The current paper has presented a historical excursion and an overview of scientific research on breeding and seed production of winter and spring barley in the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. The Southern Federal District includes 8 subjects of the Russian Federation, namely Sevastopol; republics of Adygea, Kalmykia, Crimea; Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions. Barley is the main grain forage crop in terms of sown area. Don farmers have long shown interest in this valuable, diverse crop, very unpretentious to the cultivation conditions. Barley breeding work began in our institution in 1932 and is still ongoing, with short interruptions, to the present. Research was carried out in various areas: breeding of winter, spring and facultative barley, seed production and technology of their cultivation. In the XXI-st century, the researchers of the barley department developed new innovative directions in barley breeding, there were developed two-row brewing varieties with high malting rates (the variety ‘Randevu’) in winter barley breeding and in spring barley breeding there were developed fodder barley (green fodder) varieties (the variety ‘Novik’), which were previously absent in the State List of the Russian Federation. In 2014 there were opened new directions in the department, namely the development of hulles spring barley varieties and awnless winter barley varieties. Since 2016, there has been carried out an active work to identify winter barley lines that are genetically resistant to net blotch. Together with the All-Russian Research Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, there was carried out an estimation of the radiosensitivity of winter and spring barley varieties to identify varieties being resistant to the environmental stress factors. Based on research materials, there were successfully defended 11 candidate and two doctoral dissertations, there were published eight monographs and more than 400 scientific articles.

The challenges at the modern consumer market, climate change, an increase in the number of epiphytotic and arid years dictate the necessity to accelerate wheat breeding for a whole range of traits and, above all, those associated with an improvement of productivity, grain quality, resistance to diseases and drought. Marker assisted selection (MAS) allows reducing time for developing varieties with specified parameters in the conditions of a particular region. The purpose of the current work was to identify KASP-markers associated with genes of valuable traits in the collection and breeding material of wheat and effective SNP-loci for marker assisted selection (MAS) in Western Siberia. Identification of genes that control economically valuable traits using 64 KASP-markers in 2020 was performed in the LGC-Genomics laboratory (Great Britain). It was found that the platforms for genotyping SNP-loci of a large number of current varieties had a significant similarity, despite the geographical separation of varieties, which indicated the vulnerability of grain production during large-scale epiphytoties and drought. There have been found differences in the identified SNP-loci and their frequency of occurrence between current varieties, ancient wheat varieties, and breeding material based on synthetic wheat. According to the results of phenotyping of the studied samples in the field seasons of 2020–2021 there has been shown a significant effect of the root system’s parameters (genes TraesCS2D01G395500.1 and TraesCS4D01G341800.1 in chromosomes 2D and 4D) on grain size and productivity improvement. The drought resistant gene TaDreb-B1 has affected on an increase of grain content of a head and productivity. The genes GPC-B1 and TraesCS2D01G316300.1, which are responsible for nitrogen remobilization, protein and dry biomass accumulation in grain, significantly contributed to the improvement of nutritional grain value and accumulation of protein in grain. Due to marker-controlled selection in the CVT, there have been identified the varieties that significantly exceeded productivity standards, with a complex of genes that have positive effects on grain quality, resistance to diseases and drought.

The current paper has described the method of developing a spring shot wheat variety (Triticum sphaerococcum Percival) Sakara and its characteristics. The purpose of the current study was to show the efficiency of the ongoing breeding work with Indian dwarf, using the variety ‘Sakara’ as an example, to increase grain productivity and resistance to leaf-stem fungal diseases, while maintaining the high grain quality characteristic of shot wheats. Research methods were adapted for shot wheat based on the methods adopted in spring bread wheat breeding. The developed variety has features characteristic for a species, namely a short strong non-lodging stem and, as a result, 9 points of lodging resistance; a shot kernel shape with 25.6 g of 1000-grain weight; a dense, non-drooping head; excellent quality indicators of grain and flour, according to most indicators corresponding to GOST 34702-2020 for strong wheat. The T. sphaerococcum species, due to its characteristic morphological features, has a lower grain productivity than T. aestivum, mean productivity of the variety ‘Sakara’ for three years of testing was 34 % less than that of the standard spring bread wheat variety ‘Yoldyz’. There has been shown that the developed variety in our soil-climatic zone is characterized by high field resistance to powdery mildew (2 points of resistance on average over the years), leaf rust (there were only single pustules during the years of a strong spread of the disease). With artificial infection of seeds with the inuclium of hard smut, the damage degree of the variety averaged 7 %. The first spring shot wheat variety ‘Sakara’ has been recommended in the State List of Breeding Achievements since 2023 for cultivation from 1 to 12 regions.

