Tea Production Response to Seasonal Rainfall Variability: Evidence from Rwanda

Tea is a very important cash crop in Rwanda, as it provides crucial income and employment for farmers in poor rural areas. From 2017 to 2020, this study was intended to determine the impact of seasonal rainfall on tea output in Rwanda while still considering temperature, plot size (land), and fertiliser for tea plantations in three of Rwanda’s western, southern, and northern provinces, western province with “Gisovu” and “Nyabihu”, southern with “Kitabi”, and northern with “Mulindi” tea company. The study tested the level of statistical significance of all considered variables in different formulation of panel data models to assess individual behaviour of independent variables that would affect tea production. According to this study, a positive change in rainfall of 1 mm will increase tea production by 0.215 percentage points of tons of fresh leaves. Rainfall is a statistically significant variable among all variables with a positive impact on tea output Qitin Rwanda’s Western, Southern, and Northern provinces. Rainfall availability favourably affects tea output and supports our claim. Therefore, there is a need for collaboration efforts towards developing sustainable adaptation and mitigation options against climate change, targeting tea farming and the government to ensure that tea policy reforms are targeted towards raising the competitiveness of Rwandan tea at local and global market.

Impact of Extreme Precipitation Intensity on Tea Production in the North-East of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a flood prone country where precipitation amount is irregular but sometimes extreme. Among the climatic parameters, precipitation is assumed as one of the vital indicators of ongoing climate change scenarios and is equally important for tea production. In this study, 7 and 9 tea estates of Sylhet and Sreemangal were selected to analyze tea production in relation to extreme precipitation intensity. Precipitation patterns namely 90th, 95th and 99th percentile were analyzed to find out the contribution of extreme precipitation and tea production. To attain the objectives, 3 hourly, daily, monthly, and total precipitation data from 1971 to 2014 were collected from Bangladesh Meteorological Department and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Board. Tea production data were collected from Bangladesh Tea Board, Sylhet. To find out extreme level of precipitation 90th, 95th, 99th percentile precipitation days were identified and analyzed. The analyses show that 1974, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 were extreme precipitation years. The average precipitation of Sylhet was higher in 2000 than in 1992 and 2014. In Sreemangal, extreme precipitation was higher in 2014 than in 1992 and 2000. For both the regions, tea production was higher in 2000 and lower in 1992 and 2014. The result shows that more extreme precipitation was responsible for higher amount of tea production. The results suggest that extreme precipitation intensity was one of the responsible factors for higher amount of tea production in Sylhet and Sreemangal.

Symbiosis of Biodiversity and Tea Production Through Chagusaba

Chagusaba,which is traditional tea-grass integrated system in Shizuoka,is one of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems（GIAHS） sites in Japan.Chagusaba provide an important habitat for natural plant species.In this study,we investigated the flora in Chagusaba and environmental factors to affect the number of native species estimated their diversity.Fifty Chagusaba were classified in to five vegetation types by Two-way indicator species analysis.In addition,high number of native plant species Chagusaba had low soil p H,covered large areas,and were in places where the land had not been modified.Through statistical analysis（GLM）,we found that land modification had an especially significant effect on the diversity of native plants,and that the diversity of native plants was reflected in the history of the use of the land.

Extraction of Theanine from Waste Liquid of Tea Polyphenol Production in Aqueous Two-phase Systems with Cationic and Anionic Surfactants

Extraction of theanine from waste liquid of tea polyphenol production was studied in aqueous surfactanttwo-phase system （ASTP） with cationic surfactant （CTAB） and anionic surfactant （SDS）. Results indicate that the region of ASTP is narrow and there is only a two-phase region of cationic surfactant. The increase in concentrations of NaBr and Na2SO4 are beneficial to the formation of ASTP. Theanine concentration in the bottom phase increases with increasing concentration of theanine, whereas the Partition coefficient and extraction rate only change a littlewhen the concentration of theanine is above 0.2 g.L-＇. With the increase of SDS concentration, the phase ratio and the partition coefficient decrease, while the extraction efficiency of theanine increases and the concentration of theanine changes a little in the range from 2.4/7.5 to 2.8/7.2 for SDS/CTAB ratio. The temperature has a notable ef- fect on the concentration of theanine in the bottom phase, partition coefficient and extraction rate of theanine. The increase of waste liquid decreases the phase ratio, increases the concentration and extraction rate of theanine in the bottom ohase, since the orotein and the saccharide enter the bottom nhase with theanine.

Rapid determination of production date for green tea by near-infrared spectroscopy

Coupled with partial least squares(PLS),near infrared(NIR)spectroscopy was applied to develop a fast and nondestructive method to identify the production date of Rizhao green tea aiming at the deficiencies of the existing methods.In the modeling process,the raw spectra were first processed by five-point smoothing and first derivative.And then,moving window back propagation artificial neural network(MW-BP-ANN)was applied to select the characteristic spectral variables.After that,the calibration model was built by PLS,and the optimum model was achieved when 9 principal component scores(PCs)were included.The performances of the calibration models were evaluated according to root mean square error of predictionεRMSEP,correlation coefficient(C p)and residual prediction deviation(σRPD).The optimum results of the calibration model was achieved,andεRMSEP=19.965,C p=0.943 andσRPD=3.07.The overall results sufficiently demonstrate that NIR spectroscopy combined with PLS can be efficiently applied in the rapid identification of green tea production date.

Fragrant Tea and Tea Culture of Bashu

The Chinese tea drinking habit started during the Qin and Han dynasties,and had its origin in Bashu.During the Tang and Song dynasties,Bashu tea reached a high level of production with large sales.As the birthplace of the tea culture,Bashu has made great contributions to both the Chinese and global tea culture.

Counteraction of Nogo-A and axonal growth inhibitors by green tea polyphenols and other natural products

Neuronal injuries such as stroke,traumatic brain injury,and spinal cord injury are leading causes of major disability and death.Chronic therapy for these neuronal injuries requires the promotion of axonal regeneration from the remaining neurons（Schwab and Strittmatter,2014）.