Analysis of Key Technical Points for Increasing the Yield of High-Grade Tea

With the development of our country's economy, the improvement of people's living standards, and the continuous deepening of opening up to the outside world, high-grade tea is increasingly favored by the market, and its sales volume is growing year by year. Therefore, how to increase the yield of high-grade tea has become an important research topic in tea production. To this end, the author conducted technical explorations in many aspects, gained some experience, and achieved good results. The main steps are introduced as follows;

1. Strengthen autumn and winter fertilization of tea gardens

In winter, apply sufficient base fertilizer and additional quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, giving full play to the spring effect of fertilizers, so that spring tea is high-quality and high-yielding. Usually, quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer is mostly applied as a bud-promoting fertilizer before spring tea picking, and no quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer is applied in autumn and winter. According to relevant reports, more than 80% of the nutrients needed by spring tea, especially nitrogen nutrition, comes from the nitrogen absorbed and stored by tea plants in the previous autumn and winter. Therefore, applying sufficient fertilizer in autumn and winter is the foundation for increasing spring tea production, while less than 13% of the bud-promoting fertilizer applied before spring tea is absorbed and utilized by spring tea. Therefore, in order to increase high-grade spring tea, part of the nitrogen fertilizer originally applied in furrows before spring tea must be set aside and applied in the previous autumn and winter together with the base fertilizer. In this way, on the basis of applying sufficient base fertilizer, part of the quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer is applied additionally, and another part of the quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer is applied as a spring foliar spray, thereby improving the utilization rate of quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer by spring tea, with an obvious yield-increasing effect.

2. Change pruning before spring tea to pruning after autumn tea to promote early and abundant sprouting of spring tea buds

With light pruning before spring tea, the wounds suffered by tea plants are difficult to heal for a time, and growth is inhibited, delaying spring tea sprouting and reducing sprouting points, which affects spring tea yield, especially the yield of high-grade tea. Changing to light pruning after autumn tea gives tea plants ample time to heal wounds and restore vitality, and can promote early and abundant sprouting of spring tea buds and plump buds, which is conducive to producing more high-grade spring tea. Production practice has proved that changing light pruning before spring tea to light pruning after autumn tea can advance the spring tea picking period by 5-7 days and increase spring tea yield by more than 10%. Light pruning after autumn tea picking must be carried out after the aboveground part of the tea plant stops growing, but it must not be too late, and should be completed by the end of October at the latest.

3. Implement fine and tender picking, pick as soon as buds appear, directly increasing the yield of high-grade tea

The traditional picking method is to start picking only after 10%-15% of the buds and leaves in the tea garden have reached the picking standard, and to let them grow for a period before picking again. In order to increase the yield of high-grade tea, it is necessary to free the mind, break the traditional picking model, not carry out "grow big then pick," implement fine and tender picking, and pick as soon as buds appear, that is, "pick the next one promptly when a bud emerges," and be willing to invest more labor to make daily rounds in the tea garden to pick in a roving manner, producing as much high-grade famous and excellent tea as possible. Although tea yield will decrease somewhat compared with the previous coarse picking, the output value and returns will increase greatly.

4. Effectively carry out integrated pest and disease control

In late autumn and early winter, clean up the tea garden, spray 0.5 degree Baume lime-sulfur mixture to seal the garden, reduce the overwintering base of pests and diseases, and prevent early-spring damage to tender shoots by tea green leafhoppers, tea aphids, tea geometrids, and others. If outbreaks occur, combine frequent picking to control them promptly and avoid pesticide control.