An investigation was made on tea plant growth in a 30-year-old dense, no-tillage tea garden in Rongchang of Chongqing. The results showed that significant differences existed in light intensity at the ground surface between the rows, on the canopy surface, within the canopy and at the ground surface below the canopy. Soil humidity was 27.6% higher and soil pH was 11.7% higher within the rows than in the inter-rows. The tea shrubs averaged 65 cm in height with coverage of 87%. The thickness of the primary branches and its number was 32.2% and 27.6% greater beside the rows than within the rows, respectively. The density of spring sprouts averaged 2,710 buds/m2 in the garden and decreased with the decline in elevation. “Two leaves and a bud” were 3.56 cm in length with a one-hundred-bud weight of 17.48 g. Determination of the biochemical composition of the steam fixation samples of spring “one/two leaves and a bud” indicated that they contained free amino acids 3.91%, tea polyphenols 24.62%, catechins 127.60 mg/g, caffeine 3.92%, water soluble matter 44.78% and ashes 5.58%. Tea leaf yield remained at relatively high level, with an annual output of dried tea leaves of >3000 kg/hm2 and an annual output value of 9452.10 yuan/hm2.
