Longjing 43

Ministry of Agriculture and Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 1990. Collection on the improved tea varieties in China. p.74-75.

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2020) 11:4447 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18228-8 published Chinese scientists paper: "Population sequencing enhances understanding of tea plant evolution". They assemble a 3.26-Gb high-quality chromosomescale genome for the ‘Longjing 43’ cultivar of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. Genomic resequencing of 139 tea accessions from around the world is used to investigate the evolution and phylogenetic relationships of tea accessions. We find that hybridization has increased the heterozygosity and wide-ranging gene flow among tea populations with the spread of tea cultivation. Population genetic and transcriptomic analyses reveal that during domestication, selection for disease resistance and flavor in C. sinensis var. sinensis populations has been stronger than that in C. sinensis var. assamica populations. This study provides resources for marker-assisted breeding of tea and sets the foundation for further research on tea genetics and evolution.

GSCT37 (Longjing 43)

        Clonal variety. Frutex type. Medium-leaf size. Extremely Early sprouting.

        It was selected individually from the Longjing population variety in Hangzhou (Zhejiang province) in 1960~1978 by Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Now it is cultivated experimentally in 14 provinces of China. It has been cultivated in a larger area in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.

        Plant medium size. Semi-opened growth habitat with dense branching density. Leaves incline upwards. Length 8.8~9.5 cm, width 3.4~3.8 cm. Oblong in shape with acuminate tips and flat surface. Thicker and moderate hard in texture. Slightly waved margin and shallow serrations, green in color and glossy. 8~10 pairs of vein. The sprouting period in spring season appears in the middle to the third ten days of March.Extremely potent and uniform sprouting ability as well as higher density. Shoots stout and short with sparse hairs. The weight of 100 one bud and three leaves averaged 31.2 g. The peak period of flowering stage appears m the first ten days to the middle of October. With numerous amounts of flowers and higher bearing percen-tage. High cold-hardiness and moderate resistance to drought. Wide adaptability.

        High-yielding. According to the results of comparative varietial experiments, the yield of GSCT37 is %1% higher than that of Fuding Dabaicha. A regional experiment carried out in the Shige Varietial Plantation (Yuhang county, Zhejiang.province), and Cheng county Tea Plantation, the yield is 43.6%81.7% higher than that of control variety. In a 13.19 mu 9 years old experimental tea plantation in Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the yield of made tea averaged 347.8 kg per mu. Among these, the yield of 1.58 mu tea gaiden averaged 45019 kg per mu in 1983.

        According to the analysis conducted by the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Acade% my of Agricultural Sciences, the contents of caffeine in the one bud and two leaves shoots averaged 4.00%, amino acids 3.71%, tea polyphenols 18.51% and total cate-chins 120.84 mg/g Suitable to manufacture the green tea, especially in the preparation of the flaten green tea, such as Longjing and Qiqiang. The Westlake top-grade Longjing prepared with GSCT37 variety as the raw material is characterized by its flat and smooth appearance, elegant shape, fresh green in color and cream-colored in the margin, with fragrant and durable aroma, fresh and sweet taste, clear, bright and greenish liquor as well as slight yellowish green and splendid infused leaf.

         Suitable to popularize in the tea region in the south-of-Yangzte River and the north-of-Yangzte River for the manufacture of green tea.

         Weaker resistance to drought and lower tenderness-keeping ability of shoots. It is recommended to select those locations with deep soil layer and sufficient organic matter during cultivation. Deep ploughing and plucking in time are important. Irrigation is recommended to carry out in possible.

农业部农业司，中国农业科学院茶叶研究所. 1990. 《中国茶树优良品种集》74-75页。华茶37号，龙井43。杨亚军，梁月荣. 2014. 《中国无性系茶树品种志》27页: 龙井43

2020年9月7日 Nature Communications在线发表了中国农业科学院茶叶研究所杨亚军研究员、陈亮研究员，中国农业科学院深圳农业基因组研究所阮珏研究员和中国科学院昆明动物研究所王国栋研究员为通讯作者题为“Population sequencing enhances understanding of tea plant evolution”的研究论文。该研究组装了龙井43品种（Camellia sinensis 'Longjing 43'）染色体级别的高质量基因组，其大小为3.26 Gb。对全球139个茶树品种进行了基因组重测序，以用于探究茶树的进化和系统发育关系。研究人员发现随着茶树栽培的扩大，杂交增加了茶树种群之间的杂合性和广泛的基因流。群体遗传和转录组学分析表明，在驯化过程中，中国茶种群的抗病性和风味选择比大叶茶（C. sinensis var. assamica）种群更强。

【形态特征】 植株中等，树姿半开张，分枝密。叶片呈上斜状着生，椭圆形，叶色深緑，叶面平，叶身平稍有内折，叶缘微波，叶尖渐尖，叶齿密浅，叶质中等。花冠直径3.1cm，花瓣淡白色、6瓣，子房茸毛中等，花柱3裂。结实性较强。

【特性】 春季萌发期特早,2011年在杭州观测，一芽二叶期出现在4月7日，比福鼎大白茶早6天。芽叶生育力強，发芽整齐，耐采摘，持嫩性较差，芽叶纤细，绿稍黄色,春梢基部有一点淡红，茸毛少，一芽三叶百芽重31.6g。2011年在杭州取样，春茶一芽ニ叶含茶多酚15.3%、氨基酸4.4%、咖啡碱2.8%、水浸出物51.3%。产量高，每667㎡可产干茶190〜230kg。适制绿茶，品质优良。外形色泽嫩绿、香气清高，滋味甘醇爽口，叶底嫩黄成朵。尤其适制扁形绿茶，如龙井等。抗寒性

【适栽地区】长江南北绿茶茶区。

【栽培要点】适宜单行或双行条栽规格种植，选择土层深厚、有机质丰富的土壤栽培。需分批及时嫩采，春梢需预防“倒春寒”危害。连续采摘数年后，蓬面需修剪整枝。春季及时防治炭疽病，夏季防止高温灼伤。