The main source of vegetable protein in the world are leguminous crops, among which peas are the most common in Russia. Dozens and even hundreds of genes are involved in the regulation of biological processes associated with the maturation of seeds and the accumulation of reserve nutrients in them, including proteins. The study conducted on legume species related to peas indicate that one of the genes at the highest hierarchical level in this regulatory chain is the ABI3 transcription factor gene; however, its role in the biosynthesis and accumulation of seed storage proteins remains poorly studied. The purpose of the current work is to identify high-protein pea genotypes and analyze the nucleotide sequences of the coding region of the ABI3 gene to search for possible DNA polymorphisms associated with protein percentage in their seeds. The study was carried out in 2020–2021. The objects of the study were 37 pea varieties from the collection of genetic resources of leguminous crops of VIR. Protein percentage in seeds was determined by the Bradford method. Selection of primers and comparative analysis of nucleotide sequences were performed using the PrimerSelect and MegAlign programs. Sequencing was performed according to the Sanger method. There were identified pea varieties with the highest (‘Aksaisky Usaty 55’, ‘Sakharny’) and low (‘K-8361’ (VIR), ‘Fregat’) seed protein percentage. In these variety samples, the coding region of the ABI3 gene was sequenced. Comparative analysis of their nucleotide sequences with the sequence of the ABI3 gene fragment annotated in the GenBank database revealed significant variability among them: nucleotide substitutions, deletion of 6 nucleotides. In the high protein variety ‘Sakharny’, there has been found a 9-nucleotide insertion, leading to the insertion of three additional amino acids, and in the low-protein variety Fregat, there has been found a single nucleotide insertion, causing a shift in the reading frame. The data obtained may indicate a correlation between mutations in the ABI3 gene and protein accumulation in pea seeds.

The current paper has presented the study results of rheological and baking properties of 4 winter durum wheat varieties in mixtures with common wheat. The purpose of the study was to research the rheological properties of the dough and estimate the baking qualities of winter durum wheat varieties of the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” mixed with winter common wheat and in its pure form. The objects of the study were 4 varieties ‘Kristella’, ‘Amazonka’, ‘Eirena’, ‘Yakhont’ grown in the competitive variety testing of the laboratory for breeding and seed production of winter durum wheat in 2019–2021. In the preparation of mixtures, there has been used the winter common wheat variety ‘Univer’. There was added 10 %, 30 %, 50 %, 70 %, 90 % of each durum wheat variety to the flour of the variety ‘Univer’. The laboratory baking was carried out in accordance with the method, a non-dough method with repeated kneading. The physical and rheological properties of the mixtures were determined using a farinograph. The configuration of the farinogram was estimated according to the method proposed by Vasilchuk N. S. The varietal grinding of the samples was carried out on an MLU-202 Buller mill. Mathematical and statistical processing of the study results was performed according to B. A. Dospekhov using MS Excel 2010. There has been found out that the winter common wheat variety ‘Kristella’ is most appropriate to use in mixtures with common wheat, but not more than 50%. The rheological and baking properties of the winter durum wheat variety ‘Amazonka’ in a mixture with common wheat of the variety ‘Univer’ were most fully revealed at a ratio of 10–50%. The winter durum wheat varieties ‘Eirena’ and ‘Yakhont’ can be used to improve common wheat flour, as well as in an independent form for baking. In the process of current study, there have been established the varietal differences in rheological and baking properties. The use of farinographic analysis in winter durum wheat breeding made it possible to identify samples with the required severity of the rheological and physical properties of the dough. Selection of durum wheat can be carried out in two such directions as pasta quality and baking properties.

