Tea Plantation At Subang City Stock Image

A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to 16 m 52 ft if left undisturbed,[56] but cultivated plants are generally pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Also, the short plants bear more new shoots which provide new and tender leaves and increase the quality of the tea.[69] Only the top 1–2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called `flushes`.[70] A plant will grow a new flush every seven to 15 days during the growing season. Leaves that are slow in development tend to produce better-flavoured teas.[56] Pests of tea include mosquito bugs of the genus Helopeltis which are true bugs that must not be confused with the dipteran that can tatter leaves, so they may be sprayed with insecticides. In addition, there may be Lepidopteran leaf feeders and various tea diseases.