Impact of Tea Mosquito Infestation on Endogenous Hormones of Tea (Camellia sinensis L)

摘要

Young shoots of tea plants, beverage crop of significance of North East India, are infested by Tea Mosquito Bug (Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse, Hemiptera) leading to enormous crop loss and delayed flushing. This paper aims to find out the variation of plant hormones in non-infested and infested leaves of tea plants and its influence on growth behaviour. Endogenous hormones [auxin (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA_3)] play critical roles in dormancy and flushing of tea plants. Helopeltis infestation significantly regulated the content of hormones (IAA and GA3) as well as stress hormone (ABA).