Winter durum wheat is a relatively young crop that is highly adaptable due to its winter type of growth habit. The priority of breeding and genetic improvement of winter durum wheat is to improve grain quality and pasta quality, largely determined by the glutenin storage proteins. In the present study, a collection of 76 accessions of winter durum wheat from P.P. Lukyanenko National Grain Centre was studied. The allelic state of high-molecular-weight glutenin genes, Glu-A1 and Glu-B1, using PCR markers and SDS-PAGE was identified and grain and pasta quality traits were assessed in a two-year field experiment. The positive effect of the Glu-A1a allele and a negative effect of Glu-A1c on the gluten index were shown. It was found that Glu-B1al and Glu-B1f have a positive effect on the quality and quantity of protein and gluten, while the Glu-A1c + Glu-B1al genotypes were closest to the high-quality category in protein-associated quality traits.

The purpose of the current study was to develop a new drought-resistant initial material, adapted to local conditions and spring durum wheat varieties on its basis. Due to the method of intraspecific hybridization and individual selection, there has been developed the spring durum wheat variety ‘Yasenka’ in the F5 hybrid combination obtained from crossing the varieties ‘Lilek x Nikolasha’. The developed variety is short-stemmed, middle maturing, resistant to drought and lodging. Its potential productivity is high, due to the maximum yield of 6.44 tons per hectare obtained in 2017 when sowing after peas. On average, over three years of competitive variety testing (2015–2017), its yield was 6.02 tons per hectare, which is higher than that of the varieties ‘Volnodonskaya’ on 1.08 and ‘Nikolasha’ on 0.40 tons per hectare. There has been found an advantage in terms of productivity over other varieties when sowing at a later date. Grain and pasta quality indicators are high. When evaluating grain according to the international standard ISO 21415-2, the variety ‘Yasenka’ showed a high Gluten Index (94) and a Minolta color index “b” (30), which corre- sponds to the world quality level. Under natural conditions, it is characterized by field resistance to the main leaf fungal diseases. Against the background of artificial infection, there has been established high resistance to head smut, powdery mildew and hard smut, resistance to septoria blotch and brown rust, moderate susceptibility to head blight. The variety has been included into the State List of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation since 2018 and it’s protected by the patent of the Russian Federation.

The aim of the research was to create durum wheat variety of an alternative growing cycle with genetically determined increased plasticity and adaptability. Created variety “Cordon” is characterized by high immunity to leaf diseases; it is affected by spike fusarium weaker than the standard one. In terms of yield, the studied variety was close to the highly productive varieties of winter soft wheat ‘Tanya’ and ‘Yuka’. In competitive variety testing in 2016 and 2017, its advantage in productivity compared to varieties of spring durum wheat was noted; high grain quality parameters were saved, too. The frost resistance was also not inferior to the standard variety ‘Krupinka’.

Spring durum wheat is an important raw material for producing diverse products such as couscous, bulgur, bread, and pasta. The quality of the dough is significantly influenced by high-molecular-weight glutenins, the allelic status of which depends on the region and breeding program. In this study, a collection of 69 cultivars and promising lines of durum wheat were analyzed for the allelic state of Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 using SDS-PAGE and KASP PCR markers. Protein and gluten content, volume increase index, pasta breaking strength, general pasta estimation, SDS, and gluten index were measured for each accession based on a two-year field experiment in the Krasnodar region. The analysis revealed that the Glu-B1al, Glu-B1d, and Glu-B1z* alleles positively influence gluten index, with Glu-B1al increasing protein, gluten, and SDS content, whereas Glu-B1d decreased these traits. Glu-B1e, on average, decreased the gluten index and SDS value but did not affect protein or gluten content. The role of alleles affecting the gluten index and protein content in ensuring the quality of pasta in durum wheat breeding is discussed.

Variety of spring durum wheat ‘Yadritsa’ and new promising lines were created using a winter component. The new breeding material belongs to the short-stemmed wheat group with high resistance to lodging (8–9 points) and exceeds the standard variety in productivity by 0.7–1.5 tons per 1 ha while maintaining high grain quality.