Characteristics of high-stemmed and low-stemmed plants by the components of productivity isolated from the population of large-grain wheatgrass of the gray variety sova in the conditions of the southern forest-steppe of the Western Siberia

Gray wheatgrass is a promising dual-purpose fodder crop. The large-grain variety of gray wheatgrass, Sova, was obtained in the Omsk State Agrarian University by mass selection of overwintered biotypes from the population of Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey, obtained from The Land Institute (Kansas, USA), followed by directed re-pollination and the creation of a new winter-hardy population. The variety is included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2020 for all regions of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate high-stemmed and low-stemmed plants by productivity components and to isolate clones with the largest mass of 1000 grains from the population of large-grain wheatgrass in the conditions of the southern forest-steppe of the Western Siberia. Clones were selected according to the height of the plant in the population of the Sova variety and samples were selected that are promising for improving seed production and breeding. The sign of the plant height in cross-pollinated wheatgrass plants of the gray wheatgrass Sova variety is preserved in subsequent generations. The selection by weight of 1000 grains allowed to increase the value of the parameter by 30%. The indicators of genetic determination over the years of the study allowed us to identify stable signs when taking into account the influence of the year factor. Such signs were: the mass, the length of the ear, the number of grains, the mass of the grain ear and the mass of 1000 grains. On the basis of height, a strong change in parameters was noted. The coefficient of genetic determination based on the mass of 1000 grains was 0.96, which indicates a high proportion of the genotype and the effectiveness of selection to increase the mass of 1000 grains. For further selection, populations that characterized by high productivity and had an increased value of the mass of 1000 grains were selected.