Spring Wheat in the Dry Climate of the Lower Volga Region of Russia

Background. The growing of spring wheat in arid conditions is a difficult task because the biological characteristics of the crop and its demands on moisture reserves. The need for sowing spring wheat in the spring is dictated by the possible death of winter grains in winter. Purpose. To determine the most adaptive varieties of spring wheat with high yield and good quality for cultivation in the dry climate of the Lower Volga region of Russia. Methods. To achieve this goal, an environmental test of spring wheat varieties was carried out by us; the harvest results were processed by analysis of variance. To characterize weather conditions, the hydrothermal coefficient was calculated according to T.G. Selyaninov. An analysis of the ability of varieties to adapt to local climatic conditions was carried out using the coefficient of adaptability, stress resistance and compensatory ability of varieties. The graph was constructed and statistical data processing was carried out in Microsoft Excel 2008. Result. As a result of the research work, it was established that on average over three years of research, the highest yield of spring wheat was in the following varieties: Saratovskaya 73 -1.65 t/ha, Kamyshinskaya 3 - 1.32 t/ha, Bezenchukskaya 205 - 1, 4 t/ha. Processing of spring wheat harvest data are used by dispersion analysis made it possible to determine that the gross harvest of the crop is largely influenced by meteorological conditions, up to 42.0%, the choice of variety is about 19.7%, and agrotechnological and other environmental factors are 38.2%. It can be noted that spring soft wheat in the conditions of the Lower Volga region is capable of producing grain yields of good quality with large grains from 31.2 to 36.4 g of 1000 grains. Analysis of indicators of the level of resistance to drought conditions shows that the most stress-resistant varieties are: Zinaida - 0.06 t/ha, Kamyshinskaya 3 - 0.24 t/ha, Albidum 188 - 0.24. The varieties that have the highest genetic flexibility in the conditions of the Lower Volga region are: Saratovskaya 73 - 1.72 t/ha, Bezenchukskaya 205 - 1.5 t/ha and Kamyshinskaya 3 - 1.32 t/ha. The spring wheat varieties Bezenchukskaya 205 have the highest responsiveness to changes in crop growth conditions - 0.12, Dobrynya is in second place - 0.14, Albidum is in third place, Kamyshinskaya 3 - 0.15. The adaptability coefficient is higher than 1 in the varieties Albidum 188, Kamyshinskaya 3, Saratovskaya 73, Prokhorovka, Zinaida. Conclusion. The varieties Saratovskaya 73 and Kamyshinskaya 3 are distinguished by yield, stress tolerance, genetic adaptability to dry climate.