Objective In this study, Populus alba was used to detect the effect of drought stress on growth and development, which provided reference for the molecular mechanism of the response to drought stress in woody.

Method The seedlings of Populus alba about five weeks were treated with drought stress, the growth state and drought stress-related physiological indicators and genes were record and detected to reveal the resistance of Populus alba to drought stress.

Result The results showed that the water content of leaves decreased significantly and stomatal aperture became smaller after 8 days of drought treatment; meanwhile ROS increased significantly, ABA accumulated in the body, and the growth-related hormone IAA content decreased, drought stress-related genes were upregulated.

Conclusion By detecting the tolerance of Populus alba to drought stress from multiple perspective, the growth of their seedlings is significantly inhibited after drought treatment for 8 days, which indicates that watering timely is necessary.