How to prevent and control frost damage to young and newly planted tea trees? These seven methods must be mastered

1. Apply winter manure. Young and newly planted tea trees have relatively weak cold resistance, so before overwintering, a heavy application of winter manure should be combined with earthing up and mounding around the base. The fertilizer should mainly be farmyard manure, stable manure and biogas residue, which have a certain heat-preserving effect, along with a certain amount of cake fertilizer, superphosphate and potassium sulfate fertilizer. Winter manure can not only preserve heat and prevent freezing and enhance the tea trees' freeze resistance, but also lay a good foundation for the tea trees' growth the following year.

2. Earth up and mound around the base. Preventing the root crown from freezing is a key measure for protecting young and newly planted tea trees from frost. Therefore, before young and newly planted tea trees overwinter, earthing up and mounding around the base should be carried out together with intertillage and weeding, thickening the soil layer around the tree base to ensure that the key parts of the tea trees are not frostbitten.

3. Cover with grass to prevent frost. Before young and newly planted tea trees overwinter, covering the tree disk with grass (about 3 cm thick) and covering the canopy with shade netting, plastic film, etc. can reduce soil heat loss, raise the ground temperature of the tea garden, lessen the direct attack of cold frost on the tea seedlings, and thereby enhance the tea trees' ability to resist frost.

4. Spray fertilizer to prevent freezing. Before young and newly planted tea trees overwinter, spraying diluted biogas slurry, Nashi 778, Kehan stress-resistance yield-increasing agent, cold-resistant Shibao, etc. on the leaves 1 to 2 times can significantly improve their cold resistance through the winter.

5. Irrigate to retain moisture. In dry years, for young and newly planted tea gardens with dry soil, irrigation (or application of dilute manure water) should be carried out before the arrival of low winter temperatures and cold waves to increase the humidity of the tea garden. This measure can increase the soil's heat capacity and significantly reduce frost damage in the tea garden.

6. Appropriate intercropping. Intercropping broad beans, peas, radishes, etc. between the rows of young and newly planted tea trees in winter can effectively block cold wind and reduce freezing of the young tea trees. Harvesting them early the following year (to the extent that it does not affect the growth of the tea seedlings) also provides very good green fodder.

7. Smoke to prevent freezing. On the basis of taking the above frost-prevention measures, if a strong cold wave strikes, before the cold wave arrives, prepare flammable materials such as sawdust, rice husks and turf, and according to the tea garden's terrain, landform and wind direction, pile them in scattered spots in the tea garden. When the temperature drops to about 2°C, choose a windless, clear evening and light them all so that the smoke spreads everywhere, using the "greenhouse effect" formed by the smoke to reduce the radiation and loss of heat from the tea garden at night, thereby effectively reducing the harm of cold waves and frost to young and newly planted tea trees.