The Tea Research Association (TRA) of Tocklai in Jorhat district of Assam has come up with two new tea clones that could be used for effective production of tea even in situations of drought.
The two clones are known as TV 34 and TV 35 respectively, according to reports.
TV 34, which is an Assam-China hybrid with uniform growth habit and light green shoot is found to be more tolerant to droughts and is good for manufacturing of CTC tea.
The other clone that is TV 35, which is a China hybrid with a semi-erect growth habit is good for manufacturing of both CTC and orthodox tea.
The new tea clones can produce 3000 kg per hectares whereas the average per hectares productivity at present is around 2100 kg per hectares.
Joydeep Phukan, secretary of TRA said that the new clones are more tolerant to droughts than the other types of clones that have been used by the tea industry till now.
Due to decline in rainfall, tea production is greatly affected. According to scientists, climate change is one of the main reasons for decline in rainfall.
Phukan said that the new clones will soon be available for tea planters in Northeast.
A clone is a vegetatively propagated plant from the stem. The Tocklai tea research institute which released the first clone in 1949 has till now released 33 vegetative clones and 153 garden series.