🍃 Tea (Camellia sinensis)

Particular	Answer
Scientific Name	Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze
Family	Theaceae ⭐⭐⭐
Chromosome Number	2n = 30
Economic Part	Young leaves and terminal bud (Two leaves and a bud) ⭐⭐⭐
Propagation	Seeds and Vegetative (Cuttings)
Economic Life	50–100 years

Particular	Answer
Centre of Origin	China ⭐⭐⭐
Commercial Cultivation in India	Started by the British in Assam (1830s)

Parameter	Requirement
Climate	Tropical & Subtropical
Temperature	20–30°C
Rainfall	1500–3000 mm
Relative Humidity	70–90%
Altitude	600–2000 m (quality improves at higher altitude)

Parameter	Requirement
Soil Type	Deep, well-drained acidic loam
Soil pH	4.5–5.5 ⭐⭐⭐
Organic Matter	High

Particular	Recommendation
Planting Season	June–September
Spacing	1.2 × 0.75 m (varies with system)
Plant Population	10,000–13,000 plants/ha
Propagation	Seeds & Rooted Cuttings

Particular	Answer
Best Method	Sprinkler/Drip
Critical Stage	Young plantation & dry season
Water Requirement	Moderate

Tea requires shade trees to protect plants from high temperature and conserve soil moisture.

Tree	Scientific Name
Silver Oak ⭐⭐⭐	Grevillea robusta
Albizia	Albizia odoratissima
Erythrina	Erythrina lithosperma

Type	Purpose
Light Pruning	Maintain bush height
Medium Pruning	Increase shoots
Heavy Pruning	Rejuvenation
Skiffing	Improve plucking surface

Standard	Description
Fine Plucking ⭐⭐⭐	Two leaves and a bud
Medium Plucking	Three leaves and a bud
Coarse Plucking	More than three leaves

Disease	Causal Organism
Blister Blight ⭐⭐⭐	Exobasidium vexans
Red Rust	Cephaleuros parasiticus
Black Rot	Corticium invisum
Root Rot	Armillaria mellea

Pest	Scientific Name
Tea Mosquito Bug ⭐⭐⭐	Helopeltis theivora
Tea Red Spider Mite	Oligonychus coffeae
Tea Looper	Buzura suppressaria
Aphid	Toxoptera aurantii

Particular	Recommendation
First Plucking	3–4 years after planting
Plucking Interval	7–15 days
Harvested Part	Two leaves and a bud

Type	Processing
Black Tea ⭐⭐⭐	Fully fermented
Green Tea ⭐⭐⭐	Unfermented
Oolong Tea	Partially fermented
White Tea	Minimally processed

Variety/Clone	Feature
TV-1	High yield
TV-23	Quality tea
UPASI Series	South India
Tocklai Clones	Assam

Institute	Location
Tocklai Tea Research Institute ⭐⭐⭐	Jorhat, Assam
UPASI Tea Research Foundation	Valparai, Tamil Nadu
Tea Board of India ⭐⭐⭐	Kolkata

Particular	Answer
Largest Producer	China ⭐⭐⭐
Second Largest Producer	India
Largest Exporter	Kenya
Major Tea-producing States	Assam ⭐⭐⭐, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Term	Meaning
Fine Plucking	Two leaves and a bud
Withering	Moisture removal before rolling
Fermentation	Oxidation of tea leaves
Orthodox Tea	Traditional rolling method
CTC Tea ⭐⭐⭐	Crush–Tear–Curl method

Question	Answer
Scientific Name	Camellia sinensis
Family	Theaceae
Origin	China
Economic Part	Two leaves and a bud
Soil pH	4.5–5.5
Major Disease	Blister Blight
Major Pest	Tea Mosquito Bug
Shade Tree	Silver Oak
Tea Research Institute	Tocklai, Jorhat
Tea Board Headquarters	Kolkata
Largest Producer	China
Largest Tea-producing State (India)	Assam
Green Tea	Unfermented
Black Tea	Fully fermented
Oolong Tea	Partially fermented
CTC	Crush–Tear–Curl

Question	Answer
Scientific name of tea	Camellia sinensis
Family of tea	Theaceae
Economic part harvested	Two leaves and a bud
Best soil pH	4.5–5.5
Major disease	Blister Blight
Major insect pest	Tea Mosquito Bug
Famous tea research institute	Tocklai Tea Research Institute
Largest tea-producing state	Assam
Largest tea producer in the world	China
Method used for most Indian tea	CTC (Crush–Tear–Curl)

Topic	Remember
Scientific Name	Camellia sinensis
Family	Theaceae
Origin	China
Harvested Part	Two leaves and a bud
Soil pH	4.5–5.5
Major Disease	Blister Blight (Exobasidium vexans)
Major Pest	Tea Mosquito Bug (Helopeltis theivora)
Shade Tree	Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta)
Tea Research Institute	Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat
Tea Board HQ	Kolkata
Largest Producer	China
Largest Tea-producing State (India)	Assam
Processing Method	CTC (Crush–Tear–Curl)
Green Tea	Unfermented
Black Tea	Fully Fermented