Evaluation of Mulberry Cold Resistance Based on the Responses of the Physiological Indices to Low Temperature Stress

Low temperature of the late autumn is very harmful to the growth of mulberry during early period of the rest.In order to screen the cold tolerant mulberry varieties,14 mulberry varieties using subordinate function method combined with correlation analyses based on six physiological and biochemical indexes relevant to cold tolerance under low temperature treatment were comprehensively evaluated.The results indicated that 14 mulberry cultivars were divided into three groups of cold tolerance,the group I had three varieties with high cold resistance,the group II had seven varieties with moderate cold resistance,and the group III had four varieties with low cold resistance.