There are tea trees in the tea garden, so why plant grass?

Do you think there are only tea trees in a tea garden? In fact, those green "grasses" are also the secret weapon to increase tea production! They are not weeds, but "green manure" that can improve the soil and make tea trees grow stronger! Want to know the wonders of growing "grasses" in a tea garden? Then read on!

At present, the soil in tea gardens in China is generally acidified, compacted, and eroded, and the soil fertility level has declined, which has led to a decrease in tea production and quality. In order to improve this situation, in the process of reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers, planting green manure in tea gardens has also become an important technical measure.

Green manure refers to green plants used as fertilizers . Green plants can be directly turned into the soil to enhance soil fertility. Green manure can be divided into winter green manure (such as: rat grass, vetch, fertilizer radish, pea, Chinese milk vetch, etc.) and summer green manure (such as: Crotalaria, Cassia, Tamarind, Sesbania, peanut, etc.) according to the sowing season.

Intercropping green manure in tea gardens can effectively improve the tea garden ecosystem and play an important role in improving soil fertility, enhancing soil and water conservation capacity, increasing fertilizer utilization rate, preventing soil acidification, and regulating the microclimate of tea garden micro-regions.

The main function of planting "grass" in tea gardens

01 Reduce pests and diseases in tea gardens and increase biodiversity

Planting suitable green manure in tea gardens can inhibit the growth of weeds, effectively control the bioaccumulation of weeds in tea gardens, reduce their competition with tea trees, thereby reducing the generation and distribution of weeds in tea gardens, saving labor costs and reducing the use of herbicides.

In addition, planting green manure increased the biodiversity of tea gardens, significantly improved the species richness index and biological community diversity index of arthropod communities in tea gardens, and increased the proportion of natural enemies in the canopy species of tea trees.

02 Improve the microclimate environment of the tea garden

In recent years, extreme weather disasters have frequently occurred in tea gardens, such as late spring cold and seasonal drought. Planting green manure in tea gardens has a significant effect on increasing soil temperature and air humidity in winter and spring when the temperature is lower. In summer and autumn when the temperature is higher, it can significantly reduce the air temperature and soil temperature in the tea garden and increase air humidity. It can be seen that planting grass in tea gardens helps to improve the microclimate of tea gardens and optimize the growth conditions of tea trees.

03 Improve soil quality and improve the soil environment for tea tree growth

The roots of green manure can loosen the soil, increase soil porosity, reduce soil bulk density, and improve soil permeability in tea gardens. After green manure rots, it can provide a large amount of carbon source to the soil, increase soil organic matter content, and significantly reduce soil compaction.

Planting green manure in tea gardens can adjust the soil aluminum-calcium ratio, improve soil pH, and provide a good soil environment for the growth of tea tree roots.

After the green manure is decomposed, it can be quickly absorbed and reused by a variety of microorganisms, providing the most suitable nutrients for the growth and development of the tea tree root system. While improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil, it can effectively regulate the structure and richness of the microbial community in the rhizosphere soil of the tea tree, improve the biological properties of the tea garden soil, and significantly improve the soil quality.

04 Effectively prevent soil erosion in tea gardens and reduce nutrient loss

Most of the tea gardens in my country are on slopes, and the surface soil is easily eroded by rainwater. Therefore, planting green manure in the tea garden can play a role in slope protection, reduce surface runoff, increase rainwater penetration into the deep soil, effectively prevent soil erosion and loss, reduce nutrient loss, and thus play a role in maintaining water and soil.

Green manure planting

Young tea gardens and mature tea gardens with low coverage (such as tea gardens with white (yellow) leaves), can plant green manures such as wormwood to increase soil organic matter, improve soil quality, and suppress weeds. After applying the base fertilizer, level the soil, evenly sow wormwood seeds 1~2 kg/mu between the tea rows, and cover with 1~2 cm of thin soil. If there is a long-term drought after sowing, appropriate irrigation is required to prevent the grass seeds from drying and ensure the seed germination rate. Apply urea 5~6 kg/mu in the seedling stage to promote the growth of wormwood. After setting seeds, the plants will fall over and die, and can be re-sown in the second year according to the emergence of seedlings.

▲ Intercropping of rattail grass in tea garden

Winter is coming, so let’s plant the green manure quickly!

Source: Ma Lifeng, Researcher at Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Reviewers:

Su Youjian, Associate Researcher, Tea Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Ruan Jianyun, Vice President and Secretary General of China Tea Association, Research Fellow of Tea Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Chen Liang, Research Fellow at the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences