It’s decidedly iced tea season in Florida, but whether you take your tea hot or iced, sweet or unsweet, black or green, the infused leaf in your cup could soon come from a Florida farm.
University of Florida (UF) researchers are investigating whether you can grow tea plants in the Sunshine State. Their findings from a years-long trial at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra are in the journal “Hort Technology,” a publication of the American Society for Horticultural Science.
For the trial, scientists tested seven tea “accessions” during years three to five of their growth, which includes the time the plants are expected to reach harvesting maturity. Researchers use the term “accessions” for any plant that does not yet have a cultivar name in the United States.
“We started with eight varieties, and one of them had 100% mortality,” said Brantlee Richter, Assistant Professor in the UF/IFAS Department of Plant Pathology and member of the research team. “We put weed cloth in to manage the intense weed pressure here in Florida and used a drip irrigation system but, otherwise, we didn’t do anything to baby these plants. They were out there in the harsh Florida sun, and we even had a hurricane remnant hit the plot during the study period. Even tropical storm-force winds didn’t seem to faze the plants or cause them to lose a lot of leaves.”
Despite being commonly grown in many countries around the world, tea is still considered a specialty in commercial production for the United States. That’s why obtaining plants for the trial proved challenging.
Tea varieties, Richter explained, derive from two lineages: A Chinese line that’s more sun-adapted and an Indian line that’s more shade-adapted. For Florida, the team concluded plants from the shade-adapted line may be better suited to the fickle climate. The best performing plants in this study overall were from a variety called Fairhope.
This study marks a “starting point” for learning which varieties will grow best in Florida. Researchers feel that north-central Florida is pretty good in terms of climate for growing tea, and tea likes acidic soil, just as citrus does. The UF/IFAS tea research will continue, including exploring shade production practices and breeding new varieties that may hold the best potential for Florida’s conditions.
Editor’s Take:
The citrus industry has suffered from disease and stiff international competition. Citrus growers have been seeking answers to rejuvenating their income potential - and now perhaps researchers are onto something that could be the next big thing. It is certainly encouraging when research of this nature shows promise and the potential to diversify production and generate revenue from alternative crops. We will continue to monitor new developments and keep you posted as to whether tea may prove to be the next generation of cropping in Florida and perhaps someday spread to other growing areas!
