Abstract:

To provide technical support for increasing yield and improving quality of etiolated tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in summer and autumn, the etiolated cultivar ‘Zhonghuang 3’ was selected to study the effects of amino acid foliar fertilizer on tea yield and quality. Five treatments were set up, including no foliar fertilizer (CK), spraying amino acid water-soluble foliar fertilizer (amino acid≥100 g/L, Zn≥10 g/L, B≥100 g/L, T1), spraying active amino acid foliar fertilizer (amino acid≥100 g/L, organic matter≥130 g/L, Zn+B≥100 g/L, T2), spraying special foliar fertilizer for tea plant (amino acid≥100 g/L, Zn+B≥100 g/L, T3), and spraying 1.8% urea (total N≥46.4%, T4). The results showed that the budding density and the 100-bud fresh weight of one bud and two leaves under foliar fertilizer treatments were higher or significantly higher than those of CK, respectively. The yield of CK was the lowest. The yield of T1, T2 and T3 was higher than that of T4, while the yield of T1 and T3 was slightly higher than that of T2, respectively. There was no significant difference in water extracts and caffeine content among all treatments. The ratio of tea polyphenols to free amino acids (TP/AA) of CK was the highest, while that of T2 was the lowest. TP/AA of T1 and T2 was significantly lower than that of CK and T4, while no significant difference was observed among that of CK, T3 and T4. The study suggested that T1 and T2 could contribute more to increasing the yield and improving the quality of green tea in summer and autumn, while T2 had better overall quality.

Key words: seasons, etiolated tea plant, amino acid foliar fertilizer, yield, quality