New Candidate Tea (Camellia sinensis), Cultivars of TRI 5000 Series for Low-Country Tea Growing Regions of Sri Lanka

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_2How to use a DOI?

Keywords

TRI 5000 Series; Candidate cultivars; Low country; Sri Lanka; Tea accessions

Abstract

Among tea growing regions in Sri Lanka, lower elevations, popularly known as “Low Country” contributes about two third of the total tea production of the country. Through a series of experimentation, five new tea Camellia sinensis (L.) accessions (84, 174, 278, 12/11, 23/5) have been identified as candidate cultivars of TRI 5000 series, suitable for the region. All these accessions possess compatible yield potential with standard cultivars. Moreover, all of them possess high tolerance level to drought and 2-3 other desirable attributes, in terms of tolerance to major pests (shot hole borer, nematodes and low country live wood termites) and disease (stem and branch canker), prevailing in the tea cultivations of the region. In addition 02 of these accessions have exhibited moderate amenability to mechanical harvesting. These desirable attributes in terms of productivity and resilience of the new accessions will provide better opportunity to growers in the region to face emerging challenges including climate change effects, mainly prolonged dry weather and scarcity of skilled workers.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - J. H. N. Piyasundara
AU  - M. A. B. Ranatunga
AU  - J. D. Kottawa-Arachchi
AU  - K. K. Ranaweera
AU  - A. K. Mudalige
AU  - J. M. K. Udayangani
AU  - G. D. N. N. Dayarathna
AU  - H. W. M. M. M. Jayarathna
AU  - M. M. N. Damayanthi
AU  - N. M. Vithanage
AU  - P. D. Senanayaka
AU  - B. M. G. K. Godavita
AU  - D. G. N. P. Karunajeeva
AU  - N. Mahadhevan
AU  - R. K. A. Amali
AU  - K. G. J. P. Mahindapala
AU  - T. G. N. Mahinda
AU  - Alwis P. D. De
AU  - C. E. Munasinghe
AU  - H. Nishanthi
AU  - C. J. Liyanaarchchi
AU  - H. B. Tharangika
AU  - J. K. A. D. Kalhari
AU  - S. R. W. Pathiranage
AU  - R. B. L. Hemakumara
AU  - M. A. Chamindra
AU  - K. A. C. L. Kodithuwakku
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/15
TI  - New Candidate Tea (Camellia sinensis), Cultivars of TRI 5000 Series for Low-Country Tea Growing Regions of Sri Lanka
BT  - Proceedings of the International Tea Symposium (InTSym100 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 7
EP  - 22
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_2
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_2
ID  - Piyasundara2026
ER  -