Water regime of plants, characteristic of a certain variety, largely determines the resistance of plants to drought. Drought affects, first of all, such indicators as water absorption capacity, water retention capacity, water deficit and changes in total water content in the process of ontogenesis. Studying and taking into account a number of parameters of water regime can significantly increase the reliability of the assessment of plants for drought resistance. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the water regime of the winter bread wheat varieties under an acute drought and to select promising samples for breeding for drought resistance. The objects for the study were 7 winter bread wheat varieties developed by the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. The study was carried out on the experimental plot (zasushnik) of the laboratory for plant physiology under an acute drought of 30% PV in 2017–2019. According to the study results, there have been identified the varieties ‘Zhavoronok’, ‘Volnitsa’ and ‘Volny Don’, which were characterized by the largest increase in water-absorbing capacity (from 40.0 to 41.1%); by a minimum increase in water deficit (1.3–2.1%); by the smallest decrease (3.2–3.8%) in the total water content in fibers due to adaptability to water stress conditions in spite of increasing drought. There has been recommended to introduce these samples into the breeding process aimed at developing drought-resistant winter bread wheat varieties.

Plant breeding plays an important role in increasing grain production and improving its quality. Currently, the de[1]velopment of new ecologically adaptable varieties that can more effectively use the climatic and soil resources of the regions is of great importance. The purpose of the current study was to analyze the parameters of ecological adapt[1]ability and stability of varieties and lines of the competitive variety testing (2018–2020) in the Rostov region. There have been studied five winter barley varieties ‘Timofey’, ‘Erema’, ‘Vivat’, ‘Marusya’, ‘Foks 1’ and six winter barley lines ‘Pallidum 1899’, ‘Pallidum 1972’, ‘Parallelum 1976’, ‘Parallelum 1979’, ‘Parallelum 1980’, ‘Parallelum 1981’ developed by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”. The sowing was carried out with a Wintersteiger Plotseed seeder, accounting plots area was 10 m². The forecrop was peas. The placement was systematic; the number of repetitions was 6. The factor ‘year’ had the greatest influence on the formation of productivity with 97.07%. The analysis of environmental condi[1]tions showed that there were more favorable growing conditions in 2018 (Ij = +1.27), and unfavorable ones in 2019 (Ij = -1.62). The productivity of the varieties ‘Erema’ (9.4 t / ha; +0.7), ‘Marusya’ (9.7 t / ha; +1.0) and the line ‘Pallidum 1972’ (9.4 t / ha; +0.7) exceeded that of the standard variety. There has been established the varieties and lines ‘Timofey’, ‘Pallidum 1972’, ‘Parallium 1979’, ‘Parallum 1981’ had increased stress resistance. The varieties ‘Erema’, ‘Marusya’ and the line ‘Pallidum 1972’ had a higher compensatory ability. According to the analysis of adaptability, the varieties ‘Erema’, ‘Marusya’, ‘Foks 1’, as well as the line ‘Parallelum 1976’ were identified as responsive with linear regression coefficient values above one. The lines ‘Pallidum 1972’, ‘Parallelum 1979’, ‘Parallelum 1981’ and the variety ‘Marusya’ consistently produced high yields. The lines ‘Pallidum 1972’, ‘Parallum 1979’ and ‘Parallum 1981’ possessed high stability index (L) and PUSS index.

