Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.28, No.2, 2012
EFFECT OF SOWING DATES ON THE GROWTH OF TEA SEEDLINGS
SAIR SARWAR*, FAYAZ AHMAD*, QAMAR-UZ-ZAMAN*, IJAZ ALI** and ABDUL WAHEED*
*
**
National Tea Research Institute, Shinkiari, Mansehra – Pakistan.
National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad – Pakistan.
ABSTRACT
Study on the effect of different seed sowing dates i.e. November 15, November 30, December 15, December
30 and January 15 on the growth performance of tea seedlings under the agro-ecological condition of Abbaspur,
Azad Jammu and Kashmir was conducted at tea nursery Abbaspur district Poonch AJ&K during 2009-10 with the
objectives to find out suitable time of tea seed sowing if tea seeds are picked during second week of November. It
was found that that maximum survival % age (95.55%), plant height (23.94 cm), root length (21.78 cm) and fresh
plant weight (10.83 g) was recorded in plants having sowing date of 15th November 2009, while seeds sown on 30th
November produced the highest number of branches plant -1 (1.91) and number of leaves plant-1 (15.92).Survival %
age, plant height, number of leaves plant-1 and root length were significantly different for different sowing dates
while the differences for number of branches plant-1 and fresh plant weight were found non-significant. It was
revealed that early seed sowing dates gave good growth performance as compared to late sowing.
Key words:
AJ&K, Camellia sinensis L ,growth , seed sowing dates, Tea.
Citation:
Sarwar, S., F. Ahmad, Q.U. Zaman, I. Ali and A. Waheed. 2012. Effects of sowing dates on the
growth of tea seedlings. Sarhad J. Agric. 28(2):179-183
INTRODUCTION
Tea (Camellia sinensis. L) is an important commercial crop in many subtropical and tropical areas of the
world. Tea, owing to its favorable effects on human health, currently enjoys a great popularity among other
beverages worldwide (Sedaghathoor et al. 2009).
In Pakistan, tea plantation was first introduced by Pakistan Tea Board in 1958 at village Baffa, District
Mansehra in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Then PARC established its first Experimental Tea Garden on 2.5
acres at village Daively and with the collaboration of Chinese tea experts surveyed the Northern parts of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Province on the basis of topography; soil conditions, rainfall and its distribution, temperature and its
variation etc. and explored an area of about 64000 ha in Hazara and Malakand Divisions suitable for tea plantation
(Pak-China Report, 1982).
In order to expand tea cultivation, National Tea Research Institue, Shinkiari, Mansehra surveyed about
4,000 ha area in Poonch, Bagh, Neelum and Jhelum valleys of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and identified the area
mostly suitable for tea cultivation. Presently, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Islamabad launched a project
“Commercialization of Tea Production through Public-Private Sector Partnership” for large scale tea plantation by
private sector on State land in AJ&K with the technical assistance of National Tea Research Institute. The agroclimatic condition of Distt. Poonch and Bagh of AJ&K were found to be suitable for tea cultivation because of low
pH (5.00 – 6.00) and sandy loam characteristics of soils. The total area of AJK is 1,330,220 ha with cultivated area
of about 170,787 ha with average farm size of about 1ha and elevation of 1200 to 21062 feet from south to north
respectively. The area is mostly hilly and mountainous with numerous valleys and stretches of plains. The area
receives rainfall ranging from 1200 mm to1500 mm per annum with and temperatures ranging from -1oC and 35oC.
(Information Deptt. AJ&K, 2010). It has been reported by Kathiravetpillia and Kulasegaram (1986) that tea can best
be grown on loam and sandy loam soils with pH of about 5.0. Mann (1936) found that tea could be grown on sites
with mean monthly minimum temperature of -5oC to 20oC and maximum of 20oC to 30oC in both for tropical and
semitropical regions. Richard (1966) reported that the tea production is affected by soil fertility, elevation and
weather conditions.
