Once an internationally renowned Hainan macrophyllum species
It fell silent due to the introduction of exotic varieties
However, its research value and development potential are enormous
In the future, how should we protect and develop?
Native tea germplasm resources in Hainan?
How to do the process of hainan tea industry
Want benefits from quality and brand?
Let's take a look
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Spring to summer, tasting spring tea seems to be yesterday. May 21 this year is the second "International Tea Day", when the second round of new shoots emerges from Hainan tea trees, and tea farmers are ready for the picking of summer tea.
When it comes to Hainan's famous tea, people first think of Baisha green tea and Wuzhishan black tea, and their raw tea materials have the figure of Hainan large-leaf species. Hainan macrophylla is a wild tea plant species in Hainan, which belongs to the rare and endangered tea tree species, which is of great significance for the study of the origin and evolution of Hainan tea plant.
However, the background of the Hainan large-leaf species is ups and downs: Hainan red crushed tea made from it and the Yunnan large-leaf species has been exported to Europe and the United States, and won the gold medal in the World Black Tea Competition held in the United Kingdom. At the peak of history, the planting area of Hainan large-leaf species once exceeded 13,000 mu.
However, due to some historical reasons, in the past 30 years, with the reduction of the area of tea cultivation and the introduction of high-yielding and high-aromatic exotic varieties, the Hainan large-leaf species, which was once internationally renowned, has fallen silent. But seeing its research value and development potential, academics, experts and enterprises in the tea industry have begun to act, how to protect and develop Hainan's native tea germplasm resources, how to do the Hainan tea industry in the process of quality and brand benefits? Is it possible for Hainan large-leaf species to rank among the famous teas in China?
May 21, 2021 Hainan Daily A08 page map ↑
Born extraordinary
>> a precious germplasm resource recorded in a 500-year history
In order to get a glimpse of the true appearance of wild Hainan large-leaf species, recently, a reporter from Hainan Daily came to Shuiman Township, Wuzhishan City, and saw many wild Hainan large-leaf tea tree communities distributed in a small area in the hinterland of the rainforest. Among them, at an altitude of 1110 meters, there is an ancient tea tree about 10 meters high and nearly 1 meter in the chest circumference, which confirms the record of "tree big and big hug" in the "Hainan Island Chronicle", and what is amazing is that the largest leaf is close to the size of an adult's palm.
Young buds of wild Hainan macrophylla species. Hainan Daily reporter Chen Geng photographed
Speaking of which, the seemingly low-key and nameless Hainan large-leaf species today has been an absolute protagonist in the history of Hainan tea. Because of the unique aroma of tea, the wild Hainan large-leaf tea is not only a favorite drink of the local people, but also a local specialty for the capital. In the Ming Dynasty, the people cooked and drank tea together with zhuyi, qian, star anise and jasmine. In the Qiongtai Zhi, written in the sixth year of Zhengde (1511) of the Ming Dynasty, it is recorded that "bud tea" and "leaf tea" were requisitioned to the capital as "Tugong", and the prefectures and counties assigned covered almost the history of the island.
How fragrant is Hainan large-leaf tea? The "Chronicle of Ding'an County" in the late Qing Dynasty recorded 4 kinds of Hainan wild large-leaf teas named after the place of origin at that time - Nanluling tea, Siheling tea, Shuimantong tea and Guiling tea, of which Nanluling tea tasted clear and sweet, with the name of "sweet tea", "taste of Wuyi, very can be a miasma", Siheling tea taste sweeter than Nanluling tea, Shui man Tong tea "smell fragrant, crown Lishan, has long been famous". The Hainan Island Chronicle, published in 1933, also mentions: "The tea produced on this island ... One of the most famous teas is produced by the Five Finger Landscape Mantong, the tree is large and embraced, and the tea leaves are still clear. From these few words, it can be seen that the hainan wild large-leaf tea leaves are of the best quality in Shui Man Tong (now Shui Man Township, Wuzhishan City).
