Soft winter wheat variety model of intensive type for the conditions of the South, South-East and the Central Black Earth zone of Russia

Abstract

In the laboratory of selective breeding and primary seed production of
winter wheat of the North Caucasus Federal Agricultural Research Center (Stavropol
Territory), a model of soft winter wheat varieties for cultivation in the soil, climatic and
agrotechnological conditions of the North Caucasus, Lower Volga and Central Black Earth
regions was created and presented in the article . The model of an intensive variety type is a
justification, a scientific prediction, a description of what combination of traits a new variety
should have in order to form a given potential of valuable economic and biological traits
during cultivation under production conditions. The research methodology is given and the
difficulty of the breeding improvement prediction of new varieties is noted. When developing
the model, limiting factors were taken into account, which reduce the manifestation of the
genotype in the recommended regions of cultivation. Selective breeding is carried out on the
basis of modern methods of classical, haploid and marker-based selection. Throughout all
stages of the breeding process, an individual, continuous, targeted selection of genotypes is
carried out according to the developed model. The structural elements of grain yield are in a
complex dependence on each other and are the result of the interaction of many physiological
processes. The main contribution to the increase in grain yield is made by the number of
grains in the wheat head, the weight of the grain of the wheat head and thousand-kernel
weight. In terms of plant height, it is a semi-dwarf with high lodging resistance. It is capable
of forming a grain yield of 9,5-10,0 t/ha under production conditions. It is characterized by:
high winter hardiness and drought tolerance, grain quality of strong wheat, resistance to
shatter losses and germination of grain at the root. As a result of the use of modern selective
breeding methods, the developed model, varieties of the intensive type of the center are
annually registered in the State Register of Selection Achievements for the North Caucasus,
Lower Volga and Central Black Earth regions. Over the past three years (2020-2022), four
intensive wheat varieties have been included in the State Register – Armada, Partner, Batya
and Morets. In terms of most valuable traits, they exceed the Arsenal variety and are close to
the model variety.