Affected by the periphery of a typhoon, many areas in Guizhou have recently experienced rainfall or artificial precipitation, gradually alleviating the drought in Tea gardens.

Due to the persistent high temperatures and drought earlier, young and mature tea gardens were impacted. To mitigate the post-disaster recovery of tea gardens and ensure Autumn Tea production, the Tea Tree Cultivation Innovation Team of the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Tea Research Institute has proposed key technical points for drought resistance and disaster mitigation in tea gardens.

Technical Measures for Post-Disaster Recovery of Tea Gardens

Based on the local disaster situation, after the drought has largely been relieved, the following recovery measures can be taken in tea gardens:

01

Recovery Measures for Mature Tea Gardens Affected by Drought

1. Fertilization: After the drought is over, timely cultivation and fertilization should be carried out to supplement nutrients. Before pruning, increase fertilizer application, cultivate to a depth of about 10 cm to improve soil water retention capacity. Apply 40-60 kg/acre of specialized tea fertilizer and compound fertilizer per acre, increasing potassium fertilizer application to reduce flowering and seed setting in tea plants during autumn and winter. This will help the affected tea plants recover quickly, promote the emergence of new shoots, and form a neat canopy. The method of fertilization is to open trenches vertically along the edge of the tree canopy for deep application, and it is recommended to cover the inter-row spaces in the tea garden with straw or plant green manure.

2. Pruning: On cloudy rainy days, depending on the degree of branch drying, light pruning or deep pruning, heavy pruning can be carried out to renovate the tree canopy:

For lightly affected tea gardens where the tender branches on the surface of the tree canopy are scorched and the mature leaves turn red, the light pruning method can be used, cutting off the damaged parts on the surface of the tree canopy to a depth of about 5 cm;

For heavily affected tea gardens where the upper part of the branches and leaves are withered and fallen off, deep pruning or heavy pruning measures should be taken, cutting off all the withered branches and fallen leaves of the tea plant to a depth of about 20 cm, stimulating the emergence and growth of new shoots and lateral branches.

02

Rescue Measures for Young Tea Gardens

In October-November, remove the original dead young seedlings due to drought and replant them with seedlings of the same variety to ensure that there are no gaps or breaks in the tea rows. Water them promptly to improve the survival rate of the replanted seedlings. It is recommended to plant shade trees such as Osmanthus, cherry blossoms, maple, ginkgo, and other deep-rooted broad-leaved tree species between the rows in the tea garden, at a density of 10-20 per acre, implementing intercropping of tea and trees to improve the ecological environment and microclimate of the tea garden. And do well in drought and frost prevention work to protect the seedlings.

Preventing Secondary Disasters

The meteorological department reminds that while rainfall can alleviate the current drought within the province, the poor soil moisture content after prolonged drought means that dry grass and dry soil cannot absorb water as quickly as moist soil. Sudden rainfall after a long drought may lead to flash floods, landslides, mudslides, and other secondary disasters due to the sudden shift from drought to flood. The public needs to closely monitor changes in weather and prepare in advance to deal with these potential disasters.