Economically valuable properties of promising winter durum wheat varieties in the crimean steppe

Abstract

Soil and climate conditions of Crimea, despite their harshness, are favorable for durum wheat cultivation, but its acreage is minimal, which is due not only to economic reasons, but also to a lack of knowledge about the properties of new varieties that have been developed in recent years. The purpose of the current study was to estimate productivity and economic benefits of promising winter durum wheat varieties to identify those most tolerant to the aridity of Crimea. Field trials were conducted in the central steppe area of the peninsula at the experimental site of the FSBSI “RIA in Crimea” (v. of Klepinino) in 2022–2024. There have been studied five winter durum wheat varieties developed in the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”, compared with the standard variety ‘Lakomka’. The experimental plot was of 25 m², fourfold repetition, the wheat was sown in weedfree fallow with a seeding rate of 4 million g.k. per hectare. The trials and statistical analysis were performed according to the methodology of B.A. Dospekhov and the State Variety Testing. There has been established that over the years of study, the variety ‘Pridonie’ formed the maximum number of productive stems (324 pcs/m2 ), and the variety ‘Khrizolit’ was characterized by the most full-weight ear of 1.7 g. These varieties have also formed the maximum productivity in the trials (4.59 and 4.56 t/ha, respectively). According to technological parameters, the grain of the studied varieties corresponded to the 3-d and 4-th quality classes. Correlation analysis has shown that all structural elements influenced wheat productivity. There was a strong positive correlation between productivity and 1000-kernel weight, grain weight per ear, and a number of productive stems (r = 0.84, 0.68, and 0.69, respectively).