Tea may be propagated either by seed or by vegetative means. Seed propagation is a traditional method but
it shows a wide range of variation in habit and growth. As tea is a heterozygous plant, there is considerable genetic
variability in seedling population (Purseglove, 1984 and Anandappa, 1986). For the best result of tea seed should be
planted within few days after picking as it loses its viability rapidly with the passage of time (Eden 1976). Khan et
al. (1990) and Waheed et al. (1996) reported that in the tea growing belt of Pakistan seed can best be planted during
the month of November just after its picking. According to Wijeratne (2001) the weight of tea shoot is influenced by
weather conditions. Tocklai, Tea Research Association (1972) has suggested that the best time to sow seed is early
Sair Sarwar et al. Effects of sowing dates on the growth of tea seedlings …
180
November. Seeds may, however, be sown up to the end of December without any appreciable detrimental effect.
Seed sown later than this date usually give rise to inferior stunted plants. Sivapalan et al. (1986) reported that tea
seed should be sown within shortest possible period after its ripening. Jackson (2005) suggests that Camellia seeds
should be sowed immediately after harvest, their germinating capability declines if kept dry.
As tea plantation is a new initiative in AJ&K and it is necessary that proper time of seed sowing must be
determined for the successful raising of tea nursery under the new climatic conditions, and the present study was
conducted by addressing the said issue.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This research study was conducted to investigate the effect of different seed sowing dates on the growth of
tea seedlings at tea nursery Abbaspur, Poonch, Azad Jammu & Kashmir during 2009 – 2010. Healthy tea seed were
collected during second week of November, 2009 from 24 years old tea bushes of Qi-Men variety at NTRI
Shinkiari. After removal of fruit coat from harvested fruits, all cracked, infected or damaged seeds were discarded
and seeds of uniform size packed in gunny bags and transported to tea nursery Abbaspur. Seed were tested for
viability by the Sinker and Floater method (Barua, 1989). The experiment was laid in Randomized Complete Block
Design (RCBD) with five (5) treatments replicated three times. Thirty seed (30) per treatment of equal size were
used, where as it become total 150 seed used. The polythene tubes have a size of 6 x 18 inch were exercised and
filled with sandy loam soil having pH 5.5 collected near by the jungle of pine trees before sowing . Weeds were also
eradicate form the tubes and seed was sown at the depth of 2.5 cm on the following dates.
Treatments
Sowing Dates
T1
15th November, 2009
T2
30th November, 2009
T3
15th December, 2009
T4
30th December, 2009
T5
15th January, 2010
All the cultural practices were kept constant. Data regarding survival percentage, plant height, number of
branches, number of leaves, root length and fresh plant weight were recorded after 12 months as follows.
Percent Survival per Treatment
The total number of sapling per treatment which had survived after sowing of seed were counted and percent
survival per treatment was calculated by the formula as:
Total number of sapling survived
Total number of seed planted
x 100
Average Plant Height/Plant
The shoot length in centimeters was measured by measuring tap of 3 randomly selected sapling of each
treatment and average shoot length was calculated after every 30 days.
Average Number of Branches per Plant
Number of branches were found out by counting the number of branches per plamts in 3 randomly selected
sapling of each treatment and average number of branches per cutting was calculated.
Average Number of Leaves per Plant
Average number of leaves were found out by counting the number of leaves per plant in 3 randomly selected
sapling of each treatment and average number of leaves per cutting was calculated.
Average Root length per Cutting
Root length in centimeters was measured by ordinary measuring tap in 3 randomly selected sapling of each
treatment and average shoot length was calculated.
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Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.28, No.2, 2012
Fresh Plant Weight
Average number of leaves (3) were found out by per plant in 3 randomly selected sapling of each treatment and
weigh on a digital balance in grams and were calculated on mean basis .
Data collected were analyzed statistically by using the analysis of variance techniques with the help of
computer software MSTAT-C. Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test was used to determine the differences among
the means for different plant growth parameters at 5 percent level of probability.
