Comparative evaluation of the promising lines of winter soft wheat in the south of the Rostov region

Abstract

The analysis of variability of winter soft wheat lines by quantitative traits is presented. The research was conducted in 2020–2023 in the Rostov region. Seven lines of winter soft wheat of the competitive variety trial were taken as an object of research. The Ermak variety was used as a standard. The yields of the lines during the years of study averaged from 9.78 to 10.12 t/ha with an average of 9.76 t/ha in the experiment. Plant height ranged from 85.0 to 115.0 cm. All the lines studied were classified as small- to medium-grained (32.9–45.9 g) in terms of 1000 grain weight. On average for the years of study, the minimum mass of 1000 grains was formed by the line 1638/19 (34.6 g), and the maximum – by the line 1361/19 (43.5 g). The lines had different groups of ripeness according to the indicator of the earing date. The spikelet length varied from 7.3 to 10.0 cm. The highest spikelet length was formed by the line 1361/19 (10.0 cm), the shortest – by the line 1120/19 (7.3 cm). The number of productive stems ranged from 471 to 924 stems/m². The maximum number of productive stems for the years of the study was formed by the line 1921/20 (758 pcs./m²), the minimum –  by the line 1361/19 (689 pcs./m²). The number of grains per plant ranged from 61.6 to 110.6. On average, the highest number of grains per plant was formed by the line 1638/19 (100.6 pcs.), the lowest – 1343/19 (70.4 pcs.). The grain weight per plant averaged 3.54 g and ranged from 2.26 to 4.56 g. The number of grains per ear varied from 28.9 to 51.5 pieces, the maximum number was formed by the lines 1361/19 (42.7 pcs.) and 1638/19 (41.2 pcs.). In terms of the grain weight per ear the standard was exceeded by the line 1361/19 (1.93 g), the values for the indicator varied from 1.02 to 2.28 g.