Abstract: The leaf functional and photosynthetic characteristics were studied in 18 tea cultivars to explore their potential relationships. The leaf functional characteristics contained leaf area, leaf index (LI), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), Chla, Chlb, Chl a/b, Chl and Car. The photosynthetic indexes included net photosynthetic rate (P_n), stomatal conductance (G_s), intercellular CO₂ concentration, transpiration rate (T_r) and water use efficiency (WUE). The results showed that the LI, LDMC and G_s had low coefficients of variation (CV<10%) Whereas the CV of the rest 11 indices ranged from 15.08% to 42.69%, indicating a high level of diversity. The SLA was significantly and negatively correlated with LDMC, but LI and LA had no significant correlations with other leaf functional indicators. The LDMC was significant correlated with photosynthetic pigments. The Chla, Chlb, Chla/Chlb, Chl and Car were significantly and positively correlated with each other. The P_n, G_s and T_r had significant correlationship with each other. The G_s was significantly and positively correlated with C_i. The photosynthetic rate was mainly affected by stomatal limitation. The P_n and T_r had significant or highly significant correlationship with photosynthetic pigments, and the P_n had significant and positive correlation with LDMC. The results showed that higher photosynthetic pigments in tea cultivars had stronger photosynthetic production and dry matte accumulation. However, the G_s and WUE were not significantly correlated with leaf functional indices. The new tea cultivar-14 had relatively low SLA, but high LDMC, P_n and WUE. Therefore, it might be a tea cultivar with high drought resistance and photosynthetic efficiency, which could be used as a new material for tea breeding.

Key words: tea plant, different tea cultivars, leaf functional characteristics, leaf photosynthetic characteristics