Above and Belowground Biomass Allocation Pattern of Young Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) Plants Under Rainfed Conditions

Background and Objective: Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is the economically important beverage intensively managed as a plantation crop. The study aims to quantify the biomass allocation patterns of young tea plants and how this is influenced by the growth environment, age, genotypes (BSS-1 and UPASI-9) and soil types (Oxisols and Ultisols). Materials and Methods: The fractions of tea plant mass represented by foliage, twigs, stem, woody and feeder (fine) roots were measured with uprooted tea plants by wet excavation method between 2010 and 2015. Age-response curves of allocation were constructed by statistical analysis from panoply of multisource experimental data and the difference between age, genotype and soil was tested by one-way (ANOVA) with a Tukeys post hoc test.