Tea Seed: A Review

Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntz) is one of the most economically essential beverage crops in all over the world and is considered to be the national drink. Tea seeds are borne in capsules, each containing one to three seeds. Seed is a means for reproduction and always possess variation within groups of seedlings. In nature, variability has an essential role in the production of the crop with quality and quantity. Tea seeds are recalcitrant and shown to lose viability very fast which makes their storage and transportation. In North East India, tea flowers from October to mid-February. Seed development right from flower bud initiation to maturity required 18 months. During seed maturation, the storage of carbohydrates in cotyledons continuously increases, and finally around 30% starch accumulates in tea seed cotyledons. Moreover, flower buds are a strong sink and approximately 46 percent of total photo-assimilates absorbed by developing flower bud. Tea seeds are planted in rows at a depth of about 1.5 cm. The macropile is usually pointed downward or parallel to the ground surface. Product diversification and value addition is currently an area of great interest. The oil extracted from tea seed has almost similar properties of olive and groundnut oils. High-quality detergent, soap, cream and hair oils can be made from tea seed oil.