Improvement of winter soft wheat varieties in the conditions of the Volgograd, Russia

In the dry-steppe zone of chestnut soils of the Volgograd region, the influence of economically valuable plant traits on grain yield was determined on the varieties of competitive variety testing for the years 2000 to 2018. The main task of breeding winter soft wheat of the Volgograd region is to create varieties with increased resistance to changing weather conditions and consistently high productivity of high-quality grain. Competitive variety testing was laid on a black pair according to the methodology of the State Commission, with plot size of 25 m² replicated 4 times, and seeding rate of 4 million germinating grains/ha. The initial breeding material was created using systematic hybridization of local varieties with samples from the VNIIR collection. The varieties of the competitive test were mainly represented by semi-intensive types. Harvesting of winter wheat was carried out by a continuous method, a SAMPO - 130 combine harvesters. Biometric indicators of the structure of the winter wheat crop are carried out using a 0.25 m² frame, in 3-fold repetition. According to the test results, a close correlation of the yield was established: on the grain mass of the main ear (r = 0.69), the mass of 1000 grains (r=0.72) and the number of productive ears per unit area (r=0.73). In 2019, 45 samples of the VNIIR world collection of new arrivals, of various geographical origin, were studied. Samples with a complex of economically useful signs have been identified: Skarbnitsa, Governor of the Don, Pionerskaya 32, Ear of Orenburg, Atava, Poveliya, Zvytyaga.