Anther culture is one of the most popular methods for obtaining haploid triticale plants. The current paper has presented the study results of the efficiency of the method for obtaining haploid plants in promising winter triticale forms bred by the Federal Agricultural Research Center of South-East. There has been estimated haploproduction parameters for the studied genotypes on the nutrient media C-17 and P-2. There were no genotypes unresponsive to androgenesis. There has been found that the medium Potato-2 had a significant positive effect on the total number of embryogenic structures per 100 cultivated anthers in four of the six studied genotypes when the index increased in 1–3 times. The mean value of the EC/100KP indicator was 23.3 with a variation of 6.4-75.1. The largest number of ES (45.8 and 75.1) was found in genotype No. 96 (F5 Zimogor/win.br.wheat L.39) on induction media C-17 and P-2. The genotypes No. 95 and No. 97 were characterized by the lowest indicators F4 DH13/ win.br.wheat ‘Atkara’//Vodoley/ADP-2///Colina and F5 MAG/Vodoley//TI-17. Plant regeneration varied from 3.4 to 22.1 with an average value of 12.6 per 100 EC. The mean number of green plants per 100 EC was 3.9, varying from 0.4 to 12.1. The proportion of green plants, depending on the genotype, varied from 5.0 to 76.9 %. Two-way analysis of variance has identified the dominant role of the genotype at all stages of haploproduction. The proportion of effect of the nutrient medium was statistically significant, but insignificant in comparison with the genotype. There has been established that, along with genotypic dependence and albinism, the limiting factor of the method is a low frequency of regeneration of embryo-like structures. In total, there were obtained 949 regenerated plants out of 7538 embryogenic structures, of which 326 were green. The ratio of green plants to albinos was 1:2.

Currently, leaf blotch is one of the main problems in wheat production around the world. The use of DNA markers for screening a large amount of breeding material makes it possible to identify wheat leaf blotch resistance genes quickly and accurately. In this regard, the Federal Agricultural Research Center of the North-East named after N. V. Rudnitsky conducted a search for DNA markers linked to Z. tritici resistance in the genotypes of the collection material of common wheat. There were studied 75 spring and 12 winter bread wheat varieties for the presence of the Stb2, Stb11, Stb12 and Stb13 genes. As a result, Stb leaf blotch resistance genes were found only in 8.0 % of varieties. In the genotype of the spring wheat variety ‘Irmenka 1’, there was determined the presence of three loci of resistance Stb2, Stb11 and Stb13, which were responsible for age-related and juvenile resistance to the disease. The genes of juvenile leaf blotch resistance Stb11 and Stb13 were found in the genotype of the spring common wheat variety ‘Tertsiya’. The Stb2 gene controlling age-related leaf blotch resistance was found in the genotypes of spring wheat varieties ‘Dariya’, ‘Egisar 29’ and ‘Epos’. In the genotypes of winter varieties ‘Gene’ and ‘Ble-seigle’, there were found one gene Stb11 and Stb13, respectively. The Stb12 leaf blotch resistance gene was not identified in the studied wheat varieties. All spring and winter common wheat varieties with Stb-genes can be recommended as sources of leaf blotch resistance in breeding with highly productive varieties adapted to local conditions.

In the arid conditions of the Lower Volga region, mogar is a promising fodder crop. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to identify promising samples for the development of new varieties that would meet the requirements of domestic agricultural producers. The paper has presented the estimation results of the mogar varieties of the VIR genetic resources collection according to morphometric parameters, productivity, and nutritional value of aboveground biomass. The study was carried out in the department of perennial and annual grasses of the FSB-SI Russian Research and Project-technological Institute of sorghum and maize “Rossorgo” in 2021–2022. The objects of study were 36 mogar varieties of various ecological and geographical origin. Based on the estimation results of the initial material of mogar, ther have been identified the promising samples for further introduction in the breeding process to increase the values of individual traits, since it is advisable to use the following samples to improve the biochemical composition of the biomass, as k-1356 (Russia), k-1745 (Bulgaria), k-1748 (Bulgaria), k-1775 (Romania) to increase the content of crude protein (> 7.50 %); k-63 (USA), k-80 (USA), k-336 (Morocco), k-1854 (Hungary), k-1877 (the USA) to increase crude fat> 3.00% ; k-1356 (Russia), k-1850 (Hungary), k-1833 (China), Asket (st) (Russia) to increase crude ash >10.00%. The varieties k-605 (China), k-1027 (Kazakhstan), Atlant (Russia) are found promising for breeding work for high yields of aboveground biomass >20.00 t/ha. The studied mogar varieties k-336, k-605, k-993, k-1027, k-1726 according to the collection of fodder units per hectare exceeded the standard variety from 1.2 to 12.9 %. The highest gross energy yield per unit area, exceeding the indicator of the standard variety, was established for the varieties k-336 (Morocco), k-605 (China), k-993 (Romania), k-1027 (Kazakhstan), k-1726 (Canada), k-1775 (Romania).

