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Purpose <p>Intensive tea cultivation involving excessive chemical fertilizer application poses a significant threat to soil health and tea quality. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of different fertilizer reduction strategies by determining the impacts of partially substituting chemical fertilizers with soil amendments, controlled-release fertilizers, or organic fertilizers on nutrient runoff, soil fertility, and tea quality in the core Pu’er tea production region.</p> Materials and methods <p>A before-after field experiment was conducted wherein 30% of chemical fertilizer was substituted with soil amendments (T1), controlled-release fertilizers (T2), or organic fertilizers (T3). Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in runoff were analyzed. Soil fertility was assessed using indicators such as soil organic matter, total N, and available nutrients, which were integrated into a Soil Quality Index (SQI). Tea quality from the 2024 spring harvest was evaluated based on yield, water extractables, tea polyphenols, free amino acids, and caffeine content. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Random Forest models were used to explore the relationships between soil fertility and tea quality.</p> Results <p>All substitution strategies (T1, T2, T3) significantly reduced N and P runoff, with T1 being the most effective. For soil fertility, T2 achieved the highest SQI (0.55) by increasing total and available N, whereas T3 substantially enhanced soil organic matter (+ 19.9%), available P (+ 191.6%), and available K (+ 58.0%). For tea quality, T2 significantly increased yield (+ 16.3%) and water extractables (+ 10.2%), while T3 markedly improved key biochemical components, including tea polyphenols (+ 14.3%), free amino acids (+ 36.4%), and caffeine (+ 28.0%). RDA confirmed that soil fertility explained 84.8% of the variation in tea yield and quality. Random Forest modeling further identified soil organic matter as the key driver for biochemical quality, while available K, available P, and total N were the primary limiting factors for tea yield.</p> Conclusions <p>While all substitution strategies effectively mitigate nutrient runoff, the choice of fertilizer dictates specific soil-quality outcomes. The controlled-release fertilizer strategy (T2) effectively enhances soil nitrogen availability, making it the optimal solution for maximizing tea yield. In contrast, the organic fertilizer strategy (T3) substantially increases soil organic matter, which acts as the key driver for synthesizing flavor-related secondary metabolites, thereby significantly improving biochemical quality. Thus, T2 is recommended for yield-prioritized production, while T3 is superior for quality-oriented management.</p>

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Strategies for reducing chemical fertilizer application to enhance soil fertility and tea quality in the core pu’er tea production area of China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月4日

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  • Qi Liu,
  • Sheng Wang,
  • Li Bao,
  • Lining Zheng,
  • Jijiang Zhou,
  • Naiming Zhang

摘要

Purpose

Intensive tea cultivation involving excessive chemical fertilizer application poses a significant threat to soil health and tea quality. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of different fertilizer reduction strategies by determining the impacts of partially substituting chemical fertilizers with soil amendments, controlled-release fertilizers, or organic fertilizers on nutrient runoff, soil fertility, and tea quality in the core Pu’er tea production region.

Materials and methods

A before-after field experiment was conducted wherein 30% of chemical fertilizer was substituted with soil amendments (T1), controlled-release fertilizers (T2), or organic fertilizers (T3). Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in runoff were analyzed. Soil fertility was assessed using indicators such as soil organic matter, total N, and available nutrients, which were integrated into a Soil Quality Index (SQI). Tea quality from the 2024 spring harvest was evaluated based on yield, water extractables, tea polyphenols, free amino acids, and caffeine content. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Random Forest models were used to explore the relationships between soil fertility and tea quality.

Results

All substitution strategies (T1, T2, T3) significantly reduced N and P runoff, with T1 being the most effective. For soil fertility, T2 achieved the highest SQI (0.55) by increasing total and available N, whereas T3 substantially enhanced soil organic matter (+ 19.9%), available P (+ 191.6%), and available K (+ 58.0%). For tea quality, T2 significantly increased yield (+ 16.3%) and water extractables (+ 10.2%), while T3 markedly improved key biochemical components, including tea polyphenols (+ 14.3%), free amino acids (+ 36.4%), and caffeine (+ 28.0%). RDA confirmed that soil fertility explained 84.8% of the variation in tea yield and quality. Random Forest modeling further identified soil organic matter as the key driver for biochemical quality, while available K, available P, and total N were the primary limiting factors for tea yield.

Conclusions

While all substitution strategies effectively mitigate nutrient runoff, the choice of fertilizer dictates specific soil-quality outcomes. The controlled-release fertilizer strategy (T2) effectively enhances soil nitrogen availability, making it the optimal solution for maximizing tea yield. In contrast, the organic fertilizer strategy (T3) substantially increases soil organic matter, which acts as the key driver for synthesizing flavor-related secondary metabolites, thereby significantly improving biochemical quality. Thus, T2 is recommended for yield-prioritized production, while T3 is superior for quality-oriented management.