FROM THE HISTORY OF TEA CULTIVATION IN UZBEKISTAN

This article examines the efforts to cultivate tea plants in Uzbekistan based on archival sources, mass media materials, and scholarly
literature. The study reveals that in the late 19th century, during the period of the Turkestan Governor-Generalship, tea seeds and
seedlings were imported from China in order to establish tea cultivation. These were distributed among experimental plots in
various regions as well as to prominent merchants. However, due to unsuitable climatic and agro-technical conditions, these
attempts did not yield successful results. Furthermore, in the mid-20th century, a second phase of tea cultivation research was
initiated by the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. During this period, experimental studies were conducted in the Tashkent
and Samarkand regions, focusing on adapting tea plants to local environmental conditions. In the years of independence, the issue
of tea cultivation in Uzbekistan regained significance. A Scientific and Production Center for Tea Development was established,
and various projects are being implemented under government initiatives with the aim of including Uzbekistan among teaproducing countries