Study of seasonal variation in total polyphenol content in fresh leaves of tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze]

Abstract

Experiment was conducted in the year 2018 and 2019 with an aim to study the variation in total polyphenol content in fresh green leaves of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze var. assamica grown in Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The samples were collected at an interval of 14 days during three plucking seasons viz. April-June(Summer flush),July-August (Monsoon flush) and September- October (Back end flush). Samples of fresh green shoots collected in the 1st week of June recorded significantly highest total polyphenols (240.154g/kg) but was at par with the total polyphenols obtained in the samples of fresh green shoots collected in the 3rd week of May (237.136g/kg) during 2018. The fresh green shoots collected in 1st week of September recorded significantly lower TP than the rest of the treatments except the TP obtained from the fresh green shoots collected in the 3rd week of September,1st week of October,3rd week of October and 3rd week of July.