ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND GENETIC FIDELITY WITH A BRIEF REVIEW ON TISSUE CULTURE OF TEA

Abstract

Tea [Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze] is the oldest non-alcoholic caffeine containing beverage crop, belonging to the genus Camellia (family Theaceae). India is the foremost producer, and after Sri Lanka and China, it is the third largest exporter of commercial tea in the world (Anonymous 2000). The ever-increasing demand for higher productivity and better quality of tea has resulted in the need for mass multiplication of elite clones. Tea is propagated largely through seeds or cuttings, but a major concern associated with seed raised populations has been the occurrence of high genetic variability. Although vegetative propagation of elite clones has been used for large scale multiplication of plants with desirable attributes, for example in respect of yield and quality, one of the drawbacks of such clonal plantations, noted over the years in field, is yield variability under adverse/stress conditions. Such plantations are also relatively prone to pathogens in comparison to seed grown plantations (Barua 1989).