Currently, we are in the peak production period for summer and Autumn Tea in our city. To reduce production costs and improve the yield and quality of summer and autumn Tea, the Chongqing Agricultural Extension General Station has researched and formulated key points for mechanized tea picking technology. The specifics are as follows:

01

Select Suitable Clonal Tea Varieties for Mechanized Harvesting

The commonly used tea picking machines employ a reciprocating cutting method and do not differentiate between buds and leaves, making them unsuitable for all tea varieties. Clonal tea varieties, however, tend to grow more uniformly, which can mitigate some of the drawbacks of the “one-size-fits-all” approach of mechanical harvesting. Therefore, mechanized harvesting should be carried out in tea gardens with high purity of tea variety, uniform bud emergence, high bud density, strong tender retention, longer internodes, strong regenerative capacity, and relatively upright buds and leaves.

02

Select Suitable Tea Garden Sites

Flat and sloping lands (equal elevation strip planting) with a slope less than 15° and deep soil layers, as well as terraced tea gardens on slopes between 15° and 25° of equal elevation, are suitable for mechanized harvesting. Old tea gardens located on fertile flat or gentle sloping land (slope less than 15°) with strong growth potential can be converted into mechanized harvesting tea gardens through soil improvement and canopy renovation measures. Scattered and clump-planted tea gardens are not suitable for mechanized harvesting.

03

Select Suitable Harvesting Equipment

Hilly tea gardens have narrow rows and significant undulations. To enhance the flexibility of mechanized harvesting operations, high-quality tea should ideally be harvested using single-person handheld tea pickers. Two-person shoulder-lift tea pickers can be used in gently sloping and terraced tea gardens where the focus is on bulk tea and export tea.

04

Soil Fertilization Management for Mechanically Harvested Tea Gardens

Increased nitrogen fertilizer application can improve the integrity rate and proportion of tender buds in mechanically harvested fresh leaves, increase the number of harvests, and improve the yield and quality of fresh leaves. It is recommended that mechanized tea gardens be fertilized four times a year, with an application rate of 4 kg to 5 kg of pure nitrogen per 100 kg of fresh leaves produced. This should be applied in October, January, May, and July to August, accounting for 40%, 20%, 20%, and 20% of the annual total, respectively.

05

Canopy Management for Mechanically Harvested Tea Gardens

The canopy height should be controlled at 80 cm to 90 cm, with a canopy width of 85% to 90% and a flat or arched canopy surface. Older tea gardens can be renovated using deep pruning, heavy pruning, and coppicing techniques. Canopy management should follow the shaping pruning practices for young tea gardens. After each mechanical harvest, perform one canopy leveling cut to facilitate the next mechanized harvest.

06

Select Suitable Harvesting Standards

Different standards for fresh leaf picking should be followed for different tea products. For high-quality green and black teas, pick one bud with one or two leaves when 60% of the standard shoots have emerged and the average height of the buds and leaves is approximately 4 cm. For bulk green and black teas, pick one bud with two or three leaves and their opposite leaves when 80% of the standard shoots have emerged. Generally, start by picking according to the standards for high-quality teas and then complete the harvest using the bulk tea picking method, harvesting a total of 3 to 5 batches throughout the year.