Effects of Pruning on Tea Tree Growth, Soil Enzyme Activity and Microbial Diversity

Abstract

In order to investigate the effect of pruning on the soil environment in which tea trees grow and the growth of tea trees, this study used Wuyi Meizhan (Camellia sinensis) as a research object and measured its growth indexes, soil physicochemical indexes, soil enzyme activity and microbial functional diversity to analyze the effects of pruning treatments on the growth of tea trees, soil enzyme activity and soil microbial functional diversity and the correlation between them. The results of the analysis of tea tree growth indexes showed that the hundred-bud weight, leaf area and yield in the pruning treatment were significantly higher than those in the unpruned treatment. The results of soil physicochemical index analysis showed that pH, available phosphorus, available potassium and organic matter were significantly higher in the pruning treatment than in the unpruned treatment (p < 0.05), while available nitrogen and total phosphorus were significantly lower than in unpruned treatment (p < 0.05). The results of soil enzyme activities showed that only polyphenol oxidase and catalase activities were significantly higher in the pruning than in the unpruned treatment, while urease, protease, acid phosphatase, asparaginase and glutaminase activities were significantly lower than in the unpruned treatment (p < 0.05). Biolog analysis showed that the utilization of microbial carbon sources, especially amino acid and amine, increased in the rhizosphere soil of the pruned tea tree, while there was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in microbial diversity. It is evident that pruning promoted tea tree growth and some enzyme activity, while inhibiting the activity of enzymes associated with the nitrogen cycle, and the utilization of microbial carbon sources increased, but their diversity decreased. This study provides a theoretical basis for the daily management of tea plantation after pruning.