What are the precautions for tea branch cuttings

Tea seedlings propagated by cuttings can retain the inherent traits and characteristics of the variety, making the variety uniform and the growth neat, and facilitating the construction of high-yield, high-quality tea gardens. The key points to note when taking tea branch cuttings are:   

1. Select high-quality, half-year-old, semi-lignified, pest-free, relatively plump, green-red bark stem bud shoots from the current year's branches for cutting propagation.   

2. The soil substrate should be fresh fine mud and sand free of pathogens and impurities. In particular, do not use coarse sand or heavy clay soil, and be careful to remove all granular stones and miscellaneous plant roots. The surface of the cutting bed must be level; after leveling, press and compact it appropriately before taking cuttings.   

3. The cutting time is generally arranged as follows: in summer, from mid-to-late June to early July; in autumn, from mid-to-late September to early October.   

4. For tea cuttings, select tea branches 1CM thick, with a length of 10-15CM, and cut each leaf by 90%, leaving one tenth of each leaf.   

5. Quickly dip the base of the tea cuttings in a small amount of high-concentration rooting powder, dipping while inserting, or treat with a 500-fold, 800-fold, or 1000-fold solution of high-concentration baijiu mixed with water and soak for 6 hours to 24 hours; the higher the concentration, the shorter the soaking time.   

6. Insert the tea cuttings into the soil to a depth of no less than two thirds, leaving at least two tenths of the length above the soil surface, and compact after insertion. Generally, 200,000-250,000 cuttings can be inserted per mu.   

7. Pay attention to shading. Within 7-10 days after insertion, water once each morning and evening every day, and the water volume must soak through. After that, water once, at around four in the afternoon, spraying evenly, so that when the soil is tightly squeezed a water mark is clearly visible.   

8. After the tea cuttings have rooted, spray-water with a 0.5% urea aqueous solution once every 2 weeks. After the seedlings exceed 10CM in height, appropriately increase the urea concentration and add a small amount of potassium dihydrogen phosphate. About 180 days after the branches are inserted into the soil, the branch roots grow to 10CM, the shoot buds undergo a change in texture, and they can then be transplanted with soil to establish a garden.