Abstract: This experiment was conducted with rooted cuttings of ground-cover chrysanthemum, Dentranthema×grandiflorum White Snow. The 10-leaf cuttings were exposed to dehydrations in air and osmotic adjustments of PEG, respectively. With the prerequisite of determination of wilting index (WI), fresh weight retention rate (FWRR), leaf water potential (LWP), leaf solute osmotic potential (LSOP), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were measured. The main morphological characteristics to describe WI differed in both treatments. When the duration of dehydrations in air was less than 8 h, the cuttings could be recovered in 1/2 Hoagland and Arnon solutions, during which, the changes of FWRR, LWP, MDA content, SOD and CAT activity were related to drought tolerance of the cuttings. With 20% PEG treatment, the cuttings could be recovered normally in the recovery solution within 4 h stress, and the changes of FWRR, LSOP, MDA content, and SOD activity were related to drought tolerance. The above results suggested that both dehydrations in air and osmotic adjustments of PEG could be used to evaluate simply the drought tolerance of White Snow, and it differed in their available indices of water relations and physiology.

Key words: Ground-cover chrysanthemum (Dentranthema×grandiflorum), Drought tolerance, Index, Evaluation