Impact of modernization of harvesting in tea plantation to improve the productivity and quality (Camellia spp.)

Abstract

Hand plucking is throughout to be the best method of tea harvesting and has evolved with the tea industry to improve the productivity and quality. With good training of pluckers, a high degree of shoots selectively can be achieved and damage to the tea bush is minimal. Where manual labour is in short supply and mechanical methods of harvesting tea have of necessity been considered. Shear harvesting, as an alternative method to machine harvesting. The green leaf biochemical constituents and quality parameters of black teas changed with method of harvesting. Integrated shear harvesting teas were very rich in their green leaf biochemical precursors and had higher contents of black tea quality constituents than machine harvesting tea. The quality decline was mainly due to mechanical injury and non-selective plucking with machine harvesting. However, tea obtained by mechanical harvesting to continuously field over a prolonged period quality was found to be better, but productivity was declined and physiology of the bush affect when machines are not properly used for harvesting.