The current study was carried out to research the adaptive potential of winter wheat varieties depending on the level of mineral nutrition in the soil and climatic conditions of the north of the Rostov region in 2012–2018. The objects of the study were 10 winter wheat varieties bred by FGBSI FRARC. Between 2012 and 2014 there were studied 6 wheat varieties (the first group), in 2015–2018 there were studied 4 ones (second group). The soil of the experimental plot was represented by southern medium-thick calcareous chernozem. The experimental scheme included 12 backgrounds of mineral nutrition. Crops were laid weedfree fallow, the seeding rate was 4 million germinating seeds per 1 ha for each agricultural variant. Agro-climatic conditions in the experimental years were contrasting. As a result of the study, there was found that in the first group of varieties, the factor ‘variety’ had the greatest influence on productivity formation (64.4 %), in the second group it was the factor ‘agrobackground’ (71.0 %). Productive possibilities (according to the coefficient of adaptability) of the varieties ‘Donskaya Lira’, ‘Donna’, ‘Zolushka’, ‘Boyarynya’ and ‘Donera’ were high, they amounted to 101–108 %. In contrasting conditions of mineral nutrition, the above listed varieties had an optimal ratio between the needs of the genotype and the level of the agricultural background. The varieties ‘Boyarynya’ and ‘Donna’ in their groups formed the maximum yield with 6.71 t/ha of for ‘Boyarynya’ and 6.42 t/ha for ‘Donna’. In the course of the current work, there was found that the varieties ‘Missiya’ and ‘Tarasovskaya 70’ had high adaptability to a limited amount of fertilizers. The optimal combination of parameters of ecological adaptability and stability were found for the varieties ‘Donskaya Lira’, ‘Boyarynya’, ‘Vestnitsa’, ‘Donstar’, ‘Donera’. They had a wide range of adaptive capabilities, therefore, under production conditions, they could produce a stable grain yield with various variations in the level of mineral nutrition.

The purpose of the current study was to clarify the optimal sowing time of wheat and winter barley after non-fallow forecrops (spring barley and sunflower) due to weather and climate changes. The trials were carried out during 2018–2022 on ordinary blackearth. The experiments, records and observations were carried out according to generally accepted methods. There has been established that at early sowing date (September 10), wheat and barley formed up to 5.4 tillering sprouts, from 2.4 to 6.2 nodal roots, plant height reached 22.1–27.9 cm with a plant weight of 174–223 g/m2, which indicated the overgrowth of plants. At a late sowing date (October 20), the tillering coefficient of wheat plants did not exceed 1.0–1.5, the number of nodal roots was 1.1–2.4, and the weight reached 32–58 g/m2.Barley plants at late sowing periods had significant developmental advantages compared to wheat. At the time of the termination of the autumn vegetation, they had an average of 1.5–2.0 sprouts and 2.5–3.1 nodal roots, and the above-ground mass was 2.0 times larger than that of wheat. In spring, winter barley plants grew and developed more intensively. Wheat productivity during early sowing date (10.09 and 20.09) was larger than that of barley by 7.5–27.0%. When sowing later, on the contrary, winter barley productivity was more on 7.0–14.8%. The optimal sowing time for winter wheat at which the maximum grain yield (4.17–4.32 t/ha) can be formed is the period from September 20 to October 1, and from 1 to 10 October for winter barley (4.37–4.48 t/ha).

