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. 2023 Feb 16;12(4):905.
doi: 10.3390/plants12040905.

Effects of Tea Plant Varieties with High- and Low-Nutrient Efficiency on Nutrients in Degraded Soil

Li Ruan  1 , Xin Li  2   3 , Yuhang Song  2 , Jianwu Li  1   2 , Kumuduni Niroshika Palansooriya  4
Affiliations

Effects of Tea Plant Varieties with High- and Low-Nutrient Efficiency on Nutrients in Degraded Soil

Li Ruan et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Tea plants are widely planted in tropical and subtropical regions globally, especially in southern China. The high leaching and strong soil acidity in these areas, in addition to human factors (e.g., tea picking and inappropriate fertilization methods) aggravate the lack of nutrients in tea garden soil. Therefore, improving degraded tea-growing soil is urgently required. Although the influence of biological factors (e.g., tea plant variety) on soil nutrients has been explored in the existing literature, there are few studies on the inhibition of soil nutrient degradation using different tea plant varieties. In this study, two tea plant varieties with different nutrient efficiencies (high-nutrient-efficiency variety: Longjing43 (LJ43); low-nutrient-efficiency variety: Liyou002 (LY002)) were studied. Under a one-side fertilization mode of two rows and two plants, the tea plant growth status, soil pH, and available nutrients in the soil profiles were analyzed, aiming to reveal the improvement of degraded soil using different tea varieties. The results showed that (1) differences in the phenotypic features of growth (such as dry tea yield, chlorophyll, leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) content) between the fertilization belts in LJ43 (LJ43-near and LJ43-far) were lower than those in LY002. (2) RDA results showed that the crucial soil nutrient factors which determine the features of tea plants included available P, slowly available K, and available K. Moreover, acidification was more serious near the fertilization belt. The pH of the soil near LJ43 was higher than that near LY002, indicating an improvement in soil acidification. (3) Soil nutrient heterogeneity between fertilization belts in LJ43 (LJ43-near and LJ43-far) was lower than in LY002. In conclusion, the long-term one-side fertilization mode of two rows and two plants usually causes spatial heterogeneities in soil nutrients and aggravates soil acidification. However, LJ43 can reduce the nutrient heterogeneities and soil acidification, which is probably due to the preferential development of secondary roots. These results are helpful in understanding the influence of tea plant variety on improving soil nutrients and provide a relevant scientific reference for breeding high-quality tea varieties, improving the state of degraded soil and maintaining soil health.

Keywords: soil degradation; soil nutrient; soil profile; tea plant varieties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The differences in growth parameters of two tea genotypes under one-side fertilization mode of two rows and two plants. (A): dry tea yield; (B): chlorophyll content in leaves; (C): N content in leaves; (D): P content in leaves; (E): K content in leaves; (F): proportion of secondary roots. Data shows the mean ± standard deviation (n = 3); there was a significant difference, p < 0.05, where the mean value is represented by different letters.
Figure 2
Figure 2
RDA ranking of soil nutrient and tea plant features.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Soil profile and variation in pH of soil related to LJ43 and LY002 with different treatments. Data shows the mean ± standard deviation (n = 3). (A): soil profile for each treatment; (B): variation in pH in each treatment.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Variation in soil available P content related to LJ43 and LY002 with different treatments. (A): LJ43; (B): LY002. Data show the mean ± standard deviation (n = 3). The fertilization zone is located at the right-most side (i.e., 50 cm distance to LJ43-near or LY002-near main roots). Regarding the tea plants near the fertilization belts (LJ43-near or LY002-near), the fertilization belt was 50 cm distance from main roots of the tea plants; regarding the tea plants far from the fertilization belts (LJ43-far or LY002-far), the fertilization belt was 100 cm distance from the main roots of the tea plants.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Variation in soil slowly available K content related to LJ43 and LY002 with different treatments. (A): LJ43; (B): LY002. Data shows the mean ± standard deviation (n = 3).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Variation in soil available K content related to LJ43 and LY002 with different treatments. (A): LJ43; (B): LY002. Data shows the mean ± standard deviation (n = 3).
Figure 7
Figure 7
The flowchart of the whole experiment (including when applied treatments, irrigation, fertilization, when sampling of soil or plants and how, etc.) [25,41].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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