Detailed Guide to Camellia sinensis Cultivation Techniques: Planting and Management Methods Made Easy to Understand

Seed collection. The fruit of Camellia sinensis matures from late October to early November. When the berry-like capsule turns from yellow-green to yellow-brown, the upper part slightly splits, the aril turns red, and the seed kernel is plump, collect it promptly. After the fruit is brought back, place it in a ventilated room and spread it out to air for 2-3 days to complete after-ripening. Then take it out to a concrete surface outdoors, tread on it with your feet to crack open the fruit shells, take out the seeds, soak them in clean water for 24 hours, rub off the red aril, float off the empty seeds, scoop them out and air-dry for 2-3 days. Sow immediately after collection or store in moist sand. When storing seeds, be careful that the sand is not too wet, so as to avoid seed rot.

Choose a good nursery site. The nursery site should be chosen as a place with good drainage, convenient irrigation, and deep, fertile, moist soil. The land preparation method is the same as for conventional seedling raising. Apply 100 kg of superphosphate, 100 kg of high-quality compound fertilizer, 200 kg of barnyard manure, and 5 kg of carbofuran per mu. After mixing evenly, incorporate it into the seedbed during land preparation. The nursery land should be deeply plowed and finely prepared, with the soil clods broken up finely.

Sowing and seedling raising. Sowing can be divided into winter sowing and spring sowing. For winter sowing, after seed treatment, disinfect with a 0.5% potassium permanganate solution for 30 minutes, then rinse clean with water, and sow. Sowing immediately after collection can reduce the trouble of seed storage, has a high seed germination rate, earlier emergence, and good seedling quality, but requires more nursery management labor. Spring sowing is from March to April. After the seeds have been stored, carry out moist sand germination acceleration. When some seeds have cracked and begun to sprout, sow them. This can advance emergence and save labor.

Sowing method. Drill sowing is often used, with a row spacing of 20-25 cm and a sowing furrow depth of 4-5 cm. Place a 2-3 cm layer of yellow subsoil in the furrow, then sow the seeds evenly into the furrow, cover the seeds with yellow subsoil, with a thickness such that the seeds are no longer visible, and cover with rice straw to retain moisture.

Timely shading. Camellia sinensis seedlings prefer shade and are afraid of sunscald. Under appropriate shading conditions, the seedlings grow rapidly, and one-year-old seedlings can reach 40-50 cm in height. After the seedlings emerge and the temperature begins to rise, from late April to early May, set up a frame 1.8 m high and cover it with a shade net with 60% shading to promote seedling growth.

Intertillage and weeding. Camellia sinensis prefers deep, loose soil. The nursery land should be frequently intertilled and weeded to keep the soil loose. At the same time, attention should also be paid to draining accumulated water to prevent root rot.

Fertilize frequently. Camellia sinensis has well-developed fibrous roots and large leaves, and has a high fertilizer requirement, so it should be fertilized frequently. During the leaf expansion period from May to June, apply 0.5% urea water once every half month; in July, apply additional fertilizer in conjunction with drought resistance; from August to September is the peak growth period for seedlings, so apply 1-2 times of human and animal manure; stop fertilizing in late September.

Pest and disease control. Diseases include root rot and sunscald. Root rot is caused by high temperature and high humidity. The control method is to drain accumulated water, and drench the base of the plants with a 1% green vitriol solution, then rinse the seedlings with clean water after 15 minutes to avoid phytotoxicity. For sunscald, shade promptly. In the early stage of the disease, continuously spray 0.125% thiophanate twice for good control results. Pests include cutworms and scarab larvae that damage aboveground and underground parts. You can drench the base of the plants with 0.125% omethoate, or handpick them in the morning and evening.