High yields of winter barley significantly depend on the elements of cultivation technology, among which seeding rate is of considerable importance. The aim of the current research was to identify the optimal seeding rate for winter barley in the current climatic conditions of the steppe zone of the Crimea. Winter barley variety ‘Buran’ served as a material of this study. In the course of the research we studied five variants of seeding rate – 1.0; 2.0; 3.0; 4.0; 5.0 million seeds per hectare. The experiments were carried out in the central steppe zone of the Crimea in 2018-2020 according to the methods of the State variety testing of agricultural crops. The first year of research was favourable in climatic conditions; the second one – unfavourable during the entire growing season. The survey highlighted some key points: the seeding rate influences the main components of winter barley yield – plants (stems) density and productivity of the ear. Over two years, an increase in the seeding rate increased plant density on average from 229 to 465 plants per m2. Ear productivity (grain weight per ear), on the contrary, decreased from 2.5 to 1.3 g. The yield of winter barley depended on the weather conditions of the year and, on average, reached 5.76 t/ha in 2019 and 3.41 t/ha in 2020 (which is 41 % less than in 2019). In 2019, at a seeding rate of 1.0 million/ha, a minimum yield (4.71 t/ha) was obtained. At other seeding rates, the yield of winter barley was statistically equivalent: 2.0 million/ha – 6.07 t/ha; 3.0 million/ha – 5.99 t/ha; 4.0 million/ha – 5.96 t/ha; 5.0 million/ha – 6.11 t/ha. In 2020, seeding rate did not have any effect on the yield of winter barley. It varied from 3.23 to 3.52 t/ha and was within the experimental error. The dependence of the indicators of grain quality on the seeding rates was noted only in 2020 for 1000-grain weight, which was significantly higher at seeding rates of 1.0 and 2.0 million/ha (36.8 and 36.7 g, respectively) compared to other studied ones. According to the efficiency of seed reproduction, the variants with the minimum seeding rates (1.0 and 2.0 million/ha) were the best. The rate of reproduction in these cases was 91 and 55, respectively.

The analysis of the Crimean weather conditions during the autumn vegetation period of winter wheat indicates climate warming and, in this regard, the necessity to adjust the optimal sowing dates. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the productivity and grain quality of winter bread wheat varieties depending on different sowing dates. The objects of the study were five winter wheat varieties sown in 5 dates from October 1 to November 30 with an interval of 15 days. Field trials were conducted with appropriate observations, records, measurements and analyzes, according to the methodology of the State Variety Testing. Statistical processing of the trials was carried out by the B.A. Dospekhov’s method of dispersion and correlation analyzes. The study was carried out through three years, two vegetation periods of which (2017–2018 and 2019–2020) were dry, one period (2018-2019) was favorable for the development of winter grain crops. According to the results of the analysis of variance, there have been identified significant differences in the effect of all three factors (‘variety’, ‘length’ and ‘year’) and their correlation in all combinations on the productivity formation. The factors ‘sowing date’ (33%) and ‘correlation between date and year’ (49%) had the greatest influence on the productivity formation. In 2018, the most optimal for all studied varieties was the second sowing date (15.10), in 2019 it was the first (1.10), and under the conditions of 2020, the later sowing dates were more favorable, and the 4th period was marked as optimal (15.11). The mean productivity of all varieties at the optimum sowing dates was 4.0; 5.5 and 3.46 t/ha, respectively. The factors ‘sowing date’, ‘year’, and the correlation between them significantly influenced protein percentage in grain. Their effect on the manifestation of the above trait was 29%, 14% and 23%, respectively; on gluten content it was 29%, 16% and 21%, respectively.

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Creation and introduction into production new high-yielding and early ripening varieties of soft winter wheat adapted to certain weather conditions are the principal ways to increase yield and improve general harvest volumes. A properly selected variety is one of the most effective ways of achieving crop yield improvement for any farm. To realize the potential for increasing yields, it is crucial to bear in mind specific soil and climatic conditions. The aim of the research was to characterize a new variety of winter soft wheat ‘Podarok Krymu’ by economic and biological qualities, as well as morphological characteristics. Soil of the experimental plot – chernozems ordinary with a thick humus layer (up to 140 cm). The meteorological conditions during the years of research were quite diverse, which made it possible to evaluate the new variety by a set of economically valuable features. The studies were carried out in 2015–2019 on the experimental fields of the scientific crop rotation of the Department of Winter Wheat of State Scientific Establishment “Agricultural research center “Donskoy” (SSE “ARC “Donskoy”). The object of the research – a new variety of winter soft wheat ‘Podarok Krymu’. Winter soft wheat variety ‘Don 107’ was used as a standard. Preceding crop – corn for grain. The accounting area of the variety test plot – 10 m². Field experiments were replicated six times. In 2019, variety ‘Podarok Krymu’ was submitted for State Variety Testing by SSE “ARC “Donskoy” together with the Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea. This variety has a high potential for grain productivity. The average yield in the competitive variety testing was 7.71 t/ha (preceding crop – corn for grain), which is 0.39 t/ha higher than the average yield of standard variety ‘Don 107’. According to the length of the growing season, the variety belongs to the early maturing group; its ears emerge and kernels ripe three days earlier than that of the standard. The high and stable yield of the new variety is ensured by its tolerance to drought and heat, increased winter hardiness and resistance of plants to frost, as well as resistance to the main diseases typical in the regions where studies are being conducted. Since the autumn of 2020, ‘Podarok Krymu’ has been studied to cultivate it in the North Caucasian, Lower Volga and Central Black Earth regions of the Russian Federation.