Influence of fertilizers on the productivity of tea plants in the conditions of the north-west Caucasus

Abstract

Abstract The research is aimed at finding effective ways to regulate the functional state of tea plants under stress, increase in yield and its stability, preserving and improving the quality. Foliar spraying of the tea stimulated the active formation of Proline (135.1-179.2 mg/g, in the control - 122.6 mg/g) and ascorbic acid (177.8-226.5 mg/g, in the control - 131.4 mg/g) in the leaves, which indicates the inclusion of processes associated with the mechanism of nonspecific protection against stress. The optimal state of tea plants treated with fertilizers explains the more developed specific surface density of the leaf (1.44 mg/cm2, in the control -1.24 mg/cm). The developed specific surface density of the leaf was ensuring the active operation of the leaf apparatus on the experimental variants, which is expressed in a higher productivity of the leaves (1.27-1.31 g/dm2), compared to the control plants. The highest yield (about 23.05 centner per ha) was observed in the variant with foliar treatments with rokogumin, in the variant with sodium humate (31.47 centner per ha), the yield exceeded the control (26.88 centner per ha) only in 2020, which may be due to the accumulative effect.