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Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review

Received: 4 October 2023    Accepted: 8 November 2023    Published: 6 December 2023
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Abstract

Tea is one of the most popular cash crop and lowest cost beverages in the world, and consumed more than three billion cups daily worldwide. It is a new crop to Ethiopia which introduced in the early 19th century. The main objectives of government commencement to a tea industry were to be self-sufficient in domestic consumption and save the foreign exchange spent for importing, to supply for export market by increasing the production and quality through time and, to create employment opportunity particularly for youth and women who involved in the sector. Currently, fourteen tea clones are available in the country of which ten clones are extensively cultivated while the others are under maintenance for genetic improvement purposes. As future focus area of tea research at Jimma Agricultural Research Center, the improvement of tea yield, cup quality, and resistance to pests are among the prominent breeding programs. This could be achieved through the use of conventional and molecular techniques which are the best methods of obtaining genetic variation, and new varieties. From the research efforts made so far, the characterization of thirteen tea clones for desirable morphological traits and important biochemical parameters have been undertaken under contrasting environments, and potential tea clones that could be utilized in various breeding objectives have been determined. The future prospects of tea breeding and genetics include, genetic enhancement via developing open pollinated progeny and purposive crossing manually, and application of molecular marker assisted technique to effectively conduct early-stage appraisal. Generally, integrated classical with molecular breeding is highly recommended in the future tea research in order to cope up the current technology demand and generate climate smart varieties.

Published in American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14
Page(s) 97-105
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Achievements, Camellia sinensis, Clone, Ethiopia, Research, Utilization

References
[1] American Specialty Tea Alliance. 2018. List of tea producing countries in the world. http://specialtyteaalliance.org/world-of-tea/tea-producing-countries (accessed August 16, 2018).
[2] Paula Bramel and Liang Chen, 2019. A Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Tea Genetic Resources Technical Report; Pp 1-57.
[3] https://www.teaandcoffee.net/feature/29834/africas-contribution-to-global-tea-production-escalates/, 2020.
[4] EIAR, 2017. Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, National Tea Commodity Research Strategy (2016–2030), January 2017.
[5] Sharma, V. K., A. Bhattacharya, A. Kumar, and H. K. Sharma, 2007. Health benefits of tea consumption. Trop. J. Pharm. Res., 6: 785-792.
[6] Coultas W. H. W, 1968. A Report on the Investigation and Possibility of Establishing A Tea Industry in Ethiopia; pp 1-96.
[7] Ministry of Coffee and Tea Development (MCTD), 2001. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[8] Mohammedsani Zakir, 2019. Morphological and Biochemical Characterization of Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) Clones in Southwestern Ethiopia. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Jimma University: 43-46 pp.
[9] Tigist Bidira, Tamiru Shimales, Melaku Adissu, Tadesse Eshetu, 2021. Weed Species Dominance and Abundance in Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Plantation of Southwest Ethiopia. American Journal of Plant Biology. 6 (4): 89-94.
[10] Sisay Kidanu, Wakjira Getachew, Tamiru Shimelis, Mohammedsani Zakir, 2020. Survey of Tea (Camellia Sinensis L.) Insect Pests in Southwest Ethiopia. ”International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences (IJRSAS) 6(10): 23-29.
[11] Nagassa Dechassa, Gabissa Gidissa, Legese Hagos, Mohammedsani Zakir, Lemi Beksisa, Melaku Adisu, 2020. Survey of Tea (Camellia sinensis) Diseases in Southwestern Ethiopia; American Journal of BioScience; 8(6): 139-149.
[12] Otieno W., 1997. Epidemiology and management of hypoxylon wood rot of tea. Tea. 18: 175-83.
[13] Beza Erko Erge, Melaku Addisu Bifa, Megdelawit Temesgen, Efrem Asfaw, Rehima Musema, 2021. Assessment of Constraints and Opportunities of Tea Out-Growers in SouthWest Ethiopia International Journal of Agricultural Economics; 6(4): 151-161.
[14] Mohammedsani Zakir, 2017. Review on Tea (Camellia sinensis) Research Achievements, Challenges and Future Prospective Including Ethiopian Status; International Journal of Forestry and Horticulture (IJFH): 3(4): 27-39.
[15] MCCTS, 2014. Mitigating Climate Change in Tea Sector, International Trade Centre 2014.
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  • APA Style

    Zakir, M., Addisu, M., Alemayehu, D., Merga, D., Beksisa, L. (2023). Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review. American Journal of Plant Biology, 8(4), 97-105. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14

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    ACS Style

    Zakir, M.; Addisu, M.; Alemayehu, D.; Merga, D.; Beksisa, L. Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review. Am. J. Plant Biol. 2023, 8(4), 97-105. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14

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    AMA Style

    Zakir M, Addisu M, Alemayehu D, Merga D, Beksisa L. Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review. Am J Plant Biol. 2023;8(4):97-105. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14,
      author = {Mohammedsani Zakir and Melaku Addisu and Desalegn Alemayehu and Dawit Merga and Lemi Beksisa},
      title = {Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review},
      journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {97-105},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20230804.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20230804.14},
      abstract = {Tea is one of the most popular cash crop and lowest cost beverages in the world, and consumed more than three billion cups daily worldwide. It is a new crop to Ethiopia which introduced in the early 19th century. The main objectives of government commencement to a tea industry were to be self-sufficient in domestic consumption and save the foreign exchange spent for importing, to supply for export market by increasing the production and quality through time and, to create employment opportunity particularly for youth and women who involved in the sector. Currently, fourteen tea clones are available in the country of which ten clones are extensively cultivated while the others are under maintenance for genetic improvement purposes. As future focus area of tea research at Jimma Agricultural Research Center, the improvement of tea yield, cup quality, and resistance to pests are among the prominent breeding programs. This could be achieved through the use of conventional and molecular techniques which are the best methods of obtaining genetic variation, and new varieties. From the research efforts made so far, the characterization of thirteen tea clones for desirable morphological traits and important biochemical parameters have been undertaken under contrasting environments, and potential tea clones that could be utilized in various breeding objectives have been determined. The future prospects of tea breeding and genetics include, genetic enhancement via developing open pollinated progeny and purposive crossing manually, and application of molecular marker assisted technique to effectively conduct early-stage appraisal. Generally, integrated classical with molecular breeding is highly recommended in the future tea research in order to cope up the current technology demand and generate climate smart varieties.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    T1  - Status of Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] Industry; Research Attainments, and Future Scenarios in Ethiopia: A Review
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Author Information
  • Department of Coffee and Tea Breeding and Genetics, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Coffee and Tea Breeding and Genetics, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Coffee and Tea Breeding and Genetics, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Coffee and Tea Breeding and Genetics, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Coffee and Tea Breeding and Genetics, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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