Please use the following citation when referencing this article:
Krasovskyi,
V. V., Cherniak, T. V., Malyhin, M. S., Diachenko-Bohun, M. M., & Fedko, R.
M. (2026). Tea plantation near Mukachevo – the history of creation, current
state, and prospects of use in the introduction process. Biodiversity: theory,
practice and methodological aspects of study in educational institutions:
materials of the All-Ukrainian scientific and practical conference (Poltava,
April 22, 2026) (pp. 130–136). Poltava: V. G. Korolenko PNPU. [in Ukrainian]
______________________________________________________________________________
V. V. Krasovskyi, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of the
Department of Botany, Ecology and Biology Teaching Methods, Senior Researcher,
Head of the Sector of Acclimatization of Fruit, Berry and Medicinal Crops of
Khorol Botanical Garden
T. V. Cherniak, Head of the Sector
of Dendrology, Plant Propagation and Ecological-Educational Activities
M. S. Malyhin, Project Manager of
the "Zhornyna Tea Plantation" of the NGO "Culture Ecology
Tourism" (CET), member of the European Association "Tea grown in
Europe"
M. M. Diachenko-Bohun, Doctor of
Pedagogical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Botany, Ecology and
Biology Teaching Methods
R. M. Fedko, Candidate of Biological
Sciences of Khorol Botanical Garden Poltava V. G. Korolenko National
Pedagogical University Medicinal Plants Research Station of the Institute of
Agroecology and Environmental Management of the National Academy of Agrarian
Sciences of Ukraine
Both in ancient times and today, the most
popular plant of the Theaceae family is the Chinese tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze). This is due to the fact that its
leaves are used to prepare the world's most popular beverage, which is a
powerful antioxidant, strengthens the immune system, improves cognitive
functions and metabolism, and is also used as a prophylactic against diseases
[5, 9]. In the modern world, C. sinensis
retains its importance as a symbol of culture and is a subject of research and
fascination, since tea drinking is present in many cultures as a sign of
harmony, tranquility, and the strengthening of social ties. This ritual unites
people, demonstrating respect and hospitality [10].
The homeland of C. sinensis is considered to be the subtropical forests of East
Asia, where it grows in the understory beneath the forest canopy. C. sinensis is most widely cultivated in
Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Southern China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, as well
as in America, Africa, and Western Asia. Tea was first brought to Europe by the
Portuguese in 1517, where it later gained significant popularity. In the
Nikitsky Botanical Garden, the first plants of C. sinensis were planted in 1817 [7].
Considerable information regarding tea
cultivation in Ukraine is contained in the Biological Dictionary, which states:
"Among European countries, tea is grown only in the USSR in Georgia,
Azerbaijan, the Krasnodar Territory, and Transcarpathia" [1].
Consequently, in the west of Ukraine, in Transcarpathia, near the city of
Mukachevo, there is a tea plantation that is now 77 years old. At first glance,
this is inconceivable, since the growing areas of C. sinensis are usually associated with tropical and humid
subtropical territories, but certainly not with Ukraine and its harsh winters;
however, this tea plantation has its own unique history.
Indeed, the tea plantation near Mukachevo
on the slope of Mount Zhornyna was experimentally established in the spring of
1949 by a group of scientists from Georgia under the leadership of Academician
I. I. Chkhaidze. The land plot of about 20 hectares allocated for the
plantation was divided into 18 sectors, where several tea varieties were sown.
The main goal of the large-scale project was "...to fully satisfy the
needs of the Soviet people for domestic tea." Earlier, a tea cultivation
project was successfully implemented in Georgia, so they hoped to continue this
successful experience in Ukraine, as specialists found that the territory of
the Transcarpathia region is very similar to Adjara, an autonomous region in
southwestern Georgia on the Black Sea coast where C. sinensis was grown [6]. Since the pre-war Georgian tea project
proved highly successful, the authorities decided to replicate it in
Transcarpathia. At that time, the territory of the Transcarpathia region was
considered as land suitable for cultivating a range of subtropical crops in
northern latitudes. In fact, such an idea of advancing southern crops to the
north is not new, because back in the 18th century, botanist and taxonomist
Carl Linnaeus made attempts to grow tropical and subtropical plants in Sweden
[8]. The scientists' expectations regarding the cultivation of C. sinensis specifically in
Transcarpathia were fulfilled: almost half of the tea bush seedlings survived
their first winter on the plantation. And already in the third year of work on
the experimental plantation, over a ton of tea leaves per hectare was harvested
(Fig. 1) [6].
Fig. 1. Tea plantation in Transcarpathia, Mukachevo (1950s).
Until 1953, this tea cultivation project
was under the patronage of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (to which the
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was also subordinated), for which the Joint
Comprehensive Expedition for the Development of C. sinensis Culture was created in 1950. The main research center
was the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops in
Georgia (Anaseuli), which at one time played a key role in the acclimatization
of the tea crop, as the institution carried out not only comprehensive research
on the breeding and agrotechnics of C.
sinensis but also conducted practical experiments on spreading the species
to other regions of the USSR.
