Tea Rhizospheres and Their Functional Role in Tea Gardens

Abstract

Darjeeling tea (Camellia sinensis) is famous worldwide for its excellent aroma and taste, and out of that, the best quality tea is produced in the Kurseong hill area. A year-long analysis of soil samples collected from different sites was done by applying the plate-count method in terms of colony-forming units for determining the presence of microbial population within soils cultivating tea on a monthly basis. Coordination in specific microbes might also be responsible for the impact. Fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes – these three groups of microbes were tested during the process. Results showed that the neo tea plant, rhizosphere and rhizosphere of several other perpetual plants of various ages, flourishing in age-old tea gardens, seemed to expedite the growth of microbes. At present, the tea rhizosphere has been tested thoroughly, specifically in relation to plant-microbe response. Counter to the common outcomes, rhizosphere and soil ratios were found to be regularly less than 1 in samples collected from age-old tea gardens, showing an overall -ve rhizosphere impact. The finding of the 'negative rhizosphere effect' in old tea bushes is a significant and novel nature of the tea rhizosphere. The -ve impact on the rhizosphere of aged tea bushes does not seem to be a regular phenomenon that is related to the aging of plants generally but might be distinctive particular to tea plants. Other important and associated features include colonization of tea, rhizosphere, soil pH, etc. Supremacy of a certain population of microbes, an affinity towards a section of general opponents constitutes a good instance of reciprocated selection in the natural environment. These discoveries have unlocked newer paths for extended research in the field of 'rhizosphere microbiology'. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the transforming features coupled with the microbial activity and diversity in the tea rhizosphere and significant implications in the tea industry.