2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world. US market demands for tea increased from $1.8 billion in 1990 to over $12 billion in 2018, which were met almost exclusively by importation. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in domestic tea production. The subtropical climate in Mississippi is suitable for growing tea. The objective of this study was to evaluate plant growth performance and identify suitable varieties to be grown in MS. Ten tea varieties were evaluated in this study: BL1, BL2, Black Sea, Christina’s Choice, Dave’s Fave, Large leaf, Small leaf, Sochi, var. assamica, and var. quinquibracteata. Plant growth index (PGI), leaf size, cold tolerance, and photosynthesis data were collected. For two-consecutive years, BL2 had the highest PGI. Black Sea and Large leaf had lower PGI than BL2 but higher than other varieties. Different tea varieties showed various cold tolerance when the winter temperature reached -14°C in Jan. 2018. Two varieties var. quinquibracteata and Christina’s Choice were most severely damaged. Small leaf, BL2 and Sochi had very minor cold damage. The variety Large leaf had similar leaf size in terms of average single leaf area (29.4cm²) as Dave’s Fave (26.1cm²), but significantly larger leaf size than the other eight varieties, with BL1 having the smallest leaves (13.1cm²). There was no significant difference in plant photosynthetic activities.