PRUNING

Pruning Definitions :

Collar Prune (CP) : All above ground portion is cut leaving only upto a maximum of 10 cm when bush frame becomes unproductive and root system is still healthy.

Heavy Prune/Rejuvenation Prune (RP) : 40-45 cm above ground in plains and 15-37 cm above ground in China hybrids in hills for frame renewal.

Medium Prune (MP) : 50-65 cm in plains and 35-50 cm in hills for top frame renewal and height reduction.

Height Reduction Prune (HRP) : 70-75 cm in plains only.

Light Prune (LP) : 4-5 cm above last prune to renew the wood for growth of new branches and clean out the bush.

Deep Skiff (DS) : (i) At 10 cm measure above the light prune mark where 20 cm tipping measure is followed in the LP year in a LP-DS sequence. (ii) At 12-13 cm measure above the LP mark where 23-26 cm tipping measure is followed in the LP year irrespective of sequence of pruning/skiffing. (iii) At 12-13 cm measure above the LP mark irrespective of tipping measure in LP year in a LP-UP/LOS-DS sequence.

Level-off Skiff (LOS) : 5 cm above current year's tipping level used to cut off the highest plucking point and level up.

Medium Skiff (MS) : Just below majority of crow's feet to remove congestion.

Light Skiff (LS) : At current year's tipping level to re-establish a level.

Unpruned (UP) : Untouched/levelled by hand.

Cut Across Prune (CA) : Removal of 1 or more year's old wood leaving only 3-5 cm with a slashing knife of 20-25 cm length.

Clean-out Prune (CL) : Small snags and knots and unproductive shoots are cut following CA.  CA + CL = LP

Desnag Prune (DSN) : Snags, knots and dead wood are cut out following MP etc. and the cuts are smoothened.

Decentre Prune : Cut-off the main stem at 15-22.5 cm retaining 2/3 or more healthy laterals below in a young plant.

Lung Prune : A partial cut for decenter, leaving connection between bottom and top shoot.

Finger Prune : Like lung pruning, done by partial breaking of the stem.

Pruning Time :

December to mid-January for mature tea.
End January to early February for young tea.

Pruning cycles

Continuous high crop treatments lead to congestion and decline, continuous pruning decreases crop (the more severe the cut, the more severe the loss).

Alternation span of treatments for crop and vigour may be 3-4 years for plains and 4-5 years for Darjeeling, e.g, LP-UP-UP,  LP-DS-UP,  LP-UP-DS,  LP-MS-DS,  LP-UP-DS-UP, LP-UP-DS-LS-UP,  LP-UP-UP-DS/MS-UP  etc (Darjeeling)

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