Influence of Nitrogenous Fertilizer Rates, Plucking Intervals and Geographical Location of Production on Selected Micronutrient Levels of the Black Tea

Abstract

Micronutrients are important to both the human life and the tea plant. Camellia sinensis is widely grown in East Africa and its beverages are claimed to be the most widely consumed fluids after water. The changes in the levels of micronutrients with varied rates of nitrogenous fertilizer and plucking intervals three different locations were studied. All the studied micronutrients significantly (p≤0.05) varied with location of production. Mn and Se levels did not significantly (p≤0.05) change with an increase in nitrogenous fertilizer rates. Fe and Zn significantly (p≤0.05) increased with an increase in nitrogen fertilizer rates while Cu significantly (p≤0.05). The micronutrient content of the black teas did not significantly (p≤0.05) change with varied plucking intervals. There is need to strike a balance in the application of nitrogenous fertilizer rates in different locations in order to harmonize all the micronutrients. This research recommends 150 kg/ha/year of nitrogenous fertilizer rate that will strike a balance on all the studied micronutrients. Keywords Black tea; Camellia sinensis; Nitrogenous fertilizer; Plucking interval; Micronutrients