Operational Group: Tea Cultivation in Galicia

The main objective of this Operational Group is to enhance the value of Galician tea production and develop more efficient and sustainable production systems, thereby increasing the productivity and competitiveness of Galician plantations in the A Mariña and Salnés regions.

For this you need:

• Selection of optimal varieties adapted to the current Galician climate and the quality demanded by the market; the lack of experience in industrial cultivation of the different existing Camellia Sinensis varieties requires a detailed study of the species' planting conditions (frames, fertilizers, potential phytopathological problems, etc.).
• To make their use profitable, it is essential to reduce production costs, especially labor costs. The savings that can be achieved by using fertigation systems would offset the initial investment cost required for their installation.
• Organic cultivation of plant species precludes the use of herbicides, so initial maintenance requires a high level of labor. Therefore, it is necessary to study natural mulches that reduce these costs by minimizing the growth of weeds that compete with the camellia and minimizing potential pathogens derived from the use of mulches. Certain types of tea require partial shade, so the use of tree shading is a good idea.