Adaptability of peanut genotypes under drought stress

Plant morphology characteristics,biomass accumulation and photosynthetic pigment content of 29 peanut varieties(lines) planted in northern China were investigated with artificial water control conditions.The results showed that main stem height and branch numbers decreased,however root/shoot ratio,photosynthetic pigment content and specific leaf area increased gradually with extended period of drought stress,in which,chlorophyll a had most significant increases.There were significant differences among these varieties in responding to different stress level and stress time.At different growth stages,the changes of biomass accumulation,root/shoot ratio and specific leaf area caused by drought stress among varieties were not completely consistent.Indices had no correlation with drought resistances of different varieties(lines) in seedling stage,however had positive correlation in flowering stage.The result indicated that these peanut varieties of Huayu17,Huayu25,Tangke8,Fenghua1,Luhua14,Jihua4 and Huayu27 had stronger drought tolerance.