Molecular Plant Breeding 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 221-230 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 221 Research Report Open Access Synergistic Effects of Shading and Irrigation Frequency on Summer Bud Growth and Quality in Tea Plants Yufen Wang, Jianli Lu, Jiayao Zhou Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: jiayao.zhou@cuixi.org Molecular Plant Breeding, 2025, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/mpb.2025.16.0022 Received: 15 Jun., 2025 Accepted: 17 Jul., 2025 Published: 27 Jul., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Wang et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the creative commons attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Wang Y.F., Lu J.L., and Zhou J.Y., 2025, Synergistic effects of shading and irrigation frequency on summer bud growth and quality in tea plants, Molecular Plant Breeding, 16(4): 221-230 (doi: 10.5376/mpb.2025.16.0022) Abstract This study mainly discusses how shading and irrigation frequency jointly affect the growth of tea plant buds and the quality of tea in summer. It summarizes the impact of shading on important substances in tea plants that affect tea quality, such as chlorophyll, amino acids, polyphenols, and aroma precursors. It also discusses the effects brought about by the combination of different shading materials and different irrigation cycles. Combined with the case of field experiments in Zhejiang tea gardens, it was examined whether these treatments were helpful for improving tea yield, quality and sustainable cultivation. This study aims to provide some ideas and methods for the management of tea plants in summer, hoping to help tea farmers grow better tea and also improve the efficiency of planting. Keywords Irrigation frequency; Tea buds; Tea quality; Shading; Secondary metabolites 1 Introduction Summer is an important period when tea plants grow relatively fast and sprout new buds. Whether the summer buds grow well or not will directly affect the yield and quality of the tea. Well-grown summer buds contain more beneficial components such as amino acids and chlorophyll, and can also make the taste of tea better and the color more beautiful (Zhang et al., 2022; Hu et al., 2024). Therefore, to make tea sell well, improving the quality of summer buds is extremely crucial. However, the high temperatures, intense sunlight and lack of water in summer often affect the normal growth of tea plants. Too strong sunlight or too high temperature will increase the polyphenols in tea, making the tea bitter and less fresh and refreshing to drink (Elango et al., 2023). If there is a lack of water, tea buds cannot grow, the metabolism of tea plants will also be affected, and both yield and quality will decline (Ge et al., 2024). Current research shows that providing appropriate shade for tea plants is a good way to regulate light and temperature. This can not only improve the growth environment, but also enhance the quality of tea (Chen et al., 2022). This study aims to explore how the combination of shading and watering frequency affects the bud growth and tea quality of tea plants in summer. Based on relevant field experiment cases and using some multi-omics methods, it will analyze the regulatory effects of different shading intensities and irrigation arrangements on the physiology, metabolism and quality of tea plants. This research aims to provide some scientific basis and practical suggestions for the management of tea gardens in summer, ensuring that there are both abundant and high-quality tea leaves. 2 Physiology of Summer Bud Development in Tea Plants 2.1 Developmental stages of summer buds The process of tea plants sprouting in summer goes through several stages, including dormancy, activation, germination and growth. The size and shape of buds vary among different varieties and natural populations. These differences are influenced by both genes and the environment (Zhang et al., 2025b). The process by which buds go from dormancy to activation is extremely crucial, as it is related to the yield and quality of tea. This process involves many molecular-level regulations, such as transcription factors, hormone signals, and epigenetic mechanisms (Liu et al., 2019; Hao et al., 2024). Before the bud begins to germinate, the accumulation of sugar and a certain degree of oxidative stress will help the bud transition from the “resting” state to the “active” state (Tang et al., 2023).
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