Table 3. Nicotine contents of new leaves, new stems, mature leaves and roots of two tea cultivars (Yabukita and Benifuki) harvested during first, second and third crop seasons and the off season in 2014 and 2015.
| Parts | Cultivars | Crop season (nicotine content, μg g−1 dry weight) | Statistical analysis* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st season | 2nd season | 3rd season | Off- season | Cultivar | Season | Cultivar × Season |
||
| (18th Apr.) | (18th Jun.) | (13th Aug.) | (27th Feb.) | |||||
| New leaves | Yabukita | 0.010 ± 0.001 a |
0.023 ± 0.003 b |
0.022 ± 0.004 b |
n.t. | P < 0.05 | P < 0.01 | P < 0.05 |
| Benifuki | 0.015 ± 0.004 a |
0.016 ± 0.001 a |
0.036 ± 0.007 b |
n.t. | ||||
| New stems | Yabukita | 0.011 ± 0.000 a |
0.033 ± 0.005 b |
0.036 ± 0.008 b |
n.t. | NS | P < 0.01 | NS |
| Benifuki | 0.013 ± 0.000 a |
0.023 ± 0.001 a |
0.032 ± 0.003 b |
n.t. | ||||
| Mature leaves | Yabukita | 0.018 ± 0.002 ab |
0.014 ± 0.001 a |
0.013 ± 0.000 a |
0.023 ± 0.003 b |
NS | P < 0.01 | NS |
| Benifuki | 0.019 ± 0.004 ab |
0.014 ± 0.001 a |
0.015 ± 0.001 ab |
0.021 ± 0.001 b |
||||
| Roots | Yabukita | 0.028 ± 0.001 |
0.027 ± 0.001 |
0.027 ± 0.001 |
0.028 ± 0.001 |
P < 0.01 | NS | NS |
| Benifuki | 0.028 ± 0.002 |
0.030 ± 0.003 |
0.031 ± 0.001 |
0.031 ± 0.001 |
||||
Data represent means ± S.D. (n = 3). n.t.: not tested. Different letters within the same row indicate significant differences (Tukey’s HSD test, P < 0.05).
* Significant differences among organs of the two cultivars were estimated by two-way ANOVA. NS: not significant (P > 0.05).