| Principal component analysis, fuzzy clustering and fuzzy subordinate function were used to evaluate the drought tolerance of 100 maize inbred lines based on their performance with plant height, stem diameter in breeding, free proline content, malondialdehyde content and peroxides activity, under the conditions of well water and water-stressed simulated by 20% PEG 6 000. The result indicated that drought stress reduced of plant height and stem diameter, and influenced the physiological and biochemical indexes significantly. 100 maize varieties were divided into 5 categories according to cluster analysis: 32 very high drought-resistant lines, 22 high drought-resistant lines, 31 middle drought-resistant lines, 13 low drought-resistant lines and 2 drought-sensitive lines. These results will provide effective guide for breeding the hybrids tolerant to drought. |
