Abstract
The shade trees are an integral component of tea cultivation in Bangladesh. The shade trees are essential for modulating the environment of the tea ecosystem, enriching the soil fertility, reducing temperature and the evaporative capacity, conserve soil moisture and helps in the control of certain pests and diseases which are positively thermotropic in nature. The shade trees provide partial shade to the tea plants, which is important for improving the quality of the tea leaf. The right type of shade trees and their proper management is a prerequisite for successful tea crop growing. For this persists, a floristic exploration of shade trees was carried out at fifteen tea gardens in Chattogram and Moulvibazar District of Bangladesh from November 2017 to December 2018. During the investigation, a total of 44 species of Angiosperm representing 31 genera of 9 families was enlisted. For every species, scientific name, vernacular name, status, and necessary photographs are mentioned. In the assessment, the Fabaceae family shows the highest number of shade trees comprising 19 genera and 31 species. The most common permanent shade tree species among the tea gardens are Albizia odoratissima, A. chinensis, A. lebbeck, A. lucidior, A. procera, and Derris robusta. Indigofera teysmannii is frequently using as a temporary shade species in all investigated tea gardens. Cajanus cajan, Tephrosia candida, Tephrosia candida, Gliricidia sepium, Erythrina lithosperma and Desmodium gyroides species are also used as temporary shade trees in many tea gardens. Further investigations, however,are required to find out the right type of shade tree species on the growth and yield of tea plants in tea cultivation areas of Bangladesh.
 SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 219-237 (2020)
Highlights
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is one of the most popular and favored beverages in the world
Mainly two types of shade trees viz., permanent shade trees, and temporary shade trees were found in all investigated tea gardens of Bangladesh
The Morphological characteristics of shade tree species at investigated tea estates are presented at Table 3
Summary
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is one of the most popular and favored beverages (nonalcoholic) in the world. There are 162 tea estates and 746 small cultivators having about 59,018 hectares of tea plantation generating about 85.05 million kg of over tea per annum with an average yield of about 1,587 kg per hectare in Bangladesh (BTB, 2017) It is ranked 8th, 10th, and 12th position in the world in respect of the area, production, and export respectively (ITC, 2015). The shade trees provide 50 % to 70 % of diffused solar insolation to the tea cultivation area (Sana, 1989) It results in improves the quality of the tea leaves due to an increase in the concentration of amino acids with lowers the content of catechin in the plant and it inhibits the concentration of flavonoid (Ku et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2012).
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