ABSTRACT
Tea is a perennial tree crop grown in large commercial plantations of several 100 hectares or as smallholdings of less than a hectare. Having originated in natural forests characterized by warm and humid conditions and nutrient-rich soils, its growth and yield largely depend on climatic and soil factors. Moreover, frequent removal of photosynthetically active tea shoots (harvesting) and periodic removal of leaf-bearing branches (pruning) exert physiological stresses to the tea bush. Therefore, scientifically proven good agricultural practices (GAP) should be adopted to provide optimum growing conditions for the tea plant to ensure sustainable productivity and profitability. Successful tea cultivation depends chiefly on the following:
• land selection, • land preparation, • soil and soil moisture conservation,
• soil reconditioning, • tea planting, • supply of nutrients, shade trees and green manure crops, • mulching (thatching), • bush formation (bringing into bearing), • harvesting, • pruning, • pest, disease and weed management.