According to the reports of that time
(1952), the Transcarpathian region was recognized as the most promising for tea
cultivation. Plans were published to allocate up to 1,000 hectares of land for
tea plantations by 1960. However, the project for the further establishment of
the tea plantation was suspended due to insufficient funding, and finally shut
down in 1959. The tea bushes on the main plantation were uprooted, and the
cleared area was planted with traditional agricultural crops for the region.
Nevertheless, only one of the 18 experimental tea plots of the Mukachevo base
station was preserved under the forest canopy. In turn, the remnants of only
one base station were preserved out of 6 stations and dozens of experimental
plots across the region's collective farms.
Regarding the further fate of the
preserved part of the tea plantation, in the late 1960s it was initially
transferred to the Mukachevo Agricultural Technical School. It was also under
the patronage of Uzhhorod University for a long time. Its fate was overseen by
Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor V. Komendar until 2015, but he failed
to find funding for the preservation of the tea plantation during the years of
Ukraine's independence. In 1993, a protected tract "Shyrokyi" with an
area of 5 hectares was created on the last preserved plot under the forest
canopy (one of the 18), transferring the conservation obligation to the
Mukachevo Forestry Enterprise. The last institution providing systematic care
for the tea plantings was the Carpathian Forest Research Station. According to
its employees, the height of the tea bushes at that time reached 2 meters.
After 2000, this activity also ceased. Thus, from 2000 to 2019, the tea
plantings remained without scientific support and care. From the early 1990s,
the main part (the former area, where tea had been absent since 1956-1959) of
the tea plantation (about 18 hectares) gradually became overgrown with
self-seeded trees, wild grapes, and blackberries, turning into impenetrable
thickets.
Regarding the current state of the tea
plantation, it should be noted that the initial stage of its revival is
considered to be 2013, when it was visited by volunteers who, in 2019, joined
the work on clearing it of self-seeded trees, shrubby and herbaceous vegetation,
and carrying out soil recultivation.
Currently, about 400 C. sinensis plants
grow on the tea plantation; thanks to the systematic shaping, the bushes are
gradually weeded year after year (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) and have been blooming
massively since 2024 (Fig. 4) [2, 4].
.jfif)
Fig. 2. Rows of C. sinensis before the start of restoration works. Mukachevo, "Shyrokyi" protected tract, 2016.
.jfif)
Fig. 3. General view of the restored area with C. sinensis plants. Mukachevo, "Shyrokyi" protected tract, 2023.
.jfif)
Fig. 4. Blooming C.
sinensis, Mukachevo, "Shyrokyi" protected tract, 2024.
It is worth noting that the issue of
preserving the C. sinensis plant
collection is currently primarily in the realm of public support and private
initiatives, as volunteers independently cover the needs in preparing the tea
plantation for exhibition to the general public.
An integral part of the volunteer project
"Zhornyna Tea Plantation" of the NGO "Culture Ecology
Tourism" (project slogan "Tea grows in Ukraine!") is the
scientific component of the collection, as they primarily present the tea
plantation in Transcarpathia as the only unique object in Ukraine in terms of
the quantitative and qualitative composition of plants of the species Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze. It is
especially important that they managed to systematize the most significant data
regarding the success of introduction and adaptation of the subtropical plant
in changed environmental conditions, and to identify different cultivars based
on leaf shape within the collection, which indicates the inclusion of hybrid
seeds in the collection at the early stages of its creation. Besides this,
considering the entry of the plants into the generative period of development,
the possibility of the emergence of local forms as an isolated introduction
population is not excluded.
The project participants also concluded
that the basic components of the successful introduction and adaptation of the
species and the preservation of the plant gene pool in situ under
Transcarpathian conditions took place thanks to the microclimate of the area, despite
the fact that in some years the temperature in the winter period briefly
dropped to -26...-28°C.
At the same time, the participants of the
"Zhornyna Tea Plantation" project not only initiate but also find
support from botanical garden scientists [3], nurseries, and amateur gardeners
regarding the formation of specialized C. sinensis locations in other regions
of Ukraine to preserve the plant gene pool ex situ by creating collections of
living plants and further breeding activities.
References
1. Biological Dictionary / ed. I. G. Pidoplichko, K. M. Sytnyk, R.
V. Chagovets. Main Edition of URE, 1974. 552 p. [in Ukrainian]
2. Klym-Kashuba T. "Cherveny Sharkany": how Chinese tea is
grown on a mountain near Mukachevo. Varosh. 2024. Sept 6. URL: https://varosh.com.ua/miscya/chervenyj-sharkan-yak-na-gori-pid-mukachevom-kytajskyj-chaj-vyroshhuyut/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMii8ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHm6Hy9KDoKngxf-dPdGONz11Pf3rpDvssdNDQUVNL5tdFr8m_ShQkzktpOop_aem_yDPcS4Ql2rB4yYEZKnm9aw
(accessed: 01.09.2025). [in Ukrainian]
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(accessed: 01.09.2025). [in Ukrainian]
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