Detailed Introduction to the Tea Cultivar Echa No. 1

Crop type: tea plant

Cultivar name: Echa No. 1

Breeding institution: Institute of Fruit and Tea, Sericulture and Mulberry Research, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Cultivar origin: Meizhan x Fuding Dabaicha

Provincial approval status: approved by the Hubei Provincial Crop Cultivar Approval Committee in 1993

Characteristics: shrub type, medium-leaf class, mid-season cultivar. The plant posture is semi-open, with thick main branches, strong branching ability, and vigorous growth. The leaves are dark green, long-elliptic in shape, glossy on the surface, slightly folded inward, with gradually pointed leaf tips and soft leaf texture. The buds and young leaves are yellow-green, with medium pubescence. The buds and young leaves have strong tenderness retention, and the internodes are long. The weight of 100 buds of one bud and three leaves is 78-105 grams. In normal years, budding begins in mid-to-late March, and the peak period of one bud and three leaves occurs in mid-April. The amino acid content of fresh leaves in spring, summer, and autumn is 2.99%, 2.11%, and 4.0% respectively; the tea polyphenol content is 29.88%, 30.81%, and 25.90% respectively; the caffeine content is 3.0%-4.0%. It is suitable for making green tea, and its quality is comparable to Fuding Dabaicha. It has strong cold resistance.

Yield performance: in the cultivar comparison trial from 1989 to 1992, the 4-year average fresh leaf yield per mu was 498.4 kg, 22.97% higher than Fuding Dabaicha. During the national regional trial from 1997 to 2001, it was 94.44-105.15% higher than the control cultivar Fuding Dabaicha.

Key points of cultivation techniques: cultivate according to conventional techniques.