Differentiation of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Cultivars in relation to physiological parameters

Tea requires a moderately hot and humid climate. Tea grows in a variety of climate conditions and has very wide ecological amplitude. In the study, responses of some physiological, parameters related to drought stress were studied in few selected popular tea cultivars which included eleven clones and four biclonal seed stocks. All the cultivars were grown in pots and the experiment was laid in factorial 2CRD with two treatments viz. normal condition and moisture stress condition. Observations were made in 7 days interval for Relative Leaf Water Content (RLWC) and Water Saturation Deficit (WSD). The results of the study revealed that drought stress caused a gradual decline in RLWC but increase in WSD.