TEA PLANTATION NEAR MUKACHEVO – THE HISTORY OF CREATION, CURRENT STATE, AND PROSPECTS OF USE IN THE INTRODUCTION PROCESS

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]
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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].

Fig. 2. Rows of C. sinensis before the start of restoration works. Mukachevo, "Shyrokyi" protected tract, 2016.

Fig. 3. General view of the restored area with C. sinensis plants. Mukachevo, "Shyrokyi" protected tract, 2023.

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

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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]

3. Krasovskyi V. V., Cherniak T. V. Prospects of enriching the collection of subtropical fruit crops of the Khorol Botanical Garden with Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze. Main, rare and non-traditional plant species - from study to development (agricultural and biological sciences): materials of the V Intern. sci.-pract. conf. (within the framework of the VI scientific forum "Scientific week in Kruty - 2021", Kruty village, Chernihiv reg., March 11, 2021). Kruty, 2021. Vol. 2. P. 33-37. [in Ukrainian]

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9. Oliveira A. P., Guimaraes A. L., Oliveira Junior R. G., Quintans J. S. S. et al. Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze: A Review of Chemical and Nutraceutical Properties. Natural products: research reviews / ed. V. K. Gupta. India: Daya Publishing House, 2016, Vol. 4. 21-62.

10. Tea cultures of Europe: heritage and hospitality: Arts & Venues | Teaware & Samovars | Culinary & Ceremonies / edited by Hartwig Bohne. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2024. 518 p.