Résumé
To study survival under prolonged and severe drought in the perennial grass Dactylis glomerata we compared dormant, resistant and sensitive cultivars (cvs.) in both field and glasshouse experiments. Water status, membrane stability and expression of dehydrins were assessed in the immature leaf bases, which are the last surviving organs. Analysis of leaf elongation and senescence of aerial tissues showed that dormancy was exhibited by the potentially dormant cultivar (cv.) only in the field. This cultivar exhibited a high survival rate, similar levels of dehydration and expression of a low‐molecular weight (22–24 kDa) dehydrin in both drought and irrigated plants, whether fully dormant or not. At the same level of soil water deficit, there were no differences between the non‐dormant drought resistant and drought sensitive cultivars in plant water status and membrane stability. However, the accumulation of dehydrins as drought progressed was markedly different between these cultivars and was associated with their contrasting survival. The possible role of the major low‐molecular dehydrins in maintenance of cell integrity under dehydration is discussed with reference to both summer dormancy and survival under severe drought.