Preliminary results on tomato breeding (Lycopersicon) in the Republic of Dagestan

The aim of the work is to separate from hybrid generations (F3-F4) the promising material of high-temperature stress resistance. Scientific novelty. Testing the growth of the germ root at 35, 38 and especially 43 °C is an effective method of differentiating tomato genotypes and identifying their resistance to heat. As a result of our studies of inter-grade and remote hybridization, tomato lines have been obtained, combining heat-resistantness with high productivity and valuable biochemical indicators of fruit quality. Methods. The material for research served 11 promising varieties and lines of tomato. Dedicated genetic sources of heat resistance were included in inter-grade crossings. The selection of genotypes for heat-resistantness in the field was carried out taking into account the complex of morphological and agrochemical features (type and strength of plant growth, bush foliage, phenology, shape and size of the fruit, general productivity of commodity fruits, the mass of the fetus). Results. It has been established that in varieties and lines of tomato, created as a result of inter-grade and interspecies interbreeding, heat-resistant sporophyte varied to large limits depending on the genotype and temperature level. The fruit's product ranged depending on the genotype and the year of cultivation (71.8–98.3 %). All forms turned out to be large-fruited – the weight of the fruit was from 87.8–124.6 g. L132, L204, L112 lines stood out as early forms. The dry matter content of all the genotypes studied is high, as it is above 5.0 %, except for the lines L122, L211 dry matter content of which was 4.74 and 4.58 %, respectively. Vitamin C was highest in L143 (63.32), L141 (62.65), L112 (63.38).

Breeding assessment of new promising cotton lines

Cotton breeding in Bulgaria is mainly aimed at improving the earliness, productivity and fiber quality of modern varieties. The creation of new genetic diversity is one of the basic prerequisites for the success of breeding programs. The aim of the study was to evaluate cotton lines obtained by intraspecific and remote hybridization combined with backcross technology, with a view to their most effective usage in selection. Twenty-three lines were included in competitive variety trials conducted during the 2014-2017 period. The averaged results showed that lines 550, 639, 641, obtained by remote hybridization, appeared to be very promising. These three lines were distinguished by the best combination of productivity, fiber length and fiber lint percentage, and by these three indicators they exceeded the standard variety Chirpan-539. A new cotton variety Aida (No. 457) was approved, which in seed cotton yield and fiber yield, and technological fiber properties surpassed the standard varieties Chirpan-539 for earliness and productivity and Avangard-264 for fiber quality. The candidate variety 535 continued the state variety testing. Two new candidate cotton varieties No. 550 and No. 553 were released. In the state variety testing the three candidate varieties confirmed their qualities. The obtained lines, distinguished by one trait or by a complex of qualities, enriched the gene pool of Bulgarian cotton.

PROSPECTS OF THE REMOTE HYBRIDIZATION ON IMPROVEMENT OF THE MAIN ECONOMICAL TRAITS OF COTTON GENOTYPES WITH NATURALLY COLORED FIBRE

Due to the insufficient quality of varieties with naturally colored fiber, their cultivation on a global scale is limited. For the first time in Azerbaijan, an attempt was made to investigate the possibility of improving the qualitative and economic traits in genotypes with brown fiber. For this, distant hybridization was carried out between tetraploid cultivars of the G. hirsutum L. (white fiber) and artificially obtained amphidiploids with a doubled set of chromosomes from the diploid specie G. arboreum L. (brown fiber), from the local Genbank. On this basis, during 2017-2019, distant hybrids with colored fiber and contrasting quality and productivity potential were studied in detail and identified. Qualitative traits such as micronair (Mic), strength (Str), and Uniformity Index (UI) were found to be comparable to the best parent with white fiber in hybrids with colored fibers, but the Upper Half Mean Length (UHML) still to be improved. The "number of bolls per plant" makes the maximum positive contribution to the total cotton yield. According to the results of the averaged data of two generations (F1 and F2), a change in the degree and direction of correlations between the studied characters, depending on the intensity of the fiber color, was noted.

The results of cherry species (Prunus L.) alien pollination in connection with the possibility of agamosperm reproduction

Agamosperm (asexual) reproduction, along with conventional sexual reproduction, is quite widespread inthe Rosaceae Juss. family. It provides several advantages for successful seed progeny reproduction in unfavorable natural conditions. Remote hybridization and polyploidy are genetic mechanisms, which favor to the development of seedswithout fertilization. For species of stone plants, in the phylogeny of which these two factors play a decisive role, it is important to assess the possibility of the presence of a pseudogamous type of apomixes, which requires the obligatory pollenapplication on the stigma for seed development. The aim of the investigation was to study the results of alien pollinationfor 4 wild and cultivated cherries (Prunus pensylvanica L., P. maackii Rupr., P. fruticosa Pall., P. cerasus L.) in connection with the prospect of including the agamosperm genotypes in breeding crosses. The possibility of pseudogamous reproduction was revealed only for wild P. fruticosa.

