About the possibility of using indicators of photosynthetic activity of plants in buckwheat breeding

Photosynthesis of plants is known to provide the accumulation of dry substances at about 95%. At the same time, its capabilities are used less than a half, since the efficiency of using of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) by crops is usually in the range of 0.9-1.5%. Taking this into account, the activation of photosynthetic activity of plants can obviously be considered as one of the promising ways to increase crop yields. This task is also relevant for the breeding of buckwheat, which is one of the most popular food crops. In this regard, the purpose of this research was to study the possibility of using photosynthetic activity indicators in buckwheat breeding based on their relationship with economically useful traits. The objects of research were 11 varieties of buckwheat. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the formation of yield by buckwheat varieties is largely influenced by structural and functional indicators of photosynthetic activity of plants. The highest correlation of the variety yield was noted with leaf area (r=0.71), water use efficiency (r=0.68), photosynthetic potential (r=0.66) and photosynthesis intensity (r=0.35). Approximately the same nature of the relationship was revealed between the harvest index and photosynthetic indicators. It has been established that the nature of the relationship of various structural and functional indicators of the photosynthetic system with the yield of buckwheat varieties changes during the growing season of plants. It is noted that the indicators of the photosynthetic system of buckwheat plants are characterized by varying degrees of interrelation with the elements of productivity of the variety. Thus, a close positive relationship was found with the intensity of photosynthesis, the efficiency of water use, stomatal conductivity, leaf area and photosynthetic potential. The revealed interrelations and high polymorphism of the gene pool of the crop indicate the significant role of the photosynthetic activity of buckwheat plants in the formation of the crop variety and the need for targeted breeding in this direction.