An in vitro Assessment on Fusarium Decomposition in Tea

Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kunze] is an aromatic beverage yielding perennial
plant. The manufactured tea is commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water
over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. After
water, it records the most widely consumed drink all over the world. India is the
second largest producer of tea in the world after China, including the
famous Assam tea and Darjeeling tea. However, as the Indian subcontinent is
mostly rain fed and the cropping season also needs a moist climate with alternating
wet and dry periods, the micro-climate prevailing the region is, thus, prune for the
establishment of major tea pathogens like Fusarium solani, responsible for
Fusarium die-back disease. Present findings illustrated the impact of an incubation
period of 60 days for maximum decomposition (up to 17.4% over untreated
control) of the Fusarium treated tea twigs. Nectria formation after 60 days of
incubation and softening of stem tissue indicated the decomposition of the fungus
treated twigs due to the prominent growth of F. solani. Three replicates were
maintained at each case and all the data were statistically designed.