Effect of Wet damage on the growth and Development of Tea Plant

Tea trees require moist air conditions, but they are not resistant to excessive soil moisture. Excessive soil moisture and even stagnant water on the ground hindered the respiration of roots and reduced the ability of absorbing water and fertilizer, which seriously affected the growth of bud leaves and reduced the yield and quality of fresh leaves. When the root is asphyxiated seriously, the anaerobic microorganisms are active, and organic acids are produced to poison the tea root system, resulting in peeling, necrosis and decay.

The wet damage of tea plant is shown as follows: few absorbing roots, short lateral roots, shallow root layer, and some lateral roots extend horizontally or even upward instead of downward. The skin of the severely waterlogged transport root is not brownish red but black, not smooth, with many small protuberances. The aboveground parts have few branches, sparse buds and leaves, grow slowly or even stop growing, the branches are white, the leaves are yellow, the trees are short, the growth is weak, sick, the yield is low and the quality is poor. The order of victimization is as follows: the deep fine roots are victimized first, and later, the shallower fine roots begin to get hurt, the surface of the coarse roots blackens, then the fine roots begin to rot, the inside of the thick roots blackens, and finally all the thick roots die. Due to the damage of the root system, the loss of the ability to absorb water affected the life activities of the aboveground part of the plant, which initially showed that the tender leaves lost their luster and turned yellow, then the bud tips drooped and atrophied, and finally the adult leaves lost their luster and withered and fell off. If you wait until the aboveground shows obvious symptoms of damage before waterlogging, it is often because the underground root system has been seriously damaged and can not be saved.

The severity of wet injury of tea trees is closely related to the duration of soil over-wetting. The damage degree of underground root can be judged and drainage measures can be taken in time according to the number of days of over-wet soil and the symptoms of aboveground.

The wet damage of tea trees mostly occurs in the stagnant water area in the foothills, so corresponding measures should be taken according to the causes of wet damage, such as breaking the air permeability, leveling the land, opening open ditches, hidden ditches and so on.