2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Most Korean tea trees (Camellia sinensis L.) originated in China, and have small, thick leaves. Yabugida, the representative species of Japan, has picked up a natural cross from indigenous breeding sites, and is cultivated in about 80% (40,000 ha) of the total area of the production. This study was carried out to select superior tea species adaptable to the Korean climate by collecting various genetic sources and investigating their genetic and physiological characteristics. For cold- and disease-tolerant tea species with high yield, botanical seeds were collected, sowed, and growth conditions were evaluated for 6 years. Tested Chamnok species for physiological characters was applied for protection of new varieties of plants on 2001. The tree's form of Chamnok was regarded as an upright shape, strong resistant to cold and diseases and appropriate for organic cultivation. Compared to Yabugida, Chamnok showed earlier germinal stage (6 days early), plenty of shoot number (53/0.04 m²). Chamnok showed 10.1% higher production yield (337kg/10a) and higher amounts of tannin and total amino acid, but lower caffeine content than Yabugida. In this study, we developed Korea representative tea species Chamnok with cold and disease tolerance and high yield.

※ This study was financially supported by Rural Development Administration (Project No. PJ01087501)