Even in terms of nutritional value, the performance of Hainan large-leaf species is not inferior. In the 1970s and 1980s, tea leaves from all over the country were sent to the Hangzhou Tea Research Institute for testing. Han Baoyu, a researcher at the Hangzhou Tea Research Institute at the time, recalled to the Hainan Daily reporter that the large-leaf tea produced by the Shuiman area had a polyphenol content of 38%-42%, "The content of tea polyphenols is high, the taste is more mellow, it will give people a clear bitter and sweet taste, and after natural fermentation into black tea, freshness and sweet aroma will also develop better." ”
Some scholars have researched that in the late 1950s, Hainan gradually had a historical record of artificially planting Hainan large-leaf tea plants. "The planted Hainan large-leaf tea plant grows fast, germinates early, has strong tenderness, and can be harvested up to seven or eight rounds per year, compared with small and medium-sized leaf species, it belongs to the bud-heavy varieties; its disease and insect resistance is strong, and compared with the Yunnan large-leaf species, it is more suitable for planting in high-temperature, high-humidity and arid areas of Hainan." Chen Dexin, a distinguished associate researcher of Southwest University, a visiting professor of Yunnan Agricultural University, the secretary general of the Hainan Tea Society (Hainan Tea Association), and the author of "Hainan Tea Affair", said, "From the perspective of the quality of the tea, the five-finger mountain black tea made by Hainan large leaf species has a bright red soup, a sweet and fresh taste, and the aroma is sweet, grain and sweet potato roasted. ”
This aroma and taste are gradually appreciated by more people. In the 1980s, Hainan large-leaf species ushered in a highlight moment - in 1985, Hainan red crushed tea, which was formed by the combination of Yunnan large-leaf tea and Hainan large-leaf tea, won the gold medal in the World Black Tea Competition held in the United Kingdom, and then exported to Europe and the United States, and was popular. However, in the following years, Hainan Large Leaf Tea did not seize the opportunity of export earnings to achieve brand and word-of-mouth upgrades, and Hainan Red Crushed Tea and its legend gradually disappeared.
Dilemma current
>> family foundation is not clear, varieties are difficult to cultivate, and the planting area is shrinking
As a Hainan large-leaf species that has been verified by the international market, why did the development trajectory once lack staying power? It is necessary to go back to 1958 to find out.
According to the 1995 edition of the Qiongzhong County Chronicle, in 1958, ShuimanXiang opened the Wuzhishan Tea Farm and began the history of factory processing of Hainan large-leaf tea. Wang Qibin, 88, of Fanghao Village, Shuiman Township, was one of the first tea workers of the year. He recalled that the tea farm artificially cultivated Hainan large-leaf tea plants, and the survival rate of the saplings cultivated with seeds was extremely low, and even if they survived smoothly, it would take 3 years to pick tea greens.
Even if artificial cultivation is difficult, following the Wuzhishan Tea Farm, three tea farms in the central mountains of Hainan have been established successively, namely Tongshi, Lingtou and Baimaling, to further expand the planting area of Hainan large-leaf species. By 1988, the annual output of Hainan large-leaf tea was close to 8,000 tons of dry tea. Later, the Hainan agricultural reclamation system began to plant tea, and in 1992, the tea planting area in the reclamation area reached 109,200 mu, of which the area of Hainan large leaf species exceeded 13,000 mu, and foreign varieties such as Yunnan large leaf species were also introduced.
Five fingers of a tea mountain full of mountains and rivers. Hainan Daily reporter Chen Geng photographed
However, in the next 30 years, the area of tea cultivation in Hainan gradually shrank. At present, the tea planting area of the whole island is only 28,000 mu, of which the planting area of Hainan large-leaf species has also been reduced to less than 9,000 mu, and the planting area is concentrated in Wuzhishanshui Manxiang.
"The reduction of the area of tea grown in Hainan has both factors of market demand changes and reasons for industrial transformation, such as black tea to green tea and rubber." Chen Dexin said, "In the final analysis, it is still not enough to understand the hainan large leaf species, which is a native precious tea tree resource, insufficient technical upgrading, lack of self-confidence and foresight, and the introduction of high-yielding and high-fragrance exotic varieties is bound to have an impact on the development of Hainan large-leaf species." ”
On the other hand, the investigation of wild tea resources in Hainan by scholars and industry, especially the regional investigation and composition testing of Hainan large-leaf species, has been continuous. Chen Liang, chief scientist, doctoral supervisor and researcher of the tea germplasm resource innovation team of the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that so far, these surveys have not yet found out the distribution and stock of wild tea resources in Hainan, nor have they selected and bred high-yielding and stable excellent varieties. Chen Dexin also wrote in "Hainan Large-leaf Tea Calls for Scientific Protection and Application": The single-plant fine species of Hainan Large-leaf Tea, which is resistant to high temperature, drought, disease and pest, and has excellent tea quality, has not been selected and bred so far, and is currently limited to indoor identification and analysis.
