No abstract

A parameter of black tea that correlates with quality is highly desired. Twenty good and 20 poor quality tea clones were selected from the breeding programme at the Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa) (TRF(CA)). The thea¯avin (TF) composition of the black tea manufactured from each clone was analysed by capillary electrophoresis and correlated with total scores and valuation from two tea tasters with regression analysis. The signi®cance of the differences between the 20 good and 20 poor quality tea clones was determined with the Student t-test and the distribution-free Kruskal±Wallis test. The sum of the TFs of the black tea correlated well (r = 0.785, P = 0.0002) with the value of the tea. Of the individual TFs determined in the black tea, the highest correlation was obtained with TF-3'-monogallate (TF-B) (r = 0.788, P = 0.0016), TF-3-monogallate (TF-A) (r = 0.741, P = 0.0004) and free TF (TF-f) (r = 0.705, P = 0.0002). TF-B (m = 24.90) followed by TF-A (m = 12.48) showed the steepest slopes against value, making them good indicators for value. The TF-digallate (TF-dg) content did not show signi®cant correlation with value (r = 0.316, P = 0.358). The individual TF content thus can be used for optimising the black tea manufacturing process in Central and Southern Africa.

No abstract

This study was done to identify random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers that may associate with seven important traits in tea. Sixty RAPD primers were first screened using 18 cultivars under each of the 7 traits, followed by confirmatory screening of 20 promising primers with 32 tea cultivars. Six RAPD primers generated a total of nine specific bands that associated with six desired traits: black tea quality and tolerance to drought, high temperature, low temperature, Phomopsis theae, and high yield. These markers would allow early identification of plant material with the desired traits that can be advanced to the next stage of selection and enhance targeted choice of breeding stocks with the desirable traits. The nine RAPD markers identified in this study could improve precision and efficiency in tea breeding and selection and are an important contribution towards the establishment of marker-assisted selection in tea breeding programmes.