Triticale breeding improvement by the intraspecific and remote hybridization

The purpose of our research was to expand the genetic diversity and to create the new winter Triticale materials with high grain quality by use of intraspecific and remote hybridization, involving them in the breeding of high-yield cultivars. Samples of winter Triticale were created by intraspecific and remote hybridization methods using multiple individual selections at Uman National University of Horticulture (Ukraine). We created the collection of winter Triticale, which includes more than 300 samples. It consists of unique recombinant forms that differ in morphobiological and economically valuable indicators. The obtained samples were divided according to the plant height into medium-stemmed (over 100 cm), low-stemmed (80–99 cm), short-stemmed (60–79 cm) and dwarf (??60 cm). The sample 68 combined high yield (6.95 t/ha) and grain quality (protein content — 12.8%, gluten — 27.8%, 1000-grain weight — 50.5 g, grain unit — 690 g/l). Sample 83 was characterized by high protein content (14.2%) and gluten (30.2%) of group I, and was up to the standard yield (6.35 t/ha). We created the cultivars of winter Triticale ‘Navarra’ and ‘Strateg’ that listed in the State Register of Plant Cultivars Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine in 2018.

The peculiarities of formation of spring triticale kernels quality in the contrast weather conditions

The current paper has given the study results of spring triticale samples grown under the conditions of the field experimental station of the Russian SAU – MAA named after K. A. Timiryazev and the department of remote hybridization of the Main Botanical Garden named after N. V. Tsitsin in 2017–2018. There have been studied 10 varieties of domestic and foreign selection, as well as 10 breeding lines developed with the authors’ participation. The trial and analysis of the results have been performed according to the method of State Variety Testing of agricultural crops. There have been presented the results of grain quality assessment in contrasting weather and climate conditions of 2017–2018. The weather conditions in 2018 were favorable for the formation of better grain in comparison with 2017. Almost all samples showed greater indices of protein and gluten content, gluten quality, kernel hardness, falling number and bread volume in 2018 that these in 2017. At the same time, there was seen productivity decrease. In general, according to the study results over two years, there were identified the spring triticale sample “Dublet” and the breeding lines “131/1656” and “C 259” as the most productive and capable to give stable yields of more than 50 kg/ha; with good adaptability and grain quality. The varieties “Lana”, “Sandro” and the breeding lines “131/7”, “C 259”, “6-35-5” and “P2-13-5-2” showed a high protein and gluten content compared to the standard variety “Ukro”. There has been identified a negative value of the correlation between the indicators of protein content and grain yield (r = –0.54), gluten content and yield (r = –0.61). The identified samples could be used in the breeding programs for better yields and good grain quality.

Identification of genome compositions in allopolyploid species of the genus Elymus(Poaceae: Triticeae) in the Asian part of Russia by CAPS analysis

The genus ElymusL., together with wheat, rye, and barley, belongs to the tribe Triticeae. Apart from its economic value, this tribe is characterized by abundance of polyploid taxa formed in the course of remote hybridization. Single-copy nuclear genes are convenient markers for identification of source genomes incorporated into polyploids. In the present work, a CAPS-marker is developed to distinguish basic St, H, and Y genomes comprising polyploid genomes of Asiatic species of the genus Elymus. The test is based on electrophoretic analysis of restriction patterns of a PCR-amplified fragment of the gene coding for beta-amylase. There are about 50 Elymusspecies in Russia, and most of them are supposed to possess one of three haplome combinations, StH, StY and StHY. Boreal StH-genomic species endemic for Russia are the least studied. On the basis of nucleotide sequences from public databases, TaqI restrictase was selected, as it produced patterns of restriction fragments specific for St, H, and Y haplomes easily recognizable in agarose gel. A sample of 68 accessions belonging to 32 species was analyzed. In 15 species, the earlier known genomic constitutions were confirmed, but in E. kamojithis assay failed to reveal the presence of H genome. This unusual H genome was suggested to originate from a different Hordeum species. In 16 species, genomic constitutions were identified for the first time. Fifteen accessions from Asian Russia possessed the genomic constitution StStHH, and E. amurensis, phylogenetically close to the StY-genomic species E. ciliaris, had the genomic constitution StStYY. It is inferred that the center of species diversity of the StH-genomic group is shifted to the north as compared to the center of origin of StY-genomic species, confined to China.