Seed Germination Response to Drought Stress and Drought Resistance Evaluation of Foxtail Millet

In order to explore the index of drought resistance and screen drought tolerance varieties,which can provide evidence for millet production and breeding for drought resistance,this study measured sprout index of drought resistance,vigor index of drought resistance,relative germination vigor,relative germination rate,relative plumule length and relative radicle length of twenty millet varieties to evaluate their drought resistance through adopting PEG solution simulated soil drought treatment. The results showed that vigor index of drought resistance,relative germination rate,relative germination vigor,relative plumule length and relative radicle length could be considered as the index of drought resistance which were highly significant correlation with sprout index of drought resistance( r = 0. 867**,0. 995**,0. 997**,0. 762**,0. 680**,respectively). Analysis showed that,relative germination vigor and relative germination rate could be used for the first indicator of drought resistance identification at millet germination stage; vigor index of drought resistance could be used for the second indicator; relative plumule length and relative radicle length could be used for the third indicator. The sprout index of drought resistance of Changnong40,Jinzhong 208,Changsheng 08-2,Fenxuan 446,Fu 12,Bao 200302,Zheng 12 and Changsheng 08-1 were 0. 917 3,0. 920 5,0. 865 1,0. 869 9,0. 836 6,0. 831 3,0. 843 0 and 0. 979 5,respectively,which showed better drought resistance than others in twenty millet varieties.