There have been presented the study results of the experiment of the Geographical Network of Experiments with fertilizers, established in 1975 on ordinary chernozem under conditions of unstable moisture in the Stavropol Territory. The purpose of the current study was to reveal the influence of the aftereffect of the long-term use of mineral fertilizers on the agrochemical properties of soil, productivity, and quality of sorghum grain, depending on the weather conditions of the year. There has been established that, after 30 years of action and 14 years of aftereffect of the use of phosphorus fertilizers in doses of 60–180 kg/ha of a.i. the content of residual phosphorus in the soil layer of 0–20 cm before sowing sorghum varied from 25 to 55 mg/kg. The crop productivity was closely dependent on weather conditions and the agrochemical condition of the soil. In arid conditions in 2020, the largest grain productivity (2.5–3.16 t/ha) was obtained in areas of phosphorus fertilizer’s aftereffect with a high content of P2O5 in soil (more than 30 mg/kg). In the wet year, the largest productivity (5.10–5.64 t/ha) were obtained in nitrogen fertilizers’ aftereffect against the background of low phosphates availability (12–16 mg/kg). In different weather conditions, the maximum level of sorghum productivity was obtained in the aftereffect of complete mineral fertilizer or with a balanced nutrient regime of the soil, in 2020 it was 3.81–4.96 t/ha and in 2022 it was 5.4–6.14 t/ha. Sorghum grain quality was also determined by the weather and soil properties. Grain with the highest crude protein percentage (9.9–13.6 %) was obtained in a dry year after the effect of nitrogen fertilizer. In both years of the study, the products obtained after the application of high doses of one phosphorus fertilizer (120–180 kg/ha a.i.) had the least nutritional value. The crude protein percentage in grain did not exceed 2.2–7.8 %. To stabilize productivity and increase the nutritional value of sorghum, it is necessary, first of all, to optimize the nitrogen nutrition of plants, especially in conditions of good moisture supply.

The current study was carried out in the southern part of the Rostov region in the agrotechnical crop rotation of the laboratory for grain cultivation technology. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of such factors as a forecrop and sowing time on productivity and grain quality of the winter common wheat variety ‘Zodiak’. During the study, there was found that the variety ‘Zodiak’ produced up to 9.70 t/ha. There was established that the high adaptability of the variety ‘Zodiak’ made it possible to obtain high yields at different sowing dates, however, there was a tendency to form maximum productivity when sowing at the optimal time for the area (20 and 30 of September). There was found that the large productivity of the crop sown in black fallow was ensured by the number of productive stems (up to 596 pcs/m2) and productivity per head (number of kernels per head up to 31.3 pcs., grain weight per head up to 1.42 g). For all forecrops in the variant with a late sowing time, there was a decrease in number of kernels per head (by 6.2–22.9 %) and mass of grain per head (by 1.7–11.7 %) compared with earlier sowing dates. Biochemical analysis has shown that when sown in black fallow and after peas, the yielded grain had the maximum protein per-centage on average up to 14.1 % and 13.3 %, respectively. There has been established that the variety ‘Zodiak’ could form high-quality grain even when it was sown after sunflower (with 12.3–12.6 % of protein and 22.5–23.5 % of gluten). The best economic indicators in the cultivation of the variety ‘Zodiak’ were obtained when it was sown in black fallow, with up to 191 % of profitability, up to 77993 rubles/ha of conditional net income.

The current study has been carried out to determine the effect of mineral and organic mineral fertilizers, as well as a growth regulator on the productivity of promising winter durum wheat varieties, under irrigation conditions of meadow-chestnut heavy loamy soil in the Terek-Sulak subprovince of the Republic of Dagestan. In 2019–2021 there were laid on two trials on the experimental plot. In the first case, there were studied four variants of the effect of fertilizers on the productivity of promising varieties ‘Krupinka’ (control), ‘Krucha’, ‘Odari’ under irrigation conditions. There was used ammophos (background), 65 kg/ha a.i. under plowing; ammophos (background), 65 kg/ha a.i. for plowing + Polydon bio universal, 0.5 l/ha in the tillering phase + Polydon bio universal, 0.5 l/ha in the earing phase; ammophos (background), 65 kg/ha a.i. under arable land + ammonium nitrate 150 kg/ha in spring tillering + Polydon bio universal 0.5 l/ha in the tillering phase + Polydon bio universal 0.5 l/ha in the earing phase; ammophos (background), 65kg/ha a.i. for plowing + ammonium nitrate 150 kg/ha in spring tillering. In the second, three winter durum wheat varieties were treated before sowing with 0.5 l/t of Sprintalga and foliar top dressing was carried out in the spring tillering phase, in comparison with the control when seeds were treated with 10 l/t of the working liquid disinfectant Maxim KS. The conducted study has shown that the largest productivity of the studied winter durum wheat varieties was achieved in the third variant of the trial, where grain productivity of 8.36 t/ha was achieved for the variety ‘Odari’, the variety ‘Krucha’ was in second place with 7.91 t/ha of productivity, which was on 0.27 t/ha more than for the control variety ‘Krupinka’ and on 0.45 t/ha less than in the variety ‘Odari’. The use of a growth regulator has shown its significant effect on the grain productivity improvement. Seed treatment of winter durum wheat varieties and crops in the tillering phase with Sprintalgi had a positive effect on the growth, development, and improvement of grain yield. On average, over the years of research, the largest grain yield of 7.88 t / ha was obtained for the variety ‘Odari’, in the variant of seed and crop treatment with a growth regulator Sprintalgi. The productivity difference in the variant with seed treatment with Sprintalgi and with the working liquid treater Maxim KS was 0.67 t/ha for the variety ‘Odari’, 0.71 t/ha for ‘Krucha’ and 0.79 t/ha for ‘Krupinka’.

