Tea Tree cuttings are the primary means of propagating clonal tea seedlings. First, select a good mother garden of tea tree cultivars. During spring planting (February to March) or autumn planting (September to October), prune red-brown, semi-lignified, healthy, pest and disease-free branches with full axillary buds from the mother garden. Cut the branches into short cuttings 3 to 4 centimeters long, each with one Leaf and a full axillary Bud. Ensure that the cut is smooth and diagonal.
(1) Method for Cutting Insertion
Thoroughly moisten the Seedbed before cutting insertion. Once the surface soil is no longer sticky, draw lines according to the length of the tea leaves. Generally, the row spacing for the cuttings should be 7 to 8 centimeters, and the plant spacing should be 2 to 3 centimeters, ensuring that the leaves do not overlap. Hold the lower part of the leaf of the cutting with your thumb, index, and middle fingers, then insert the cutting straight or slightly diagonally into the soil. The depth should be such that only the petiole is exposed. While inserting, lightly press the soil around the cutting to ensure it is firmly in contact with the soil, which aids root development. Typically, 200,000 to 250,000 cuttings can be inserted per acre. When performing cuttings, try to cut and insert them on the same day to maintain their freshness. Additionally, exogenous hormone treatments can promote root development and improve the survival rate of cuttings.
Specific practices: ① When inserting, quickly dip the base of the cutting into a small amount of high-concentration rooting powder, and insert it while still wet; ② Soak the prepared cuttings in a solution of 50 mg/L naphthylacetic acid for about 30 seconds, then proceed with the insertion.
(2) Precautions
① Soil Selection. Sandy loam is optimal due to its good permeability and large air capacity, which facilitates the formation of callus tissue and root growth.
② After topping and Pruning the mother trees, you can cut the cuttings after about 12 days. A qualified cutting should be over 25 centimeters long, with a stem thickness of 3 to 5 centimeters, two-thirds semi-lignified, and the cutting should be brown or yellow-green. The cuttings must be promptly trimmed into cuttings after being cut. It is not advisable to use cuttings from very old tea trees.