Abstract:

To effectively and rationally utilize the ancient tea tree resources, the morphological and genetic diversity of the ancient tea tree resources in Wa Autonomous County of Cangyuan in Yunnan Province were analyzed. Based on the individual investigation and analysis of 634 ancient tea trees, the results show that the main germplasms of ancient tea trees in Cangyuan are Dali tea (Camellia taliensis) and Pu-erh tea (C. assamica). The average ground diameter of ancient tea trees is 26.729 cm, the average diameter at breast height is 18.816 cm, the average trunk height is 1.184 m, the average tree height is 5.655 m, and the average crown width is 2.931 m, respectively. According to the strength of the growth potential, the trees are divided into three groups: strong, medium and weak, and the growth of most ancient tea trees is of medium level. For tea trees of 500-year-old or above, the average genetic variation coefficient is 46.505%, and the Shannon-Wiener index (H') ranges from 0.873 to 1.858, indicating that the genetic diversity of ancient tea trees is rich, and the availability of ancient tea trees is high in the selection of excellent resources. The average traits of 42 investigation sites were divided into three categories by cluster analysis, and the genetic regional characteristic of each trait is not significant. The ancient tea trees in Cangyuan are Dali tea and Pu-erh tea. The individual plants of ancient tea trees are distributed in the shape of small settlements, and there is a large genetic diversity of phenotypic traits among individual plants. The results can provide reference for tea tree breeding and help the conservation and utilization of ancient tea tree resources.

Key words: Wa Autonomous County of Cangyuan, ancient tea trees, resource investigation, genetic diversity, protection and utilization