PHENOTYPIC AND GENOTYPIC VARIABILITY OF THE MAIN SPIKE LENGTH IN SOFT WINTER WHEAT VARIETIES DIFFERING IN PLANT HEIGHT
Abstract
Purpose. To determine the effect of genotype on the phenotypic variability of the main spike length in soft winter wheat varieties differing in plant height, in order to assess their potential for use in breeding programs.
Methods. During 2019–2022, under the conditions of the experimental field of the Educational and Production Center of Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, soft winter wheat varieties were studied. According to the International Classifier of the genus Triticum L., based on the data of the originators, the varieties were divided into groups by plant height: shortstemmed group II (66–80 cm) – Bilotserkivska napivkarlykova, Sonechko, Smuhlianka; medium-height group I (81–95 cm) – Donska napivkarlykova, Lisova Pisnia, Olesia, Kolos Myronivshchyny; medium-height group II (96–110 cm) – Stolychna, Pysanka, Vidrada, Albatros odeskyi; tall group I (111–125 cm) – Odeska 267, Lastivka odeska, Pylypivka, Charodiika bilotserkivska. The breeding material was sown using a manual seeder with 15 cm row spacing at a rate of 60 seeds per linear meter at the end of the third decade of September. Agronomic practices were generally accepted for the Forest-Steppe zone. The preceding crop was mustard grown for grain. Biometric analysis was carried out on an average sample of 25 plants in three replications. Homeostaticity (Hom) and breeding value (Sc) were calculated according to V. Khangildin and M. Lytvynenko (1981).
Results. The greatest length of the main spike, except for the varieties Bilotserkivska napivkarlykova, Smuhlianka, Kolos Myronivshchyny, Stolychna, and Albatros odeskyi, was formed in 2021. The average spike length over four years (7.3 cm) was significantly exceeded by medium- height varieties of group II – Stolychna, Pysanka, and Albatros odeskyi (+0.3 cm). A small range of trait variability in 2019–2022 was observed in the tall variety Charodiika bilotserkivska (0.6 cm), the medium-height group I variety Kolos Myronivshchyny (0.8 cm), and the short-stemmed variety Sonechko (1.0 cm), with a low phenotypic coefficient of variation (3.2–3.9%). Analysis of variance showed that variability in main spike length was determined by year conditions by 42.76 %, whereas the variety itself modified the trait by only 17.59 %, and the interaction “variety × year conditions” accounted for 34.68%, with other factors contributing 4.97 %. High values of homeostaticity and breeding value were observed in the tall variety of group I Charodiika bilotserkivska (Hom = 249; Sc = 6.8), the medium-height group I variety Kolos Myronivshchyny (Hom = 211; Sc = 6.7), and the short-stemmed group II variety Sonechko (Hom = 188; Sc = 6.1), indicating their high stability and adaptive potential.
Findings. The varieties Charodiika bilotserkivska, Kolos Myronivshchyny, and Sonechko, identified by their homeostaticity and breeding value, can be used as source material in breeding programs aimed at developing high-yielding and environmentally plastic genotypes of winter bread wheat with respect to main spike length.
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