Development of a natural plant-nutrient from wasted tea leaves and stems

Plant biomass is a huge carbon-complex that has potential as a nutrient. Therefore we extracted and separated useful materials for plant growth from tea leaf and stem. The pre-treatment process including high temperature ($200^{\circ}C$) and pressure (20-40 kgf/$cm^2$) was treated for several minutes and extracted at $120^{\circ}C$ for 30-60 minutes. After that the chemical compositions and ingredients were analyzed from that plant-nutrient. As a result of mineral contents, calcium and magnesium concentrations are higher than other minerals. Also the result of carbohydrates analyses has shown that the sugar oligomer consists of xylose(95.3%) and glucose(4.7%), and the sugar monomer consists in the order of xylose (52.7%) > manose (22.8%) > arabinose (10.8%) > galactose (10.2%) > glucose (3.5%). Before applied to field, in vitro plant growth system and formulation were examined. To evaluate the effect of the nutrients, both strawberry green-house and persimmon fields were used in this test. The treated persimmons were heavier than controls scored at 13-22%. In addition, the storage-period was extended in the treated strawberries. Interestingly in the treated strawberry, the contents of polyphenols were increased (38-57%). These results suggest that the plant-nutrient can afford to help for plant growth and storage, and it can be substituted for other commercial nutrients. In conclusion, this plant-nutrient may help to extend eco-friendly or organic farming in Hadong-gun area.