For Tea Trees of different ages, the methods of mechanical Pruning vary. For young tea trees, the primary focus is on shaping pruning; for mature tea trees, light and deep pruning are predominant; and for old tea trees, rejuvenation pruning and stump Cutting are mainly conducted. Generally, pruning around the time of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) yields good results. However, from an economic perspective, young tea trees should be pruned at the beginning of Lichun (Start of Spring), while other tea trees should be pruned after tea picking.
Light Pruning
Light pruning effectively promotes the sprouting and growth of tea buds. It also increases the density of productive branches, widens the tree canopy, and creates a favorable picking surface. For mature tea trees, light pruning should be conducted every two years, timed when the upper part of the tea tree stops growing. In regions prone to Frost damage, pruning can be done half a month to one month before the spring sprouting of tea buds. For famous tea gardens, light pruning can be conducted after spring tea picking. During light pruning, hedging shears or pruning machines are primarily used to trim off about 4 cm of foliage and branches from the surface of the tea tree crown.
Deep Pruning
Due to years of picking and pruning, mature tea trees have many fine branches on their crown picking surfaces, which affect the growth and development of new shoots and buds. At this point, deep pruning techniques are utilized to remove weak branches, promoting the renewal of the crown picking surface and the growth of new shoots along the central axis of the tea tree, thereby enhancing its developmental capacity. This increases the number of new buds and boosts the yield per individual tea tree, leading to greater economic benefits. During deep pruning, pruning machines are primarily used to cut branches approximately 12 cm below the crown surface.
Rejuvenation Pruning
Rejuvenation pruning is mainly applied to semi-aged and unaged tea trees. These trees have strong-growing main branches but weak developmental capacity in the tender shoots of the growing branches, resulting in weak leaves. Rejuvenation pruning techniques are then employed, using machinery to cut the tea trees approximately 30 cm above ground level; if the tea tree growth is weak, it can be cut halfway. However, attention must be paid to fertilization management after rejuvenation pruning to ensure the healthy growth of the tea trees.
Stump Cutting
The primary purpose of stump cutting is to thoroughly prune severely aged tea trees, transforming the original crown to sprout new branches from the rootstock, forming a new canopy. Attention should be paid to fertilization management and shaping pruning to cultivate a good tea canopy. Stump cutting is mainly conducted at the end of spring tea picking, where the tea tree is cut approximately 5 cm above ground level.