Though Liqiu (the beginning of autumn) has arrived, Hangzhou's weather remains sweltering in the heat. Just like the weather, Zhou Guoqiang has been feeling somewhat anxious lately. He worries about his Tea plants and runs up the mountain every morning and evening to water his tea garden, despite being nearly 70 years old.

“If it were a flat tea garden, it would be simpler as we could use automatic sprinklers, but the gardens on the mountain largely rely on manual watering,” says Zhou Guoqiang, who has been growing tea for 55 years in Wanjia Village. This year's high temperatures are among the worst he has experienced in decades.

Currently, the tea plants covering the hills of Wanjia are blanketed with black shade nets. “Once the leaves turn red or yellow, it's too late, so we need to take preventive measures against heat and drought in advance,” explains Zhou Guoqiang. Since Wanjia mainly grows the Longjing 43 variety, which has shallow roots and is less tolerant of drought compared to other varieties, it requires more frequent watering.

Zhao Yun, Director of the Tea Research Institute at the Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, notes that under persistent high temperatures and blazing sun, tea plants are highly susceptible to drought and heat stress. If emergency measures are not taken promptly, actual damage can occur both externally and internally, affecting future tea production.

The primary emergency measures include irrigation, mulching with straw in the fields, and covering with shade nets.

For tea gardens with sufficient water sources and conditions for irrigation, methods such as drip irrigation, spray irrigation, flow irrigation, and watering should be employed to combat drought by replenishing water and lowering temperatures. “Irrigation should be carried out before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m., avoiding direct sunlight,” advises Zhao Yun.

Mulching with straw in the fields generally involves laying down rice straw, wheat stalks, dead grass, or other crop straws between rows of tea plants to reduce water evaporation. The recommended thickness of the mulch is around 10 cm.

There are specific guidelines for covering with shade nets, such as installing them at a height of 1.8 meters above the ground to facilitate garden management.

Experts from the Hangzhou Agricultural Technology Extension Center also warn that for tea gardens already suffering from drought, no pesticides should be sprayed and no deep plowing should be done while the current high temperatures and drought persist, as these actions could exacerbate the drought and heat stress. After adequate rainfall alleviates the drought, timely hoeing and fertilization should be conducted to replenish nutrients, prune dried branches and leaves, monitor and control pests like the tea geometrid moth, and promote recovery of the trees in the fall.