Upland rice grown by rice farmers is having the lowest productivity in the rice production system. Drought stress is the most severe abiotic constraint for upland rice. The improvement of rice productivity in such ecosystems is essential to meet the food security needs of the population. Therefore, the cultivation of drought tolerant rice is becoming an increasingly important task. Numerous minor traits have been proposed to assist plant breeders in their selection, but most of these traits are not used in breeding because they are not practical for breeding purposes, have low heritability, or are not very correlated with grain productivity. There has been shown, that standardization of drought screening improves heritability under stress to the values similar to those obtained for the yields under well-watered conditions. Nowadays there has now been proven that drought-resistant varieties can be developed by direct selection for productivity under stressful conditions. Currently, there have been identified many quantitative trait loci (QTL) of drought tolerance in rice, but only a few of them are suitable for use in marker breeding. However, the identified genes of great drought tolerance can be effectively used in breeding for drought tolerance. The use of molecular markers will improve the efficiency of breeding work. The current review has briefly considered the importance of rice, its various production systems, and the impact of drought stress on rice production. There have been discussed the physiological mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of grain productivity under drought conditions, and there have been analyzed the breeding methods for improvement of drought resistance.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the high-protein spring barley variety (Hordeum vulgare L.) ‘Granik’ in the conditions of the left bank of the Saratov region. The study was carried out on the basis of the Krasnokutsk breeding experimental station, located in the Saratov region, Krasnokutsk district, the village of Semennoy on chestnut soils (coordinates of the experimental plot is 50.914007, 47.068303). The years of 2013, 2014 and 2020 (from 8 years of studying the new variety in the competitive variety testing (CVT)) were average humid; the years of 2016 and 2017 were wet; the years of 2015, 2018 and 2019 were acutely arid. There was established a significant advantage of the new variety over the standard variety ‘Nutans 553’ according to productivity on 0.25 t/ha (+11.0%) on average; according to 1000-grain weight on 2.4 g (+6.0%); according to grain number per 1 m2 on 270 grains (5.0%). The variety ‘Granik’ was distinguished by a higher straw (69.3 cm, which was 4.0 cm higher than that of the standard variety), by better resistance to lodging and to dust brand. Under artificial inoculation with spores of the local population of dust brand, the greatest damage to the variety was 9.9%, while the standard variety was 23.1%. There were no significant differences between the varieties according to ‘length of vegetation period’ (70–74 days), nutritional and energy value. There has been found that both varieties were characterized by a high protein percentage (15.6–15.9%). Since 2019, the variety ‘Granik’ has been introduced into the List of the State Register of the Russian Federation for the 8th (Lower Volga) region. In 2020 the variety was tested in production conditions at the Arkadak agricultural experimental station on an area of 50 hectares, where it produced 3.30 t/ha against the background of the variety ‘Yak 401’, which produced 2.60 t/ha on the same area.

The general climate change in the south of Russia makes the development of new varieties of grain crops, including forage grasses, with high resistance and adaptability to climatic stress factors extremely necessary. The breeding process of forage plant adapted to changing environmental conditions is seen as an effective way to allow crop production to cope with unexpected possible climate changes with the least possible losses. The specific reaction of plants to environmental conditions is of particular interest when studying collection plant samples of different gen[1]otypes, as well as when choosing varieties for cultivation in specific conditions. Studying the stability and adaptability of collection samples of forage grasses can also make it possible to use them in different regions. The purpose of the current study was to estimate alfalfa samples by the parameters of ecological adaptability and stability according to the trait ‘seed productivity’. The objects of study were 30 samples of the VIR collection from the USA, Canada, France and Peru. There has been identified a large group of samples with bi < 1. These samples were important as genotypes with a weak responsiveness of seed productivity to worse conditions. They are to be used in hybrids to obtain an initial material that is adaptive according to the trait ‘seed productivity’ in stressful conditions. The smallest bi coefficient was found in the samples ‘K-42694’ (0.20), ‘K-32783’ (0.22) and ‘K-47804’ (0.29). The stability coefficient σd 2 , which reflects the correlation between the growing conditions and seed productivity of the samples through the years of study and was calculated on the basis of the theoretical productivity and the deviation of the theoretical value from the actual one, varied from 0.01 to 74.70. This range of variation indicates that the set of samples contains such samples whose stability of productivity is genetically determined and significantly exceeds the variability of the average productivity of the entire set. Estimation of differences according to stability of seed productivity, in comparison with the standard variety ‘Rostovskaya 90’, revealed a significant difference in this trait in the samples ‘K-43272’, ‘K-50545’, ‘K-50561’.

