A tea plantation is, according to age, grouped as either young tea (0-5 years old), Mature tea (5-40 years old) or old tea (more than 40 years old). At present, the tea plantation of Bangladesh constitutes about 4% young tea, 51% mature tea and 45% old tea. Under this perspective, the importance of young tea management to boost up the tea productivity can not be overlooked. Following operational sequences for young tea management are maintained from the very beginning of land preparation to the bringing up and maintenance of planted tea in the field
1. Bringing up Young Tea:
The methods that are employed to train young tea after planting until it is ready for first plucking, is termed as Bringing up into bearing. Three methods are generally used such as
(i) Decentering
(ii) Pruning and Pegging or
(iii) Ring-pegging.
(i)Decentering:
The initial pruning is first done when the plants are 12 months old after planting out in the field. The aim is to stop upward growth and encourage side-ways spread so that a good plucking surface is developed in due course. The pruning cut may be given at 15-23 cm. and when the developed branches have red striated bark, the stem at the pruning-height is about 6 mm. thick; a regular tipping is done according to the merit of the plant.
(ii)Pegging Method:
Pegging may be made either by hooked pegs or by combination of ring and peg method. In this system, the shoots which develop from a stump or after the first prune of a sleeved plant, are bent down and pegged so that they radiate outwards and upwards from the main stem.
(iii)Ring-Peg Method:
This method involves a ring of about 30 cm. diameter made of bamboo split or a panel size tree branch. A ring is placed over the shoots which are then gently spread to their side of the stem (without over-crossing them), and when the correct pegging-slope has been reached, three pegs are used to hold the ring down firmly. This method is very much used in bushes having lot of shoots.
2. Maintenance:
For a successful bringing up young tea into bearing, the method of decentering/pruning-plucking is found most suitable in Bangladesh. The first tipping should be done at a height of 50 cm. from the ground giving a minimum of 15 cm. allowance over the general height of cut-across. After the first tipping, plucking should be continued at the tipping height till the table becomes full by July-August.
