Drought resistance of ten seedling grasses

The effects of drought stresses on seven drought-resistant characteristics of ten seedling grasses were studied by reducing soil water in a pot experiment.The leaf water content(LWC) and leaf relative water content(LRWC) of the ten seedling grasses decreased,and their leaf soluble sugar content(LSSC) and leaf relative electrical conductivity(LREC) increased with improved drought stress resistance.During severe drought stress,the root/shoot of Bromus riparius,B.inermis,Festuca arundinacea,Agropyron desertorum and Phalaris arundinacea increased,but it decreased in the other five species.Drought stress did not significantly affect height stress index or dry matter stress index of the grasses.Cluster analysis gave three categories of grasses: High drought resistance grasses(B.inermis,B.riparius,and F.arundinacea);Medium drought resistance grasses(A.desertorum,A.smithii,Elytrigia elongate,and Dactylis glomerata);Low drought resistance grasses(F.rubra,Phleum pratense,and P.arundinacea).The order of drought resistance determined by principal component analysis was B.inermisF.arundinaceaB.ripariusD.glomerataA.desertorumE.elongateA.smithiiP.arundinaceaP.pratenseF.rubra.