The purpose of the current work was to study the effect of various winter wheat forecrops (weedfree fallow, green fallow, sown fallow) and fertilization levels (control without fertilizers, NPK–60 kg.a.i./ha, NPK–80 kg.a.i./ha, NPK–100 kg.a.i./ha) on productivity and quality of winter wheat grain. The study was carried out at the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Kursk FARC” in 2018–2020. There has been established that the large-sized grain was grown in a crop rotation with a sown fallow. There has been established that with an increase of mineral fertilizers’ doses, the differences between crop rotations raised. In the crop rotation with sown fallow, grain evenness was also higher, by 0.3 and 0.5 % more than in crop rotations with green manure and weedfree fallow. There has been found that regardless of the crop rotation, with an increase in the dose of mineral fertilizers, grain evenness increased. There has been determined that the trait ‘1000-grain weight’ was the highest when it was sown in green fallow with 48.4 g of NPK–100 kg.a.i./ha, which was due to the improvement of the nutrient regime of the soil with the introduction of green manure. There has been determined that when growing wheat in green fallow in the variant without fertilizers, crude gluten in the flour was 2.3 and 2.5 % more than in sown and weedfree fallow. This pattern was also preserved on fertilized backgrounds. The indicator of gluten percentage in flour increased with the growth of fertilizer. There has been found that crop rotation with weedfree fallow was the best in terms of gluten elasticity. Winter wheat productivity at NPK–60 kg.a.i./ha and NPK–100 kg.a.i./ha was higher when sown in weedfree fallow, and on unfertilized control and at NPK–80 kg.a.i. / ha when sown in green fallow. There has been noted that there is a significant improvement in crop productivity, for example, from 4.39 to 6.19 t/ha in crop rotation with weedfree fallow, with an increase in fertilizer application rates.

The current paper has presented the study results of the elements of cultivation technology (sowing time, seeding rate) of wintering peas in the southern part of the Rostov region. Field trials were carried out during two agricultural years in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. The objects of research were the varieties of wintering peas ‘Fokus’, ‘Faeton’, ‘Zimus’. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of sowing time and seeding rates on field germination and harvesting preservation of wintering peas in the conditions of the southern part of the Rostov region. The soil of the experimental plot was ordinary calcareous heavy loamy chernozem on loess-like loams. The content of humus in the arable layer was 3.36%, pH was 7.0, P2O5 was 24.4; K2O was 360 mg/kg of soil. The sowing time had an impact on field germination. On average, over the years of research, field germination in the 1st period ranged from 27.0 to 93.5 %, in the second from 33.6 to 91.0 %, in the third from 31.5 to 94.5 %. The share of the effect of the sowing time on field germination ranged from 9.4% for the variety ‘Faeton’ to 22.5 % for the variety ‘Fokus’. The harvesting preservation of wintering peas ranged from 93.8 % (‘Zimus’) to 94.8 % (‘Faeton’) in the first sowing period, in the second sowing period it ranged from 95.0 % (‘Faeton’) to 95.5 % (‘Fokus’), in the third, the harvesting preservation ranged from 94.7 % for the variety ‘Fokus’ to 95.6 % for the variety ‘Zimus’. The share of the effect of the sowing time on harvesting preservation ranged from 5.4 % for the variety ‘Zimus’ to 23.4 % for the variety ‘Fokus’. On average, over the years of study, the maximum field germination was observed for the variety ‘Faeton’ (93.5 %) at a seeding rate of 1.0 million germin. seeds/ha. The best preservation was identified for the variety ‘Faeton’ (96.5 %) at a seeding rate of 1.0 million germin. seeds/ha in the second sowing period.