Winter and autumn Tea garden management plays a crucial role in promoting the yield and efficiency of the following year's Spring Tea and reducing the occurrence of diseases and pests. To further improve the quality of winter and Autumn Tea garden management, recently, Zhang Kai, head of the Economic Crops Department of the city's agricultural technology station, led a team to provide guidance in Wanzhou District. Hu Linling, head of the Economic Crops Technical Extension Center of Wanzhou District, and Liu Xiang, among others, joined in the guidance.

The experts visited the Jiangnan Tea Factory in Changling Town and the tea base of Chongqing Shuelun Agricultural Co., Ltd. in Zhushan Township, Wanzhou District. Through listening to introductions, on-site inspections, and in-depth exchanges, they gained a detailed understanding of the implementation of various technical measures for deep plowing, fertilization, pruning, weeding, and garden closure during the winter and autumn season. They also provided three recommendations for winter and autumn tea garden management:

1. Thoroughly carry out light pruning of tea plants in winter and autumn.

Winter and autumn pruning of tea plants mainly includes light pruning and edge pruning. The principle is “preferably light over heavy” and “preferably early over late,” typically cutting off 3-5 centimeters of branches and leaves from the top layer of the canopy. For tea gardens that have closed rows, edge pruning should be performed to remove intersecting branches between rows, maintaining a distance of 20-30 centimeters between tea plant rows.

2. Thoroughly carry out deep plowing and fertilization in the tea garden.

Select suitable deep plowing machinery for mountainous tea gardens, with a depth of more than 15 centimeters. Apply base fertilizer following the principles of “early, deep, adequate, and comprehensive.” It is recommended to use organic fertilizer as a substitute. Apply 100-150 kilograms per mu of mature rapeseed cake fertilizer or 150-200 kilograms per mu of commercial livestock manure organic fertilizer, or 30 kilograms of tea plant-specific fertilizer (nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium = 18:8:12) or a similar ratio of formula fertilizer. Mix the organic and chemical fertilizers evenly and cover with soil after application.

3. Chemical garden closure.

Chemical garden closure in winter and autumn is an essential cost-effective technical measure for tea garden management. It can significantly reduce the number of diseases and pests in the following year, mitigate the severity of tea garden diseases and pests, and consequently decrease the use of chemical pesticides. It is recommended to use a tea garden spraying machine and select 45% sulfur lime crystal powder, 29% sulfur lime water solution, and 99% mineral oil. This should be done after the implementation of technical measures such as fertilization, weeding, and pruning in the tea garden during winter and autumn. The requirements for chemical garden closure spraying are uniformity and thoroughness.