Insufficient research understanding, limited production technology, wavering mentality... For various reasons, the Hainan large-leaf species almost stepped on the brakes after the brilliant splendor.
The road to breaking the game
>> strengthen the research of germplasm resources, expand the planting area, improve the quality of tea and the tea making process
In recent years, recognizing the potential advantages and competitiveness of local tea varieties, various parts of Hainan are actively planning to expand the scale of Hainan large-leaf tea.
The latest statistics of Wuzhishan Municipal Government in 2021 show that the planting area of Hainan large-leaf tea trees in the city is 7494.2 mu. There are 29 tea planting, management and processing enterprises in the city. Tea can not meet the production capacity is the norm, at present, Wuzhishan City has put the plan to expand the cultivation of Hainan large leaf seeds on the agenda.
In addition, Wu Haijiang, general manager of Hainan Nongken Hot Crop Industry Group Co., Ltd., introduced that at present, Hainan Nongken area is planting Hainan large-leaf species in Baisha Li Autonomous County, Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County and Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, and the total area of mixed with Yunnan large-leaf species is about 1250 mu.
In addition to expanding the planting area, in terms of improving tea products, some enterprises have taken the lead. For example, Hainan Natural Tea Co., Ltd. chose to open up a large-leaf seed planting area in Hainan in the crater of Baisha Farm in Yacha Town, Baisha Li Autonomous County, and has planted 150 acres through branch breeding and artificial domestication. The mineral-rich growth environment in the crater adds a "crater" feature to the Hainan macrophylla species here.
Workers wither the tea green withered softly. Hainan Daily reporter Chen Geng photographed
Based on the above data from Hainan Nongken, Wuzhishan City and tea enterprises, the current planting area of Hainan large-leaf species is less than 9,000 mu, including newly planted and unpicked tea saplings. Such a planting scale is still insufficient for the large-leaf tea industry in Hainan, but to be a strong brand, it may not rely on the amount of spelling.
In view of the uniqueness and scarcity of Hainan large-leaf species, some people in the industry believe that its products should take the high-end and high-quality routes, and seek benefits from quality and brand. Just like the "Shantou Tea" in Pu'er, Yunnan, the Phoenix Monofir in Chaozhou, Guangdong, and the Taiping Monkey Kui in Huangshan, Anhui, the tea leaves of Hainan Large-leaf species can also be made and packaged according to different regions and different characteristics, such as the ancient Nanluling tea, Siheling tea, especially the shuimantong tea with the best reputation in history.
As an ancestral and unique variety in the tropical tea region of Hainan, Hainan large-leaf species has always been a popular research object in the academic community.
"Hainan large-leaf species is the dominant variety in China's southernmost tea region, with different qualities from other teas in China, and is a rare and endangered tea tree species, which should be effectively protected and rationally applied." Chen Dexin said.
The basis for scientific protection and rational utilization is a deep and systematic understanding of Hainan macrophylla species. In this regard, Chen Liang believes that professional surveys should be carried out on Hainan large-leaf species in Wuzhishan and other places, collect various types of single plants, establish a standardized germplasm resource garden, and select and breed several excellent new varieties of Hainan black tea with excellent tea quality and complementary tea plants and different germination periods of tea plants. Scientifically and rationally protect and utilize the large-leaf germplasm resources of Hainan in Wuzhishan. ”
Hainan large-leaf black tea made through multiple processes. Hainan Daily reporter Chen Geng photographed
In this regard, Huang Yahui, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Tea Science of South China Agricultural University, has begun relevant research. He is breeding and cultivating Hainan large-leaf tea plants collected from Wuzhishan and Parrot Ridge, hoping that through further planting management, a number of good varieties will be selected, "optimizing varieties and strengthening domestication is the fundamental way to improve their production capacity." Huang Yahui believes that "in view of the obvious advantages of this tea variety in making black tea, Hainan large-leaf species can produce high-grade black tea in the future and rank among the famous teas in China." ”
Source: Hainan Daily client
Chief planner: Cao Jian, Chen Chengzhi, Qi Songmei
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