RESUTLS AND DISCUSSION
Survival Percentage
It is evident from Table I that survival percentage was significantly different among the different sowing
dates. The highest survival percentage (95.55%) was recorded in seeds sown on 15th November, 2009 followed by
with 86.66% and 68.88% respectively, while the lowest survival % age (51.11%) was recorded in plants having
sowing date of 30th December, 2009. Survival percentage decreased gradually with delay of seed sowing time after
picking from tea bushes. The increased time period between seed picking and seed sowing might have affected the
seed viability, germination and growth of seedlings. Moreover, the early sowing might have provided suitable
germination environment as compared to late sowing. These results agree with the findings of Khan et al. (1990)
and Waheed et al. (1996) who reported that in the tea growing belt of Pakistan seed can best be planted during the
month of November just after its picking. Jackson (2005) has also suggested that Camellia seeds should be sown
immediately after harvest, their germinating capability declines if kept dry.
Table I
Effect of different seed sowing dates on the growth of tea seedlings under the agro-climatic condition of Abbaspur AJK.
Treatment
T1 15 Nov.
T2 30 Nov.
T3 15 Dec.
T4 30 Dec.
T5 15 Jan.
LSD (5%)
CV%
Survival %
age
95.6 a
86.7 ab
68.9 bc
51.1 c
60.0 c
21.86
16.03
Plant Height
(cm)
23.9 a
19.6 b
18.3 b
17.7 b
17.5 b
2.61
7.16
No. of Branches
per plant
1.5
1.9
1.5
1.2
1.1
NS
28.87
No. of Leaves
per plant
14.1 ab
15.9 a
12.6 b
11.8 b
11.7 b
2.70
10.83
Root Length
(cm)
21.78 a
20.79 a
15.29 b
20.27 a
17.09 ab
4.47
12.49
Fresh Plant
weight (g)
10.83
10.75
9.36
9.08
9.31
NS
9.62
Means followed by different letter(s) in same column are significantly different at 5 % level of probability.
Plant Height
Plant height of tea seedlings was also significantly different for various seed sowing dates Table I. Seed sown on
15th November, 2009 recorded the highest plant height of 23.94 cm followed by 30th Nov, 15th December, 30th December,
2009 and 15th, 2010 with the plant height of 19.60, 18.28, 17.68 and 17.47 cm respectively. Better plant growth results in
early sowing coincides with findings of Tocklai, Tea Research Association (1972) who has suggested that the best time to
sow seed is early November, extendable up to the end of December without any pronounced negative impact. However,
seed sown later than this date usually give rise to inferior stunted plants.
Number of Branches per Plant
Number of branches per plant ranged from 1.11 (January 15) to 1.91 (November 30) with non-significant
differences. It was found that the majority of treatments number of branches plant-1 increased with an increase plant
height. The early dates of seed sowing with good growth performance resulted in the production of more branches per
plant. The difference in number of branches per plant may also be due to the genetic variability. Purseglove (1984) and
Anandappa (1986) have reported that seed propagation is a traditional method but it shows a wide range of variation in
habit and growth. As tea is a heterozygous plant, there is considerable genetic variability in seedling population.
Number of Leaves per Plant
It is evident from Table I that the number of leaves per plant was significantly affected by sowing dates. The
highest number of leaves per plant was recorded for 30th November (15.92) and was at par with 15th November sowing
while the remaining sowing dates showed non-significant differences. Minimum number of leaves per plant (11.7) was
recorded in 15th January sowing date treatment. As the 30th November sowing date gave the highest number of branches
per plant, hence it produced the highest number of leaves per plant. Similarly the least number of leaves per plant in the
15th January sowing date may be due to the minimum number of branches and plant height.
