Requirements for Soil in Tea Planting
Soil is the place where tea trees rely on to survive and absorb water and nutrients. It has the ability to meet the tea tree’s needs for water, fertilizer, air, and heat, and is an important resource for tea production.
The soil is loose, the soil layer is deep, and the gravel and sandy loam with good drainage are suitable for the growth of tea trees.
Tea trees have a wide range of soil adaptability requirements, as long as the soil depth is above 60cm; It exhibits an acidic reaction again, with soil acidity ranging from 4.0 to 6.5; Tea can generally be grown without waterlogging.
Ecological conditions
The growth and development of tea plants are closely related to external environmental conditions, which directly or indirectly affect the metabolic processes of tea plant organisms. Mainly refers to climate conditions, soil conditions, and terrain conditions.
1. Temperature
When the average temperature between day and night stabilizes above 10 degrees, tea buds begin to sprout and gradually stretch. During the growing season, the average monthly temperature should be above 18 ℃, with the most suitable temperature being between 20 ℃ and 27 ℃. The suitable annual effective accumulated temperature for growth is above 4000 ℃. If the average temperature remains above 35 ℃ for several days and is accompanied by drought, the branches will wither.
2. Illumination
The influence of light on tea trees mainly depends on the intensity and properties of light. Tea trees have the characteristic of shade tolerance and prefer weak light exposure and diffuse light. From the absorption spectrum analysis of chlorophyll, the blue purple light with shorter wavelengths is the most abundant, while the diffuse light is mainly the blue purple light with shorter wavelengths. So there is a basis for tea trees to grow well under diffuse light conditions.
3. Rainfall and humidity
The suitable rainfall for tea trees is an annual average of 1000-2000mm, with a monthly rainfall of over 100mm during the growing season. The optimal relative humidity is generally 80-90%. The appropriate relative soil moisture content is 70-80%. This type of rainfall and humidity is most suitable for the growth of tea trees.
The soil environment of tea trees should meet the following factors
1. Depth and looseness of soil layer
Tea trees are deep rooted plants with roots vertically distributed at a height of more than 1 meter. The absorbing roots are mainly located in the soil layer of 10-50 cm. Therefore, the soil layer thickness must meet the normal extension requirements of tea tree roots. According to research, tea gardens with high yields per mu have an effective soil layer of over 70cm, often exceeding 1 meter. From this, it can be seen that in order for tea to grow well and have a certain production capacity, the effective soil layer thickness must be at least 60cm or more, which is very necessary. Secondly, loose soil has a good impact on the growth and quality of tea trees. According to research data from a tea experimental field in Hangzhou, loose soil yields high yields, while compacted soil yields relatively low yields.
2. The texture and composition of soil
The soil texture also has a certain impact on the quality of tea. There is a saying in tea producing areas that ‘good tea comes from sandy soil’. Nowadays, high-quality tea in our country is mostly produced from loose and organic rich gravelly loam soil
3. Soil moisture
Tea trees like to be moist, and in addition to a relatively humid climate, they also require abundant soil moisture.
4. PH value of soil
Tea trees require acidic soil, and the suitable pH value should be 6.5 or below. The soil pH of high-yield tea gardens in various parts of China is mostly between 4.0 and 5.0. It is best for tea trees to avoid soil environments that react with limestone, as this can lead to poor growth of tea trees