Characteristics of the post-harvest ripening period of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and durum wheat (T. durum Desf.) seeds

Purpose. To determine the duration of post-harvest seed ripening in new varieties of spring durum and bread wheat depending on varietal characteristics. Methods. The research was carried out in 2022–2024. 12 spring bread wheat varieties and 6 durum wheat varieties were grown under soybean as a preceding crop. Results. During the years of research, particularly during the earing period – full maturity of spring wheat – we observed deviations in precipitation and average daily temperature from their long-term values. This allowed us to obtain objective results. After analysing the experimental data to determine the post-harvest seed ripening period, it was found that it was much longer for spring bread wheat than for spring durum wheat. In the first three days, the dynamics of spring wheat seed germination was very low (0–3%), which indicates the physiological state of grain dormancy immediately after harvest. In spring bread wheat, this was also observed on the fifth and seventh day – then the number of germinated seeds was 1–12%, but in most durum varieties, this figure reached 19–85% on the fifth day (only in varieties ‘MIP Raiduzhna’ and ‘MIP Kseniia’ it was at the level of 0–4%). Seed dormancy lasted 30–40 days for most spring bread varieties. ‘Dubravka’ and ‘MIP Zlata’ had a short post-harvest ripening period of about 20 days, while ‘MIP Vizerunok’ and ‘Panianka’ had a period of more than 40 days. Among spring durum wheat varieties, ‘Zhizel’, ‘MIP Mahdalena’ and ‘MIP Perlyna’ had short dormancy periods (5–7 days), ‘Diana’ (15 days) and ‘MIP Raiduzhna’ (20 days) had longer dormancy periods. Conclusions. The presented experimental data indicate the species and varietal specificity of the reaction of the process of ripening of spring bread and durum wheat seeds to hydrothermal conditions. Varietal differences in the duration of post-harvest ripening in spring wheat varieties should be taken into account when determining the biological justification of the harvest time, which is extremely important in the technology of growing seeds with high sowing qualities and yield characteristics.