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The effects of human activities are becoming clearer every year, with multiple reports of struggling and eroded ecosystems resulting in new threats of plant and animal extinctions throughout the world. It has been speculated that roadside tea-growing soils impact on metal dynamics from soil to tea plants and subsequently to tea infusion which may be threatened by increasingly unpredictable and dangerous surroundings. Furthermore, heavy metals released from vehicles on the national highway (NH) could be a source of metal contamination in roadside tea soils and tea plants. This study was articulated to realize the effect of NH on a buildup of selected metals (Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn) in made tea along with repeated tea infusion. In general, metal concentration was found significantly higher in made tea prepared from the young shoots collected from the vicinity of NH. The results also showed that distance from the NH and infusion process significantly influenced to content of the analysed metal in tea infusions. The mean average daily intake (ADI) and hazard quotient (HQ) values of analysed tea samples were found in the orderMn˃Fe˃Zn˃Cu˃Ni˃Cd and Mn˃Cu˃Zn˃Fe˃Ni˃Cd, respectively. The HQ values of all analysed metals were found << 1, indicating that ingestion of tea infusion with analysed heavy metals should not cause a danger to human health. However, this study further demonstrates the consumption of tea infusion prepared from made tea around the vicinity of NH may contribute to a significantly higher quantity of metal intake in the human body. From the hierarchical cluster analysis, it has been observed that there are three homogenous groups of analysed heavy metals., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Harnessing the potential yields of evergreen perennial crops like tea (Camellia sinensis L.) essentially requires the application of optimum doses of nutrients based on the soil test reports. In the present study, the soil pH, organic carbon (OC), available potassium as K2O (AK), and available sulphur (AS) of 7300 soil samples from 115 tea estates spread over the Dooars ranging from 88°52’E to 89°86’E longitude and 26°45’N to 27°00’N latitude of West Bengal, India have been documented. About 54% of soil samples were found within the optimum range of soil pH (4.50-5.50) for tea cultivation. The overall range of OC was found from 0.28% to 6.00% of which, 94% of the analyzed samples were within the range of satisfactory to excellent level of OC i.e. (>0.80% to 6.00%). Around 36.3% of soil samples were found to have high AK (>100 mg kg-1) but 37.1% of soils were found to have high AS content (>40 mg kg-1). The nutrient index status of soil pH was low in Dam Dim, Chulsa, Nagrakata, Binnaguri, and Jainti sub-districts. Soils from five sub-districts had a high nutrient index (2.47 to 2.83) for soil organic carbon. However, it existed in the medium index (1.69 and 2.22) for Dalgaon and Kalchini sub-districts. Only Nagrakata sub-district soil samples were in the high nutrient index (2.65) for AK. All analyzed samples showed a medium nutrient index (1.97 to 2.27) for AS. The result indicated that soil pH was significantly negatively correlated with soil OC (-0.336) and AK (-0.174). However, the soil OC was significantly positive correlated with AK (0.258) and AS (0.100). It could be concluded that a balanced fertilizer application would be needed as a part of the soil improvement program through soil chemical tests for sustainable tea cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mammoth amount of tea pruning litter (TPL) is generated through the pruning of the tea plant and kept on the soil surface which makes the soil sick due to the accretion of allelochemicals from it. Therefore, appropriate management of TPL is very much crucial. This study was conducted to assess the role of tea pruning litter biochar (TPLBC) as a soil conditioner towards the growth and regulations of two popularly grown tea cultivars (TV23 and S.3A/3) in India. Altogether twenty-nine (29) parameters comprising functional groups, plant biomass, and physiological and biochemical properties have been reported in this study to understand the feasibility of TPLBC for tea cultivation. TPLBC amendment of 400 kg ha−1 was best suited for the used cultivars, leading to an increase in chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and water use efficiency by 25.68%, 49.61%, 84.00%, 126.93%, and 3.87% respectively. The maximum increase in plant total biomass, shoot biomass, and root biomass was attended at 110%, 31%, and 117%, respectively at 400 kg TPLBC ha−1 over control. The results also revealed an increase in the content of sugar, starch, phenol, total polyphenol, and amino acids with an increasing dose of TPLBC up to 400 kg ha−1. However, with 500 kg ha−1 TPLBC, plant biomass, and polyphenol content were decreased but oxidative stress was increased. Considering all the 29 variables it can be concluded that the soil amendment with 400 kg TPLBC ha−1 was most promising for both TV23 and S.3A/3 clones. [Display omitted] • The first report of tea pruning litter biochar (TPLBC) in improving soil fertility. • TPLBC reduced soil sickness, thus impacting the growth and yield of tea plants. • 400 kg TPLBC ha−1 proved to be the best treatment based on 29 variables. • Application of more than 400 kg TPLBC ha−1 was found to be unsuitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]