Types of drought resistance of wheat at seedling stage

Types of drought resistance at wheat seedling stage were investigated for 942 wheat varieties using repeated drought method to learn wheat adaptability to water stress at seeding stage. The results show that drought resistance is significantly different among different wheat varieties at seedling stages. Variation coefficient of survival rate among wheat varieties is 4.6%～43.51% after 3 times of repeated drought treatment. Tested varieties are classified as resistant, tolerant and sensitive to water stress based on survival rate following a repeated drought treatment. There are fewer seed roots, more secondary roots and stronger tiller numbers for wheat varieties with stronger resistance to drought at seedling stage. Wheat resistance to drought at seedling stage is inconsistent with that at the late stages and has no clear correlation with 1000-grain weight or the seasonality (winter or spring) of wheat.