Drought and water scarcity are the main problems in wheat production in the northern wheat region. Breeding new varieties of drought-resistant and water-saving wheat is an effective way to solve this problem, and creating new germplasm of drought-resistant and water-saving wheat provides important material foundation for wheat breeding. In this study, 223 genetic stable mutants of Jimai 22 were induced by ethyl methylsulfonate (EMS). 18 drought-resistant mutants were screened by dryland yield and polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) simulated drought stress. Through the identification of drought stress and water saving materials, 12 highly drought-resistant mutants (DI≥1.300) and 10 highly water-saving mutants (WSI≥1.400) were screened. Among them, 7 mutants had both extremely strong drought-resistant and water-saving properties, designated as 22-3, 22-4, 22-5, 22-9, 22-13, 22-16, and 22-17, which could be used as excellent germplasms for drought resistance and water-saving breeding. In addition, mutants 22-1, 22-10, 22-11, 22-12, and 22-14 could be used as drought resistant germplasms, while 22-2, 22-7, and 22-8 could be used as water-saving germplasms. Correlation analysis showed that the yield-related traits of the mutants in rain-fed conditions could be used as screening indices for drought-resistant germplasm, and the number of grains per spike and unit yield of the mutant in water-saving conditions could be used as screening indices for water-saving germplasm. |