Detailed Explanation of Tea Plant Pruning Methods and Technical Key Points

Tea plant pruning is a measure carried out on the basis of comprehensive management of soil, fertilizer and water in the tea garden, whereby, according to local natural conditions, tree age and the growth habits of the variety, the distribution and translocation of nutrients in the tea plant body are properly controlled and regulated so that nutrients are rationally utilized and distributed. However, it must be closely coordinated with fertilizer and water management, combined with plucking and leaf retention, and attention must be paid to pest and disease control, so that the tea plants recover quickly and grow well after pruning.

Formative pruning

For the first formative pruning of young tea plants, the height and the thickness of the branches have a close bearing on the strength and number of future branches. According to the branching habits of shrub-type tea plants, when a two-year-old tea seedling is over 30 cm tall, with a main stem 3-4 mm thick and 1-2 branches, the first formative pruning can be carried out, and the pruning height should preferably be 15-20 cm above the ground. For tea plants that grow poorly, even if they are two years old but their growth has not reached the standard, formative pruning should be postponed. For some tea plants on deep soil with better management, if they have reached the standard at one year of age, formative pruning may also be carried out one year earlier. The first formative pruning must be done carefully: cut only the main branches, not the side branches; the cutting position should be relatively close to the lower leaves, and the stubs must not be left too long; the cut should slope inward, and the outer buds should be retained as far as possible. After the first formative pruning, management should be strengthened so that the tea plants quickly produce vigorous new shoots. The height of the second formative pruning can be raised 15-20 cm above the first cut. The height of the third formative pruning should be raised about 10 cm above the second cut. In this way, through three consecutive formative prunings, the height of the framework branches of the tea plant can reach 50 cm, forming 4-5 layers of branches together with the main stem; on this basis, light pruning is then carried out, combined with light topping plucking, to further develop the tea plant canopy and plucking surface.

Small tree-type tea plants have strong apical dominance, their new shoots grow more vigorously, and their internodes are long, so the formative pruning method used for shrub-type tea plants is not suitable. Instead, the segmented pruning method should be used as far as possible for formative pruning. When the growth of the tea plant meets one of the following three standards, formative pruning can be carried out: first, the main stem is 4-5 mm thick and over 20 cm tall; second, it has 7-8 leaves; third, the branches are lignified or semi-lignified. Pruning method: the first formative pruning is still carried out when the tea plant is about 30 cm tall and the main stem is over 4 mm thick, cutting 12-18 cm above the ground; after the first pruning, when the tea plant has grown to over 20 cm and has 2-3 branches, segmented pruning begins, once every 20-40 days, 5-7 times a year (the same branch may be pruned 2-3 times), each time cutting only 1/3-1/2 of the number of branches that meet the standard. The stub length left on pruned branches should extend 8-12 cm from the branching fork; the central branch should be pruned heavily, leaving 8-10 cm, while the side branches should be pruned lightly, leaving 10-12 cm, suppressing the main branch and supporting the side branches, cutting the strong and nourishing the weak. After two years of pruning, when the tea plant reaches about 60 cm in height, prune the canopy surface of the tea plant once more. Thereafter, only prune the branches with strong apical dominance, and at the same time combine with leaf-retaining plucking to clear away ineffective branches, so that the productive branch layer forms a balanced and relatively dense canopy surface.

In the process of forming the canopy of young tea plants, the cultivation of the framework branches and the framework layer mainly depends on three formative prunings. In plucking technique, "leaf retention in batches" should be implemented, retaining more and plucking less, so as to give priority to cultivation and make plucking supplementary, and carry out light topping plucking. In production practice, attention should be paid to two tendencies: first, considering only immediate interests, without regard for the growth of the tea plant and the foundation for achieving high and stable yields, being impatient for quick results, and improperly plucking early and heavily, causing premature decline of the tree vigor, so that yields never rise and the tea plants find it hard to close their rows; second, not plucking what should be plucked and instead closing the garden to cultivate the canopy, which likewise fails to achieve the goal.

Light pruning

Light pruning is shaping pruning carried out on the basis of formative pruning, with the aim of continuing to develop the tea plant canopy and plucking surface. The cutting position is generally raised 4-8 cm above the previous year's cut. For those that retain leaves when plucking spring tea, retain the spring shoots and cut away the summer and autumn shoots. For those that do not retain leaves when plucking spring tea but retain leaves when plucking summer tea, cut away the shoot position above the true leaves retained from the summer and autumn shoots. If leaves are retained when plucking both spring and summer tea, then pruning should be based on the net increase in the height of the canopy surface, and the stubs should not be left too high. Light pruning uses horizontal shears to cut level in one pass, and the cut should be smooth. Light pruning is suitable in late autumn or early spring during the dormant period of the tea plant. After pruning, fertilizer management in the tea garden should be strengthened. Light pruning every other year or at intervals of more than two years, with leaf retention when plucking spring tea, can make spring tea plucking begin earlier, increase spring tea yield and improve economic returns.

Deep pruning

Deep pruning mainly removes the chicken-claw branches, redundant branches and dead branches of the tea plant, prompting the tea plant to sprout new branches, forming a new productive branch layer and improving bud-bearing capacity. Generally, the deep pruning cycle is often more than 5 years; after one deep pruning, when the productive branch layer on the canopy surface of the tea plant again shows signs of aging, deep pruning should be carried out again. Deep pruning cuts relatively deeply, generally lowering the canopy surface by 15-25 cm. Deep pruning is often carried out after spring tea plucking, so that one season of spring tea can be obtained. In the year after deep pruning, plucking must be stopped in order to cultivate tree vigor, and plucking may begin only after the productive branch layer of the tea plant canopy has re-formed the following year. If deep pruning is carried out in late autumn, then the spring tea of the following year should be retained and cultivated for one season, and plucking should begin again in summer.

Heavy pruning

Heavy pruning is suitable for tea gardens among aged tea gardens where the main branches are still strong, the 1st- and 2nd-order branches are also relatively sturdy, and the upper-layer branches are disordered and weak, as well as for tea gardens that have declined before becoming old. The cutting position for heavy pruning is generally about 40 cm above the ground, and after pruning only the main branches and 1st- and 2nd-order branches remain. For particularly aged branches in the tea bush, they may be cut off from the root, and at the same time thin and weak branches among the natural renewal branches should be cut away, retaining the healthy renewal branches. Heavy pruning is generally carried out during the dormant period after spring tea plucking, using a sharp knife or frame pruning shears to cut branch by branch; the cut must be smooth, level and slightly slanted. After heavy pruning, fertilizer must be applied heavily.

Frame pruning

Frame pruning is mainly aimed at tea plants whose tree vigor is severely aged, cutting away the entire canopy from the root-crown part (within 5 cm above the ground), so that adventitious buds on the root-crown part sprout to form a new canopy. The stubs must not be left too high, otherwise budding will not be vigorous and the new branches will be slender. Frame pruning uses a sharp knife to cut away branches and a saw to saw through thick branches; damaged stub cuts should be avoided so as to prevent rot and adverse effects on development. Some aged tea plants have already sprouted many natural renewal branches from the root-crown part; if these branches are relatively sturdy while the other branches of the same plant are already very aged, the selective-cutting method may be used, cutting the old and retaining the strong, and using the retained renewal branches for formative pruning to form a new canopy. Frame pruning is suitable in spring, so that the new branches become lignified through a year's growth, making it convenient to carry out formative pruning the following year. Frame pruning must be carried out in combination with soil improvement and heavy application of organic fertilizer in order to achieve the expected results.