Abstract: Water plays an important role in the growth and development of wheat. Shanxi Province is seriously limited by water resources. Therefore, it is imperative to identify the drought resistance of main wheat varieties in Shanxi Province for breeding excellent drought-resistant varieties. In this study, simulated drought (20% PEG-6000) stress was induced at germination and seedling stages of 40 wheat varieties in Shanxi Province. The effects of drought stress on the morphological characteristics of germination and seedling stages were analyzed. The drought resistance of wheat varieties was evaluated by using membership function and comprehensive drought resistance evaluation value. The results showed that various characteristics of wheat germination and seedling stages were affected by drought stress in various degrees. Bud length, root length, bud fresh weight, root fresh weight at the germination stage, and leaf fresh weight and root fresh weight at the seedling stage were significantly affected by drought stress. A total of 21 drought-resistant varieties (52.5%) were screened out at the germination stage, with Shannong 17 having the highest comprehensive evaluation value (0.783). A total of five drought-resistant varieties (12.5%) were selected at the seedling stage, namely Shannong 24, Jinmai 66, Changmai 6135, Jinmai 62, and Changmai 3897. Changmai 3897 was a drought-resistant variety at both the germination and seedling stages. The relationship between the comprehensive evaluation value of drought resistance at the germination and seedling stages were further fitted, showing no significant correlation between the drought resistance of the tested varieties at both stages. Our results can provide a reference for the selection of dryland wheat production varieties and the improvement of drought resistance in Shanxi Province.

Key words: wheat, PEG, cluster analysis, comprehensive evaluation.