In 2016–2020 in the Republic of Kalmykia the winter durum wheat area was sown by the variety ‘Kermen’ of joint development by the Kalmykia Research Agricultural Institute named after M.B. Narmaev, a branch of the “Pre-Kaspy Agricultural Federal Research Center RAS” (KRAI, a branch of the PkAFRC RAS) and the FSBSI “National Center of grain named after P.P. Lukyanenko”, and the variety ‘Kristella’ developed by the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. The current paper has presented the study results of productivity and grain quality of the varieties ‘Kermen’ and ‘Kristella’ on the experimental plot of the KRAI, a branch of the PkAFRC RAS over the past five years. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the winter durum wheat varieties according to the traits of productivity and grain quality for giving recommendations and their further introduction into production. In the conditions of the experimental plot of the KRAI, a branch of the PkAFRC RAS, over five years the mean productivity of the variety ‘Kermen’ exceeded that of the variety ‘Kristella’ on 0.56 t/ha, or 14.2%. There should be noted that the variety ‘Kristella’ showed the maximum productivity (5.88 t/ha) in 2016, which was a reliable addition to the variety ‘Kermen’. The varieties ‘Kermen’ and ‘Kristella’ have formed grain with a sufficiently high percentage of protein and gluten, which according to GOST 9353-2016, meets the requirements of the 1st and 3rd class for winter durum wheat. There were identified higher quality indicators in the variety ‘Kristella’.

The current paper has presented the results of long-term experiments on the study of the biological activity of sod-podzolic soil by the application method in field crop rotations. The experimental part of the work was carried out on the experimental plots of the Mari Research Institute of Agriculture, a branch of the FSBSI FARC of the North-East in 1996–2020. The trials were laid down in 1996 and 1998. The trial was laid down in two factors. Factor A included such types of crop rotations as grain-grasses crop rotations (oats + clover, clover of 1 year of use, winter crops, vetch-oat mixture for grain, spring wheat, barley as a control grain crop); the first rotation of crops (annual leguminous grasses, winter crops, barley, potatoes, vetch-oat mixture for grain, spring wheat); the second rotation of crops (vetch-oat mix[1]ture for grain, spring wheat, potatoes fertilized with manure (80 t/ha), barley + clover, clover of 1 year of use, winter crops); the third rotation of crops (barley + clover, clover of 1 year of use, clover of 2 years of use, winter crops, pota[1]toes, oats). Factor B included application of mineral fertilizers: control grain crop (without fertilizers); N60P60K60. There has been established that the activity of soil microflora mainly depended on the presence of organic matter in the soil. The largest activity of cellulose-destroying microorganisms against a natural background of fertility was identified in the second rotation of crops, with the introduction 23.9% of manure for potatoes in the first period (45 days) and 54.7% in the second period (90 days) of exposure. The slightest biological activity of the soil was identified in the grain-grasses crop rotation (with 83% of grain crops); it was 17.7% in the first 45 days and 43.4% in the second period of exposure. That was caused by the deficit of organic matter. The introduction of mineral fertilizers in a dose of N60P60K60 under pre-sowing tillage significantly increased the soil biological activity in comparison to the unfertilized background, and a fairly high intensity of flax decomposition was observed in the second rotation of crops with 24.9% in 45 days and 56.8% in 90 days. Correlation analysis (1998-2019) between the mean flax decomposition under crops for the entire vegetation period and the value of the hydrothermal coefficient (HThC) showed a close direct correlation, which in the first and second periods of exposure was 0.87–0.90 and 0.86–0.89, respectively.

