preparation of planting pits. The use of a technological map with the introduction of promising measures for the pruning and rejuvenation of tea plants provides a high-quality restoration of tea plantations with high quality characteristics of the tea yield.

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