Tea is a major crop in Yunnan…its total production ranks highest
amongst all provinces of China. Despite this prominence,
Yunnan’s numerous tea-growing counties produce at relatively
low yield levels—the majority with yields below 4.5 t/ha and some producing
under 2.2 t/ha. A series of field studies at Menghai, Eshan, and
Simao addressed this production gap and evaluated the effects of soil
test-based fertilizer applications on tea yield and quality.
According to soil testing results, nitrogen (N),
phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and magnesium
(Mg) were deficient at all three locations. Menghai
and Eshan showed sulfur (S) deficiencies, and
Simao was deficient in manganese (Mn). Specific
ranges of fertilizer application rates were selected
for each site (Table 1) and combined into a set of
eight distinct treatments (Table 2). Each site used
a plant density (Yunkang 10 tea variety) of 84,000
shoots/ha.