Quality green tea (camellia sinensis l.) Clones marked through novel traits

Authors: PATEL, PRADEEP KUMAR - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; Zhang, Dapeng; BORTHAKUR, DEVAJIT - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; HAZARIKA, MONPI - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; BORUAH, PUTAKESH - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; BAROOAH, RAJ - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; SABBAPONDIT, SANTANU - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; NEOG, NABA JYOTI - Tocklai Tea Research Institute; GOGOI, ROMEN CHANDRA - Tocklai Tea Research Institute

Submitted to: Beverages
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2019
Publication Date: 11/1/2019
Citation: Patel, P., Zhang, D., Borthakur, D., Hazarika, M., Boruah, P., Barooah, R., Sabbapondit, S., Neog, N., Gogoi, R. 2019. Quality green tea (camellia sinensis l.) Clones marked through novel traits. Beverages. 5(4):63.

Interpretive Summary: Tea is a widely consumed beverage in the world ranked second after water. With an annual production of 4.7 million tons, tea represents a $40 billion-a-year global market. Demand for green tea is growing in both domestic and international markets. However, tea varieties cultivated in Assam, India is traditionally used to produce black tea only. The present study aims to identify tea clones suitable for manufacturing green tea of high quality in Northeast India. From the tea collection maintained in Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Assam, India, six promising clones were selected and evaluated in the experimental station. Yield, quality attributes and physiological parameters were analyzed over four harvest seasons (first flush, second flush, rain flush, and autumn flush). Two promising clones (DH 5 and DH 6) with superior yield and cupping quality were identified. Genetic diversity analysis showed that these two clones shared high genetic similarity with popular green tea clone “Longjing 43” of China and “Yabukita” of Japan, indicating their suitability for green tea production. This information is useful for tea researchers for the management of tea genetic resources and crop breeding. It will also be used by tea producers and tea industry for production of high quality green tea.

Technical Abstract: Tea clones and seed varieties released from Tocklai Tea Research Institutes are suitable primarily for manufacturing black tea (CTC/orthodox) while green tea manufactured from these clones are poor in quality. This led to identifying germplasm suitable for manufacturing green tea of high quality. Physiological parameters on net photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance, water-use efficiency, leaf temperature, and carboxylation efficiency of six selected germplasm (DH 1 and 2, DH 3 and 4, DH 5 and 6, DL 13, DL 25, and DL 39) were measured in first flush, second flush, rain flush, and autumn flush. Seasonal Yield, biochemical (L-theanine to total polyphenol ratio), and taster’s score were compared among seasons. Two protocols were used for green tea manufacturing, i.e., roasting and steaming. Significant differences in net photosynthesis (pn), stomatal conductance (gs), carboxylation efficiency (ci/ca), and yield were observed between flushes. Among the six test clones, the L-theanine to total polyphenol ratio found was highest in DH 5 and 6 in the roasting method. Structural and cluster analysis revealed that the DH clones genotypically occupied the same position as that of the popular green tea clone Longjing 43 of China and Yabukita of Japan, indicating suitability of these germplasm to develop new green tea clones. Clones DH 5 and 6 are suitable for green tea manufacturing and they can be released to the industry as new green tea clones. As far as manufacturing protocol is concerned, the roasting method of tea manufacturing was found superior over steaming.