A Simple Method for Testing Freezing Resistance Based on Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Tea (Camellia sinensis L.)

For the stable production of high quality tea, the freezing resistance is a very important character. Most of the farmers have planted out-pollinated seeds that are not genetically pure. So, with small sample, a quick and simple method is required to test freezing resistance of lots of germ-plasm and early generation of hybrids. The absorbances(A530 nm) of TTC reduction solution at -5$^{\circ}C$ were positively correlated with resistance to photoinhibition of PSII in 6 hour photoinhibitory treatments, being significantly fitted by simple linear regression ($R^2$=${0.64}^{**}$). Chlorophyll fluorescence measured by Fv/Fm was found to be very useful in evaluating the relative levels of freezing resistance in tea.