Early Pruning and Potash Fertilizer Improve the Recovery and Growth of Deeply Pruned Tea (Camellia sinensis L)
Early Pruning and Potash Fertilizer Improve the Recovery and Growth of Deeply Pruned Tea (Camellia sinensis L)
Fayaz Ahmad1*, Noorullah Khan1, Farrukh Siyar Hamid1, Qamar uz Zaman1, Shamsul Islam1, Muhammad Abbas Khan1 and Sair Sarwar2
ABSTRACT
The experiment was conducted at National Tea and High Value Crops Research Institute, Shinkiari Mansehra during the years 2012-13 with the objectives to find out the most suitable time of pruning and doses of potash fertilizer for deep pruning of tea bushes and their subsequent efficient recovery and proper growth. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Mature tea plants (26 year old) of Qi-men variety were deeply pruned (30 cm from the ground level by completely defoliating the bushes) on five different dates i.e., November, December, 2012, January, February and March, 2013 having one month interval. Application of potash fertilizer @ 90,120 and 150 kg ha-1 was also compared with control for studying its role in the recovery and growth of deeply pruned tea. The earliest shoot sprouting (April, 2013) was recorded in tea bushes pruned on November, 2012 and receiving potash fertilizer @ 150 kg ha1 as compared to a19 days delay recorded in first shoot sprouting in tea bushes pruned on March, 2013 and receiving no potash fertilizer. Time of pruning significantly affected the shoot growth and it ranged from 54.75 cm (March, 2013) to 75.90 cm (December, 2012). The higher doses of potash fertilizer (150 kg ha-1) significantly increased the shoot growth (70.56 cm) as compared to the control (60.53 cm). The interaction between time of pruning and levels of potash fertilizer for number of leaves per shoot was not significant, however tea bushes pruned on December 2012 and applied with potash fertilizer @ 150 kg ha-1 produced maximum number of leaves per shoot (24.53) and was followed by December pruning (24.53 leaves per shoot) with the application of potash @ 120 kg ha-1. Shoot thickness was also significantly affected by time of pruning and application of potash fertilizer. Early deep punning of tea bushes in the dormant season (December) and application of potash fertilizer increased the foliage biomass production by 47.26% as compared to late pruning (March) and without the application of potash fertilizers. On the basis of these findings, it can be concluded that deep pruning of tea during the month of December and application of potash @ 150 kg ha-1 resulted in e best recovery and growth of deeply pruned tea bushes under the climatic conditions of Mansehra-Pakistan.
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