Tea Breeding in Japan

摘要

Tea breeding in Japan started around 116 years ago,and to date,more than 110 cultivars have been developed and released.Seedling plants were uprooted and rapidly replaced with new clonal cultivars after 1970.At present,more than 95% of the tea gardens in Japan grow improved clonal cultivars.Although the cultivation of the " Yabukita" variety had expanded and contributed to approximately 76% of the tea grown,this excessive plantation resulted in some serious problems in the cultivation and management of the tea industry after 1990.Therefore,after2000,new programs have been initiated to breed superior varieties through the use of various genetic resources and DNA markers.