SELECTION CRITERIA FOR DROUGHT RESISTANCE OF DURUM SPRING WHEAT IN WESTERN SIBERIA

Abstract

The aim of research is to conduct a comparative assessment of varieties of durum spring wheat for drought resistance in the conditions of Western Siberia. The experiments were laid out after fallow in the conditions of the southern forest-steppe at the stationary site of the laboratory of selection of durum wheat of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Omsk Scientific Center. In long-term studies (2001–2018) on a large set of varieties (26), when studying the yield, the number of grains in an ear, the weight of 1000 grains, the parameters of drought resistance were determined. In this case, the following indicators for these traits were calculated: average over the years of research, average in dry years, average in favorable years, the degree of reduction under stress compared to conditions without stress, the drought resistance index (DSI according to R.A. Fischer, R. Maurer). Tests on the studied characteristics revealed the following varieties: by yield – Omskiy Izumrud, Aleyskaya, Omskaya Stepnaya, Zhemchuzhina Sibiri, by weight of 1000 grains – Bezenchukskaya Stepnaya, Omskaya Stepnaya, Aleyskaya, Elizavetinskaya, Svetlana, by the number of grains in an ear – Omskiy Izumrud, Saratovskaya Zolotistaya, Zhemchuzhina Sibiri, Omskaya Stepnaya, Bezenchukskaya Stepnaya. According to the general integrated assessment, the best indicators were obtained for the varieties Omskaya Stepnaya, Omskiy Izumrud, Bezenchukskaya Stepnaya, Aleyskaya, Zhemchuzhina Sibiri, Saratovskaya Zolotistaya. The indicators of average values under drought, the degree of reduction under stress conditions, the drought resistance index for grain yield, 1000-grain weight, and the number of grains in an ear are reliable criteria for drought resistance of hard spring wheat. The best differentiating ability is possessed by tests calculated by yield and the number of grains in an ear.