VARIETAL DIFFERENTIATION OF WINTER SOFT WHEAT BY MATURITY GROUPS IN THE FOREST-STEPPE OF THE MIDDLE VOLGA REGION

Abstract

In wheat selection, the earring period is a fairly reliable criterion for determining the ripeness group of the variety. The aim of the research was to determine the maturity groups of winter soft wheat varieties of various ecological and geographical origin in the middle Volga forest-steppe. 18 varieties of winter soft wheat included in the State register of selection achievements for the middle Volga region of Russia were used for research in machine seeding.102 varieties originating from 11 countries were used in manual seeding. It is established that the intra-and intervariental change of the date of winter soft wheat earning is weak and moderate. The share of genotype (variety) influence in the variability of the duration of the growing season of winter soft wheat is 56.1 %, the year conditions-4.4 %, and the “genotype-year” interaction-36.5 %. Among the assortment of winter soft wheat of domestic selection, 54% of varieties showed themselves to be medium – ripe, 24% – medium-early, 10% - medium-late. The late-maturing, early-maturing, and ultra-early-maturing groups only included single varieties in certain years. Among the studied assortment of the world wheat collection late maturity had variety of Germany, the earliness and medium early– wheat of China, Japan, Bulgaria and the North Caucasus region of Russia, medium maturing varieties of the Siberian region of the country. Wheat of different groups of ripeness were represented by varieties of Ukraine. The ultra-early and late-maturing varieties of foreign selection selected in the study are valuable as a source material for the selection of soft wheat for the duration of the growing season in the middle Volga forest-steppe.