Facultative Varieties as Source Material for Spring Wheat Breeding in the Northern Forest-Steppe of the Tyumen Region

The objective of research is to study the facultative wheat varieties bred by the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture for a set of economic traits and to establish the possibility of using them in the bree-ding of spring wheat in the Tyumen Region. Research was conducted in 2022–2023 on a small experimental field of the Northern Trans-Urals State Agricultural University. The object of research is five facultative wheat varieties (Anka, Afina, Leo, Karavan, Velena) bred by the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture and the standard spring wheat variety Ikar. It was found that facultative wheat varieties, when sown early (soil temperature 8–10 °C), grow and develop well and, at the same time as the standard spring variety Ikar, reach economic grain maturity at the end of August. They form stems 80–90 cm high with shortened lower internodes, dense straw walls (weight of 1 cm of straw is 23.1–27.5 mg, for the standard – 19.7 mg) and are resistant to lodging. In terms of field germination and survival of plants for harvesting, the diurnal varieties exceeded the standard Ikar variety by 13–18 and 12–17 %, respectively. In terms of resistance to brown leaf and stem rust, powdery mildew and septoria, they were rated at 7–9 points. Productive tillering was one and a half to two times higher than that of the standard Ikar variety and amounted to 2–4 stems per plant. Due to the high grain content per ear (23–28 pcs.) and average grain size (34.3–37.1 g), the grain weight per ear was 0.82–1.14 g, which is 0.12–0.44 g higher than that of the standard Ikar variety. In terms of protein and gluten content in grain, as well as grain bulk density, vitreousness, and falling number, the facultative varieties generally met the requirements for valuable and strong wheat. According to the studied economic characteristics, facultative wheat varieties are valuable source material for breeding spring wheat in the Tyumen Region.