Cranfield University is partnering with LIPTON Teas and Infusions, the world’s largest tea group, to begin field trials testing climate change mitigation and resilience practices.
Cranfield University is partnering with LIPTON Teas and Infusions, the world’s largest tea group, to begin field trials testing climate change mitigation and resilience practices.
The project, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA), aims to improve tea production standards and create data and resources that can benefit the whole industry. The project is co-led and managed by Dr Helen Saini, Head of R&D Sustainable Agriculture at LIPTON Teas and Infusions, and Andrew Thompson, Professor of Molecular Plant Science and Head of Soil, Agrifood and Biosciences at Cranfield University.
Tea has the second lowest carbon footprint after tap water but about a quarter of its total greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to fertiliser use. In addition, climate change is threatening tea-growing regions of East Africa with deeper and longer dry seasons. Part-funded by the BBSRC as a Prosperity Partnership, trials are now underway in the Kericho region of Kenya to develop solutions to reduce nitrogen fertilizer-related emissions, and to accelerate the breeding of drought resistant varieties of tea using advanced technologies for selection.
Read more at: Cranfield University
