HPLC and high-throughput sequencing revealed differences of tea-leaves quality components and soil microbial community structure between modern and ancient tea plantations in Lincang Region

BackgroundAncient tea plantations with an age over 100 years still reserved at Mengku Town in Lincang Region of Yunan Province, China. However, the characteristic of soil chemicophysical properties and microbial ecosystem in the ancient tea plantations and their impact on tea-leaves chemical components remained unclear. Tea-leaves chemical components including amino acids, phenolic compounds and purine alkaloids, and soil chemicophysical properties including pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), total total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN), available phosphorous (AP) and available potassium (AK), and microbial community structure of modern and ancient tea plantations in five geographic sites (i.e. Bingdao, Baqishan, Banuo, Dongguo and Jiulong) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-throughput sequencing, respectively. ResultsTea-leaves chemical components, soil chemicophysical properties and microbial community structures including bacterial and fungal community abundance and diversity evaluated by Chao 1 and Shannon varied with geographic location and tea plantation type. The ancient tea plantations possessed significantly (P<0.05) higher free amino acids, gallic acid, caffeine and EGC in tea-leaves, as well as soil fertility. The bacterial community structure kept stable, while fungal community abundance and diversity significantly (P<0.05) increased in ancient tea plantation because of higher soil fertility and lower pH. The long-term plantation in natural cultivation way significantly (P<0.05) improved the abundances of Nitrospirota, Methylomirabilota, Ascomycota and Mortierellomycota phyla. ConclusionsDue to the natural cultivation way, the ancient tea plantations still maintained relatively higher soil fertility and complete soil microbial ecosystem, which contributed to the sustainable development with higher quality in tea-leaves.

Implication of Multi-National Corporations (MNC’s) and Commercial Tea Plantation Agriculture on the Small Scale Farmers of Kericho in Kenya, 1963 -2010.

The introduction of tea as a cash crop in Kericho revolutionised farming among the Kipsigis of Kericho. While the independence of Kenya in 1963 was expected to come along with economic empowerment and freedom among its people, many still struggle to meet their daily needs and live below the poverty line. For Kericho residents, MNC’s continued their domination in plantation tea farming at the expense of the local communities who are wallowing in poverty. Although MNC’s contribute in the provision of social services to the local community as part of their corporate social responsibility, this assistance is a drop in the ocean considering the massive capital and technology that these corporations wield and which have been instrumental in relegating the small scale farmers to the periphery and creating dependency. This study explored the implication of MNC’s engaged in plantation tea farming in Kericho District (presently Kericho County) on local peasant farmers.

The Relation Study of Soil Nutrient to Productivity of productive Tea Plants in Pagar Alam Tea Plantation, South Sumatra

Tea plantation area in recent years has decreased by 0.75% annually. With the decline in the area of tea plantations, productivity also decreases. Decreased productivity can be caused by erosion, climate, clones, and management applications. The purpose of this study was to determine the availability of soil nutrients in Pagar Alam tea plantation and the relationship with productivity. The observation was held with secondary data and analyzed statistically with the correlation method. Parameters observed were pH, organic C, total N, P2O5, exchangeable K, and exchangeable Mg. The result showed that the relationship between soil nutrients such as organic C, total N, available P, exchangeable K, and exchangeable Mg with productivity was weak with correlation coefficient values of 0.00 – 0.199. These results also showed that the correlation was negative, which means that the two variables were inversely proportional. Plant maintenance factors have a more significant role in tea plant productivity than nutrients and fertilization, such as picking, pruning, root zone improvement, and plant pest control. If these factors can be controlled properly, shoot production will increase, and plant health can be maintained. Thus, in this case, the nutrient factor is not the main factor affecting productivity at Pagar Alam Tea Plantation, indeed the plant care factor.

Perancangan Website Promosi Pada PT. Mitra Kerinci Padang

PT. Mitra Kerinci is a tea plantation company that has an office in Padang. Website promotion, especially at PT. Mitra Kerinci Padang does not yet have a website capable of providing information. On the basis of the problems that occur, the author has conducted research to design a promotional information system for PT. Partners of Kerinci Padang. In the process, the output design, input design and file design are designed, which are then implemented into the PHP programming language supported by the MySQL database. With the existence of a promotional website at PT. This Padang Kerinci partner, can provide information that is effective and easily accessible to users.

Estimation of Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficient of Rain-Fed Tea Plants under a Subtropical Climate

Crop coefficient (Kc) is one of the most significant parameters for crop water demand prediction and irrigation scheduling. However, there is a lack of knowledge about water vapor and Kc in tea plantation ecosystems. This study explored and determined the actual evapotranspiration (ETc) and Kc of two cultivars of tea (Camellia sinensis), clone variety Baiye1 (BY1) and Longjing43 (LJ43), based on lysimeter data. An estimation was made for both for ETc and adjusted ETc, and the corresponding Kc and adjusted Kc. The results showed that the adjusted ETc and Kc values revealed a minor fluctuation when compared to the ETc and Kc values during the experimental period, which indicated that the adjusted ETc and Kc values were more precise and practical to field conditions. The average adjusted Kc values were 0.71 (range of 0.43–1.02) for BY1 and 0.84 (range of 0.48–1.22) for LJ43. Additionally, heavy pruning can decrease ETc and Kc values, possibly due to the lower level of LAI after pruning. Moreover, it is clearly manifested that BY1 consistently had lower ETc and Kc values than those of LJ43 because of plant growth status differences between BY1 and LJ43. Overall, our study proposed a reliable reference of Kc in tea plantation, and illuminated the effects of pruning and plant growth differences on Kc, which could provide a strong basis for precise irrigation in tea plantations in a subtropical climate.