Preliminary assessment of photosynthetic features of winter rye cultivars selected by the Krasnoyarsk Research Institute of Agriculture

Abstract

When comparing ancient and modern rye cultivars, in addition to the difference in height, differences in the content of photosynthetic pigments in tissues are also noted. However, it remains unclear whether the change in pigment content is related to the change in plant architectonics. Plants of winter rye cultivars which differ in plant height were collected under the conditions of crop rotation of the Krasnoyarsk Research Institute of Agriculture. The concentrations of chlorophylls a and b and carotenoids were determined in the flag leaves and stems of winter rye at the “booting-earing” stage. The weight of the above-ground biomass was determined with the hay-harvest method. The stem length increases from the Arga cultivar to the cv. Krasnoyarskaya universalnaya and further to the cv. Yeniseyka. The relationship between the level of photosynthetic pigments and the height of plants as well as their wet biomass was assessed. A trend line toward an increase in the content of chlorophylls and carotenoids, assessed per leaf area, and biomass was revealed against the background of a decrease in stem height. When assessing the pigment content per mass of organs, the trend is less pronounced and is observed only when comparing the varieties Arga and Krasnoyarskaya universalnaya with the highest cultivar Yeniseyka.