182
Sair Sarwar et al. Effects of sowing dates on the growth of tea seedlings …
Root Length
The differences in root length for treatments November 15, November 30, December 30 and January 15 were at
par while these were significantly different from December 15 Table I. The mean values showed that the maximum root
length (21.78 cm) was recorded in November 15 followed by November 30, December 30, January 15 and December 15
with root length of 20.79, 20.27, 17.09 and 15.29 cm respectively. A good aerial growth of plant characterized by high
number of leaves and hence more carbohydrate synthesis in November 15 and November 30 might have developed a
strong and deep rooting system in tea seedlings due to favourabe sowing timings.
Fresh Plant Weight
The differences for fresh plant weight among the sowing dates were found non-significant. Maximum fresh plant
weight (10.83 g) was recorded in November 15 followed by November 30, December 15, January 15 and December 30
having the fresh plant weight of 10.45, 9.36, 9.31 and 9.00 g respectively. As the plants grown in November 15 and
November 30 gave the highest plant height, maximum number of branches, number of leaves and root length, therefore the
highest fresh plant weight may be due to the maximum biomass production in these treatments. Wijeratne (2001) reported
variation in weight of tea shoots as influe.
Weather Condition
Rainfall particular and other agro-met factor in general are a significant contribution to tea crop as well as other
agric. crop production. There is considerable spatial and temporal variability in rainfall & others data characteristic, which
affect tea crop production and soil fertility problem. For the adoption of soil & water conservation technique the
information of rain fall in particular & other in general is very important. The data presented in the Table II and III
describes all the agro-met characteristic in relation with the tea crop production with in the vicinity of Tea Research and
Advisory unit of AbassPur AJK Institute Shinkiari, A detail growth parameters of tea seed and its growth behaviors
affected on plants during all the study period were also discussed earlier for the efficient utilization of available water for
the sustained better survival percentage and its productivity.
Table II
Statistics of Agro–met at Abbaspur AJK during 2009.
Air Temperature
Month
Humidity %
Min
Max
Jan
6
17
67
February
5
16
78
March
6
21
64
April
9
24
66
May
16
32
55
June
20
31
56
July
20
34
65
August
21
31
73
September
18
29
64
October
12
28
63
November
5
23
60
December
3
21
58
Pan
Evaporation
3.221/0.146
2.769/0.125
7.674/0.274
7.719/0.321
14.250/0.527
13.419/0.536
12.489/0.480
7.289/0.291
90.022/0.300
10.515/0.339
4.900/0.168
2.803/0.096
Rainfall
(mm/Inches)
72.7
86.36
77.3
140.0
59
87.8
98.3
299.9
208.14
26.9
8.5
Weather
condition
Clear
Cloudy
Do
Clear
Do
Clear/sunny
Rainey
Rainey
Hailf Shine
Cloudy/rainey
Half Shine
Clear
Source: Agro Met station Tea Res. Adv Unit Abbasspur.
Table III
Month
Jan
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Static’s of Agro–met at Abbaspur AJK during 2010
Air Temperature
Humidity %
Pan Evaporation
Min
Max
5
20
52
5.150/0.177
4
14
70
3.550/0.208
10
24
53
8.607/0.358
12
32
57
9.674/0.358
17
31
65
12.868/0.476
18
33
68
14.366/0.495
20
32
77
9.253/0.487
20
31
79
7.452/0.354
18
31
68
8.855/0.368
12
26
57
10.649/0.343
5
28
51
7.042/0.234
-1
22
49
3.621/0.124
Source: Agro Met station Tea Res. Adv Unit Abbasspur.
Rainfall
(mm/Inches)
28.6
308.8
78.6
43.1
61.8
67.9
409.6
413.7
52.3
9.72
20.3
Weather condition
Clear
Cloudy/rainey
Clear
Do
Do
Cloudy
Rainy
Rainey
Partial cloudy/clear
Clear /dry
Dry/ clear
Cold /cloudy
Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.28, No.2, 2012
183
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of these findings it was concluded that tea seed sown soon after its picking (second week of
November) gave good results as compared to late sowing extended up to 15th January. Under the agro-climatic
conditions of Abbaspur, AJ&K tea seed sowing should be completed before 15th December for successful raising of
tea nursery.
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