The purpose of the current study was to consider and identify promising peas lines with high grain productivity and determine their adaptability parameters. The field study was carried out at the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”, located in the southern part of the Rostov region during the 4-year competitive variety testing (2017–2020). The objects of the study were 19 breeding lines developed by the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. All lines were of a leafless type. The standard variety was the variety ‘Aksaysky usaty 5’. The lines ‘G-1002’ (2.60 t/ha), ‘G-1003’ (2.81 t/ha), ‘G-1005’ (2.58 t/ha), ‘G-1007’ (2.56 t/ha), ‘G-1014’ (2.63 t / ha) and ‘B-3790/30-3’ (2.54 t/ha) showed a significant excess over the standard variety. The mean productivity in the competitive variety testing of 2017–2020 was 2.41 t/ha. The maximum productivity difference among the years was 1.63 t/ha, or 89% of the mean productivity. This indicates a high contrast of the cultivation conditions over the years. There have been identified the adaptability parameters of the pea lines (stress resistance, genetic flexibility, homeostaticity and breeding value), which exceeded grain productivity of the standard variety. The lines ‘G-1014’ (5.31), ‘G-1007’ (6.12), and ‘B-3790/30-3’ (6.47) showed the highest homeostaticity. The productivity of these lines was more even over the years and it is preferable to cultivate them in contrasting conditions (zones of risky farming, low agricultural background). The lines ‘G-1002’ (4.19), ‘G-1005’ (4.53) were a bit inferior to them. The line ‘G-1003’ had the lowest level of homeostaticity (3.98). The lines ‘G-1014’ (1.49), ‘G-1007’ (1.47), ‘B-3790/30-3’ (1.44) were characterized with the greatest indicator of breeding value. According to the results of the competitive variety testing in 2017–2019, in 2019 the line ‘G-1003’ with the highest grain productivity, was sent to the State Variety Testing under the name ‘Zernogradsky usaty’ in the North Caucasian (6) region. According to the estimation results of the adaptive properties, the variety is responsive to the improvement of cultivation conditions and has been recommended for cultivation in intensive technology.

The current paper has considered the study results of the productivity of the lupine-winter wheat rotation link with different methods of basic tillage. The study was carried out on grey forest soil in the south-west of the Blackearth part of the Bryansk region on the basis of the stationary trial of the All-Russian Research Institute of Lupine in 2015–2018. The purpose of the study was to characterize the productivity of the lupine – winter wheat crop rotation link with differ[1]ent methods of basic tillage. The scheme of the trial included four variants of the main tillage during the cultivation of winter wheat and lupine in a four crop rotation sequences, namely winter wheat – naked oats – winter triticale – lupine. During the period of the study, the highest productivity of the lupine-winter wheat rotation link was identified in the case of moldboard plowing with chisel tillage once every four years for lupine and amounted to 5.2 t/ha of grain units. With this method of tillage, winter wheat and lupine showed high rates of yield and nutritional value. These indicators turned out to be energetically beneficial in terms of energy flow in the agroecosystem. The lowest rates of yield of the link was obtained in the option with subsurface plowing to a depth of 16 cm and amounted to 3.9 t/ha of grain units; the energy cost per ton of grain was 6.7 GJ. With the option with traditional moldboard plowing, the productivity of the crop rotation link was 4.5 t/ha of grain units, and the energy cost was 5.9 GJ per ton of grain. All the presented options of the main tillage in this crop rotation can be used on farms with different levels of economic development and farming culture.

Spring bread wheat is cultivated in the Omsk region, mainly in grain-fallow crop rotations, repeated and perma[1]nent crops, less in crop-changing rotations and occupies up to 73% of the grain share of Western Siberia. Soybean crops are growing in the region, but at the same time, there have not been sufficiently studied the peculiarities of the cultivation technology of spring wheat sown after this forecrop. The purpose of the current study was to establish the efficiency of agricultural cultivation technologies of spring wheat in the crop rotation sown after soybean in the southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia. The study was carried out in a stationary crop rotation with alternating crops (soy[1]beans – spring wheat – oil flax – barley) in the laboratory for resource-saving agricultural technologies of the Omsk Research Center on meadow-blackearth soil in 2011–2019. There has been established that the soil cultivation system and the means of intensification influenced the elements of fertility and the phytosanitary state of the agrophytocenosis of spring wheat sown after soybean. With subsurface plowing, in comparison with moldboard plowing, there was an increase in biomass and number of weeds on 21 and 43%, respectively. The use of chemicals resulted in a significant increase in spring wheat biomass (on 1.8 times) and a decrease in number of weeds (on 3.3 times), which had a noticeable effect on the productivity. Productivity of wheat sown after soybeans decreased with a decrease in tillage intensity from moldboard plowing to subsurface plowing on 16%. The intensive cultivation technology of spring wheat increased its productivity up to 3.32 t / ha, the protein and gluten content in grain on 16–18%. As for chemicals, the maximum grain number increase on 28.2% was provided by the use of fungicides compared to the control (1.46 t/ha).

