Plantation Crops (2+1)

Harvesting

Harvesting (Plucking), Yield and Manufacturing of Tea
Plucking in tea:

It consists of collecting the newly grown vegetative shoots i.e., Harvesting in tea involves the regular removal of young shoots comprising an apical bud and 2 or 3 leaves, immediately below it. Tea crop consists of terminal buds and two or three leaves just below with the stalk. The retention of adequate maintenance foliage for the continued health and productivity of the bush is necessary.

Stage/Age of plucking

Plucking stage is attained when tea plant is of 3 to 4 yeas old. However, plucking stage under ideal management conditions is attained in 18 to 20 months stage.

Young leaves with more of tannins and polyphenols produces better quality tea than old leaves with less tannin content. Maximum yields (stable/economical stage of yield) are obtained in 6th or 7th year and there after the yields remains constant.

It is clear that, plucking of the terminal bud only or with terminal bud with I leaf gives excellent quality tea. Bud is usually plucked with I and II leaves. ( i.e., Best plucking is two leaves and a bud)

Type of shoot/ Leaves/Bud	Tannin (%)
Bud	25
I leaf	28
II leaf	21
III leaf	14
Stalk between II leaf and bud	12
Stalk between II and IV leaf	6

Kinds of plucking depending on the extent of maturity of shoots

Young leaves with more tannin and polyphenol content produces superior quality tea.
1) Two and a bud: plucking of terminal bud and two most recently opened/expanded leaves. Two leaves and a bud is considered as one plucking unit.
Two and a bud is called fish leaf or Janam flucking.
2) Fine tea: Anything less than two and a bud. It is also known as fish or janam plucking. Young leaves will produce superor quality tea.
3) Coarse tea: Anything more than two and a bud. Older leaves will produce coarse quality tea.
4) Light plucking or light pruning: Carried out during initial years to encourage side branches and to make the bush full with tender branches.
5) Too tender shoot/One leaf and a bud: Produces very good quality tea but yield goes down drastically.


Shoots may be plucked above janam, fish leaf or mother leaf. These system of plucking are known as janam plucking, fish leaf plucking or mother leaf plucking, respectively.

• In north-eastern India, janam plucking is the most common practice.
• In south India, continuous scale leaf or fish leaf plucking is not adopted.

Time of plucking

Better quality tea is obtained from the shoots plucked in the morning than in the evening hours.
Morning: More soluble proteins are present and produces good quality tea.
Afternoon: Insoluble proteins will be increased.
Night: Break down of amino acids and formation of amino acids

South India

In south India, plucking differs from that of north-east.
The climatic conditions in south India force growth into 2 impulse periods (High cropping /Rush cropping) where in 60 per cent of the total crop is harvested at an interval of 7 to 10 days.

1. From April to June and
2. From mid-September-November. About 60% of the total crop is harvested in this period and availability of workers becomes a serious constraint to invest the crop completely. Plucking is to Janam or fish leaf.
3. Low cropping /lean cropping: July to September (Rainy season ) and January to March (Winter) = About 40 % of the crop is harvested at an interval of 12 to 15 days.

Cost of plucking:
Plucking is normally (Most of the tea grown throughout the world) done by hand by woman or children. Major drawback in mechanizing the harvesting process in tea is the steep and irregular slopes on which tea is very often grown

Plucking in tea accounts for

• 15 to 20 % of total production cost and
• 60 to 70 % of total labour involved in tea estate.
Use of hand held shears
It is now recommended to use handheld shears to harvest the crop during these high cropping seasons. Use of shears is advised only to the high cropping periods and that too for fields which are more than 18 months old from pruning. Continual shear harvesting is proved to depress the crop and adversely affect the bush physiology.
Life span of tea bush:
Stage/Age of plucking: Plucking stage is attained when tea plant is of 3 to 4 yeas old. However, plucking stage under ideal management conditions is attained in 18 to 20 months stage.
Maximum yields (stable stage of yield) : Yields are obtained in 6 th or 7 th year and there after the yields remains constant.
Economical life of bush:

• North East India: 40 to 50 years, though there are individual bushes surviving as many as 200 years.
• South India : 80 years or even more
Yield

Yield of made tea: 20 to 30 q per ha
20 q /ha = Low yield
20 – 30 q /ha = Medium yield
> 30 q/ha = high yield