By Umar Nsubuga
Kennedy Rwabona, a tea farmer in Kabaare village, Rutare parish in Rukiga district says tea grows well in places of high altitude that have a chilly climate all year round. That is why there are many tea farmers in areas such as Kabale and Fortportal.
Areas where tea is grown in Mityana and Mukono are hilly. Tea can also be grown in greenhouses provided the soils are a little acidic.
Pruning
According to Rwabona, tea pruning is done in two main ways; pruning of the immature or mature plant. Pruning is a vital process that halts vertical growth, enabling the plant to achieve extended growth horizontally.
This eases the harvesting of tea leaves and allows easier budding. It also allows branching in a superior pattern, which will enable the plant to produce more leaves plus buds.
Pruning also helps to eliminate the unproductive wood from the tea plant.
Harvesting
To generate good quality tea, Rwabona says you should pluck only the second and the third leaves together with their bud. It is also wise to prune the mature leaves prior to harvesting.
The above-mentioned plucking method is referred to as fine plucking. With this technique, chances are high that the tea produced will be of excellent quality.
Plucking of more than two leaves together with the bud is called coarse plucking and the tea quality produced from this technique is very low. For that reason, choose the harvesting technique based on the quality and the quantity of tea you want to produce.
The fine plucking technique certainly produces better quality tea, whereas coarse plucking produces more quantities of tea. The processing method will then determine whether the final product is green or black tea.