Adding oat products to composite mixtures during baking increases the biological value of a new product. The purpose of the current study was to assess the biochemical properties of grain of the naked oat varieties ‘Baget’ and ‘Bekas’, to establish the rheological parameters of dough mixtures obtained by mixing white oat flour and whole grain flour with high-quality wheat flour according to the farinographic analysis. The introduction of oat products into the mixture affects the structural and mechanical indicators of the dough and can improve or worsen the quality indicators of bakery products. It is the decoding of the diagrams (Brabender farinograph, Chopin alveograph, etc.) that satisfy the questions related to the study of dough, with the characteristics of the physical properties of dough. There has been established a high nutritional grain value of the naked oat varieties (whole grain and white flour), when the protein percentage was on 5.3–7.6% more than in wheat flour and oil content was almost 6–5 times higher, which indicated great opportunities for using this grain crop in bakery. The study of the rheological parameters of dough showed that in composite mixtures the type of ingredients (whole grain flour, white flour) and the proportion of naked oats products (10, 20, 30%) differently affect the physical properties of dough, i.e. in relation to premium wheat flour, dilution of dough increases on 40–140 u.f., resistance of dough to extension (stability) reduces on 2.5–6.0 min and valorigraphic number reduces on 10–36 u.v. When mixing with white oat flour compared to whole grain, the physical properties of the dough are characterized by the best indicators, however, the introduction of whole-ground oat flour in the mixture retains all the benefits of oat grain. There were no significant differences between the naked oat varieties ‘Baget’ and ‘Bekas’ in the effect on the rheological parameters of the dough. When using oat flour in mixtures, there was identified a tendency to deterioration of the physical properties of dough, the differences were significant in terms of the resistance of dough to extension (stability) and valorigraphic number.

The constant growth of urbanization and population of the planet are driving to a global energy growth. At the same time, society is increasingly aware of the consequences of environmental problems due to climate change and active extraction of fossil fuels. Biodiesel is intended to make a significant contribution to the future energy needs of the economies of developed countries. In this regard, the oilseed crop Crambe abyssinica attracts attention as an energy culture. The purpose of the current study was to identify the possible areas of the use of Crambe abyssinica and to collect data on the crop productivity in the world on the basis of bibliometric analysis. The current paper has described the range of possibilities for using Crambe abyssinica, mainly for non-food aim, namely in cosmetics, perfumery, in technical industry, as an adsorbent for wastewater, etc. There has been established that Crambe abyssinica produc[1]tivity in the world, depending on the region of cultivation, varies within significant limits from 0.6 to 5 t/ha and varies greatly due to climatic conditions. There has been shown that the productivity of the domestic varieties of Crambe abyssinica ‘Polet’, ‘Demetra’ and ‘Arfa’ produces 3.06-3.22 t/ha in the Middle Volga region, 1.45 t/ha in the Saratov region, 0.54–1.55 t/ha in the Crimea. The diversity of crop genotypes has indicated that there are wide opportunities for further breeding improvement in the varieties possessing better fatty acid composition using advanced methods to modify existing genetic resources.

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea (Fr) Tul.) is a widespread rye disease. A strong development of the disease can reduce up to 60% of grain productivity and its quality. In the rye gene pool, there was found no samples with complete resis[1]tance to Cl. purpurea. Since 2016, six new winter rye varieties with a low content of water-soluble pentosans in grain have been approved for cultivation in Russia. It has been noticed that low-pentosan varieties are less affected by ergot. The harmful effect of the disease largely depends on the sclerotia parameters. The purpose of the current study was to characterize the development of ergot on the high-pentosan winter rye variety ‘Era’ and its low-pentosan analogue ‘Novaya Era’. There was estimated the infestation of the varieties, the size and weight of the formed sclerotia. It was found that with the same infection level, the infestation of the variety ‘Era’ was 48.5%, and that of the variety ‘Novaya Era’ was 18.1%. On the heads of high-pentosan rye there were formed full-fledged sclerotia with 15.97–23.55 mm in length and 2.68–3.83 mm in width. On the heads of low-pentosan rye ‘Novaya Era’ the fungus formed underdeveloped sclerotia, the mass of which was 4-8 times less than on the variety ‘Era’. The small size and weight of the horns facilitated their removal from the crop during threshing, and reduced rye grain infection with ergot. The frequency of low-pentosan plants occurring in the varietal population affects the infection rate of rye. The frequency of low-pentosan plants in the variety ‘Era’ is 43%, and in the variety ‘Novaya Era’ is 95%. The development of rye varieties characterized by a low content of water-soluble pentosans in grain is connected with breeding for resistance to Cl. purpurea.

