Tea pruning is the process of removing plant parts like leaves, branches, roots or buds. Pruning of tea plants improves the overall health of plants. The process also helps prevent insects and decay causing organisms to enter the plant, remove unwanted branches, shape and control the growth to provide sufficient sunlight and air to all new leaves resulting in the overall yield and quality of the next crop.
Pruning helps the plants channelize energy for the production of new leaves in large numbers, which is the most important commercial part of a tea plant. More importantly, it helps in maintaining the height of plants to help in easy harvest of its leaves.
In north east India, December and January are the months when the otherwise green estates turn brown.
Pruned plants in the foreground and in the background are the ones waiting pruning.
Post 5 – 10/Dec/2020.