Abstract:
Identification of parents having synchronized flowering is important in planning
crosses for controlled hybridization programmes also in designing parental
combinations for seed gardens. Therefore, 245 tea accessions conserved in the ex-situ
field gene bank at the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka were characterized using
qualitative parameters related to flowering. Visual observations were made monthly
using 3 bushes in each accession. The same bushes were used in all successive rounds.
Flowering was assessed based on a pre-determined non-parametric scale and the data
gathered were subsequently subjected to cluster analyze. The results showed that only
in 30% of the accessions flowering occurred at the highest scale of intensity. It was
possible to categorize the accessions into four main clusters; I, II, III, and IV based on
intensity of and the time of flowering. Flower abundance was high in cluster III and II
compared to I and IV. The highest flowering intensity was observed in accessions
included in the cluster II. Cluster I which was also the largest cluster showed the lowest
flowering intensity. Irrespective of the cultivar differences, three marked flowering
periods were observed during March, July and November. The work reported here is
the first detailed and intensive study on reproductive behavior of the tea germplasm in
Sri Lanka. Information generated is of high pertinence in planning efficient control
hybridization programmes and rational establishment of tea seed gardens.