The current study was carried out in the southern part of the Rostov region at the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2018–2020. The purpose of the study was to investigate the combined effect of mineral fertilizers and treatments with the growth retardant ‘Moddus’ on productivity of the barley variety ‘Marusya’. In the course of the study, there was identified high responsiveness of the facultative barley variety ‘Marusya’ to the use of mineral fertilizers. Without fertilization, the productivity was 3.46–3.59 t/ha, and 0.87–1.57 t/ha when using the fertilizers. The maximum productivity and protein percentage were established in the variants with the introduction of N79P82K57 according to the active ingredient, with 5.81 t/ha and 0.55 t/ha, respectively. The treatment of plants with the growth retardant ‘Moddus’ contributed to productivity increase on 0.13–0.22 t/ha on average over the years of study. Under the effect of the growth retardant ‘Moddus’, the number of productive heads increased on 5–19 pieces/m2 , there was also a tendency to an increase in the number of grains per head and grain weight per head. The growth retardant ‘Moddus’ contributed to a decrease in plant height on 3.6–5.6 cm, at the same time there was a tendency to increase length of head on 0.2–0.5 cm in comparison with the control variant. Mineral fertilizers effectively increased nature weight of the facultative barley variety ‘Marusya’. Without fertilization, nature weight of grain was 579 g/l and 584 g/l, and when using fertilizers, it increased on 16–27 g/l or 2.7–4.6%. Productivity increase in the variant when treating with the growth retardant ‘Moddus’ resulted in an increase of the indicator of conditional net income over the control variant on 745–1884 rubles/ha.

An increase in spring barley acreage requires a detailed study of the interaction of agronomic and climatic factors, as well as the selection of a modern set of new varieties. The use of mineral fertilizers is one of the most important methods to improve the productivity of grain crops and maintain a deficit-free balance of mineral nutrients in arable soils. The current study of the effective use of various doses of mineral fertilizers (NPK) on the new spring barley variety ‘Znatny’ was carried out on dark-gray forest heavy loamy soil in 2018–2020 by the Institute of Seed production and Agrotechnologies, a branch of the Federal Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Research Agro-Engineering Center VIM”. There has been established that the date of the phenological phases and the length of interphase periods did not depend on fertilizer rates, but had a close correlation with weather conditions (r = +0.68). The analysis of the obtained data has shown that an increase in the rates of applied fertilizers increases the aboveground biomass, which, in turn, negatively affects productivity of the barley variety ‘Znatny’ (r = -0.77). The analysis of the yield structure and rates of fertilizers NPK has shown that in the trial, the spring barley productivity was influenced by 1000-grain weight (r = +0.60). There was found a high inverse correlation between productivity and length of head (r = -0.85). When length of head ranged from 7.5 to 8.4 cm, grain weight per head remained practically at the same level in all variants (1.1–1.2). This indicated that at a rate of N90P90K90 and N120P120K120, the variety ‘Znatny’ formed a not very dense head. Protein percentage at these rates also greatly reduced. According to the obtained data, an increase in the doses of applied fertilizers (N90Р90К90–N120Р120К120) resulted in the intensified development of most leaf diseases and a decrease in lodging resistance. Thus, the optimal dose of application of azophoska fertilizer on dark-gray forest soil is the norm N45P45K45, since on this option there was obtained maximum productivity and net income. the increase in the recom[1]mended norms of mineral fertilizers, sharply reduces profitability of crop cultivation.