Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/491356
STiR tea & coffee industry international 71 from four cultivars (enough to plant out 6.86 acres of land) and by Spring 2014 a further 10,000 will have been plugged. A re- cent Kohala Center report concludes, "Having a program like this where members attending the program, supplied their own propagation locations, and received all the trainings, workshops, consult meetings, skill building sessions and plant stock mate- rial for free has been of great significance encouraging new tea growers to participate in specialty crop tea with minimal risk and start-up costs. Also the multiple collaborations and networking has created a community base." Challenges Facing New Tea Growers One of the first decisions to be made by new tea growers is which varietal to plant in a particular location. New farmers have been sourcing their planting stock, to suit specific topography and climate, from several locations within the U.S. but may also wish to import plants from outside the country. Mississippi State University, which is working closely with the U.S. League of Tea Growers, now has all the essential certification to import genetic material. Jason McDonald explains: "The Animal and Plant Health In- spection Service through the US Department of Agriculture. In order to import in plant material in regards to Camellia Sinensis or other plants from outside of the country, you must register for the certificate exclusively for Camellia Sinensis. Without it, the genetic material is destroyed at the border." Once the soil has been analyzed and prepared and plants have been purchased or raised from seed, the next challenge is how to get the seedlings into the ground. Most new farmers plant by hand, working on small areas at a time and gradually increas- ing the acreage. At Bob Sim's new farm in Alabama, he and Nigel Melican used an augur to dig the holes ready for the plants but, as Melican writes on the USLTG website, "Machine planters do exist but are designed to plant shallow for tiny root balls or deep for bare root plants. No planter has been found that will handle tea plants propagated in the traditional way. An opportunity for a bright engineer here!" Harvesting Once the plants have matured, after four or five years, to give their first crop, growers must decide how the tea shoots will be harvested. Labour costs for hand plucking are too high and ma- chine harvesters do not allow for the finer plucking of two leaves and a bud (although such machinery is in development by Geoff Williames in Australia – see STIR September/October 2013). In many countries, tea is mechanically picked by hand-held Japa- nese machines that are moved over the plucking table by two workers. However, the importation into the U.S. of these is cur- rently banned. There will also be challenges from the weather, from the fact that in many parts of the U.S. the growing season is relatively short, and from the fact that U.S.-grown teas may well be more expensive than teas currently imported from Africa, India, In- donesia, etc. It is encouraging to note that some of the Hawaii- grown teas sell for more than $100 a kilo and are finding their way into the specialty market both in the U.S. and abroad. At the second meeting of the USLTG, Melican and McDon- ald were eager to highlight the need to work together to develop cultivars that suit the US climate and conditions, to develop best Group session to plug new leaf cuttings organized by Eva Lee and the Kohala Center, Hawaii Island practice, to create new machinery, to increase knowledge of plant husbandry, to produce high value products for the spe- cialty market, to match products to different markets, to work together to promote US-grown teas, and to develop and pro- mote tea growing as part of an agri-tourism program. If the flurry of activity in 2013 is a sign of things to come, tea farming in the U.S may well develop into an exciting and important part of American agriculture. SPECIAL EVENT ORGANISED BY 10/12 June 2014 Rimini, Italy SPECIAL EVENT www.worldofcoffee-rimini.com