Evaluation of drought tolerance of spring wheat lines in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

The aim and tasks of the study envisaged assessing and identifying spring wheat lines of competitive variety trial by drought tolerance to be involved in research programs as starting material.

Material and methods. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Spring Wheat Breeding of VM Remeslo Myronivka Institute of Wheat of NAAS of Ukraine in 2013-2014. Fifty five spring wheat lines of competitive variety trial were studied. Drought tolerance was evaluated in the field by the spike realization coefficient and in the laboratory by the seed germination percentage in sucrose solution as well as by electrolyte leakage.

Results and discussion. The meteorological conditions during the study period were contrast, which allowed evaluating and selecting breeding material by drought tolerance. Bread wheat lines of competitive variety trial Lutescens 10-36, Lutescens 11-24, Lutescens 12-30, Erythrospermum 13-11, Albidum 10-41, and others and durum wheat lines Leukurum 13-02, Melianopus 10-03, Leukurum 12-09, Leukurum 12-16, and Leukurum 12-41 were selected by the spike realization coefficient. Lines Melianopus 10-03, Leukurum 10-26, Lutescens 05-24, Lutescens 10-36, Lutescens 11-02, and Lutescens 12-26, and others were selected the seed germination percentage in sucrose solution. Lines Lutescens 10-36, Lutescens 05-24, Lutescens 10-23, Albidum 10-41, Melianopus 10-02, Leukurum 10-26, and others were selected by electrolyte leakage; their indices were much higher than those in standards.

Conclusions. Thus, in 2013-2014, the three methods of evaluation of drought tolerance selected spring lines that were the most drought tolerant: Lutescens 10-36 (submitted to the state variety trial as variety ‘Oksamyt Myronivskyi’), Melianopus 10-02 (submitted to the state variety trial as variety ‘MIP Raiduzhna’), Albidum 10-41, Leukurum 10-14, which are recommended as starting material in breeding for drought tolerance