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).