Initial response of clonal tea to re-planting cover crops and nitrogenous fertilizer rates
1994
Mwakha, E.
Clone S15/10 tea was grown for five years in a field where moribund seedling tea planted in 1926 was uprooted in 1984 and cover-cropped for two years with maize/beans, Guatemala grass/oats and Guatemala grass/Desmodium mixtures; while receiving nitrogen fertilizer at 0, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 kg N/ha/year. Data collected on plant stand counts in the first year, soil and leaf chemical compositions in the second year and annual tea yields from the second to the fifth year showed that cover crops had no effects on soil and leaf chemical compositions and tea yields. Very high nitrogen fertilizer rates increased soil acidity, caused high plant mortality and significantly reduced tea yields in the first two cropping years. The yields were significantly increased by nitrogen application in the fifth year, with an optimal rate of about 200 kg/N/year. While the effect of cover cropping may require long-term evaluation, nitrogen fertilizer application to young tea should probably start in the fifth year
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