The high yield potential of winter wheats cannot be realized due to disease pressure under field conditions. One of the most harmful of such diseases is stem rust, hence the constant search for sources of resistance and the development of new varieties resistant to stem rust is of great relevance. This study deals with the identification of stem rust resistance genes in a collection of winter wheats grown in Southern Russia. This genepool has not been studied yet. A total of 620 samples of winter soft wheat from various ecological and geographical zones were tested under field conditions. To identify the specific genes or alleles responsible for resistance, all samples were genotyped using PCR. As a result, the groups of resistant samples, carrying the Sr2, Sr31, Sr38 and Sr44 genes in various combinations, were identified. Most of the stem rust resistance was provided by the presence of the effective Sr44 gene. This information can be used in the future breeding work for stem rust resistance.

Salt tolerance of rice is of great importance in agricultural production, since productivity of grain grown on saline lands largely depends on it. The paper deals with determining the presence of salt tolerance gene “Saltol” in rice hybrids obtained from crossing contrasting samples. To analyze salt tolerance, there were used seeds germinated in cups with distilled water and 1.5% NaCl solution, after which 10-day-old seedlings were weighed and their ratio to the control was determined. As a result of studies, there have been identified salt tolerant lines carrying the gene “Saltol” in a homozygous state. In the control nursery there were studied the best samples on productivity and elements of its structure. Two lines “7328” and “7322” were selected from the hybrid IR 52713-2B-8-2B-1-2 x Novator which significantly exceeded the standard variety “Yuzhanin” on 0.57-1.28 t/ha. On average for 2 years, they produced 6.82-7.53 t/ha (6.25 t/ha of the standard variety).

There have been studied physical, flour-milling, technological features of the grain of the new varieties and lines of winter soft wheat developed by the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. The purpose of the study is to identify samples with high quality of grain, flour, rheological properties of dough and baking profits. High values of grain unit and general vitreousness of grain are revealed. The samples “1237/13” (14.6%), “1261/13” (14.5%) and “Nakhodka” (14.5%) formed protein content at the level of strong wheat of the 1st class (not less than 14.5%). The varieties “Tanais” (30.9%), “Aksiniya” (30.2%), “Nakhodka” (29.5%), “Donskaya step” (28.6%) and the line “1261/13” (28.4%) showed high content of gluten in the grain of the 2nd class of quality. The studied varieties and lines of winter wheat were characterized by a high yield of flour, more than 70%. The maximum yield of flour was obtained in the variet­ies “Tanais” (74.5%), “Ermak” (74.1%) and the line “1261/13” (74.2%). According to the color, the flour of the samples (54.0–80.0 con­ventional units) “Aksiniya” (55.64 conv. units), “Nakhodka” (55.18 conv. units), “Kipchak” (54.01 conv. units), “Bonus” (54.90 conv. units), “Kazachka” (54.40 conv. units) and the line “1261/13” (54.30 conv. units) corresponded to the highest grade. There were identi­fied variety differences in flour color and ash content, which the quality of the end product largely depends on. The 6 studied varieties “Yubiley Dona” (342 u. a.), “Nakhodka” (311 u. a.), “Shef” (292 u. a.), “Kipchak” (290 u. a.), “Tanais” (289 u. a.) and “Aksiniya” (289 u. a.) showed high rheological properties of the dough at the level of strong wheat. There were identified the samples with high yield of bread “Nakhodka” (705 ml), “Aksiniya” (695 ml) and “Donskaya Step” (685 ml), which corresponded to the class of strong wheat. The identi­fied varieties and lines can be used in the breeding process as the sources with high grain quality and baking properties.

Желтая ржавчина, вызываемая грибом Puccinia striiformis, является одним из трех видов ржавчин, поражающих пшеницу во всем мире. В отдельные годы потери урожая от ее проявления могут достигать 5,5 млн тонн/год мирового производства пшеницы. Использование в качестве исходного материала для селекции на устойчивость к болезням таких источников, которые обладают эффективными генами устойчивости к желтой ржавчине, в настоящее время является актуальным. В статье представлены результаты исследований 737 образцов коллекционного материала озимой мягкой пшеницы по идентификации эффективного на территории Южного федерального округа гена устойчивости к желтой ржавчине Yr 24. Исследования проводили на базе лаборатории молекулярной идентификации Федерального государственного бюджетного научного учреждения «Аграрный научный центр «Донской». В качестве критерия оценки результатов лабораторных анализов использовали степень поражения озимой мягкой пшеницы в полевых условиях на инфекционном фоне лаборатории иммунитета и защиты растений. В результате исследований было идентифицировано 272 образца, несущих маркер эффективного гена устойчивости к желтой ржавчине Yr 24. Выявлено 28 образцов с этим геном, которые имеют низкую оценку степени поражения (0-5%) в условиях искусственного заражения и, следовательно, могут быть рекомендованы в качестве источников гена Yr 24 для селекционных программ по направлению «устойчивость к болезням».

Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the major crops used for various purposes, including animal and human nutrition. The most relevant strategy for creating new sorghum hybrids is the use of lines with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). However, the process of creating sterile lines and lines that restore fertility is very laborious and time-consuming. The breeders need to know the genotype of the original parental forms of sorghum by the presence of the main genes that control fertility to speed up breeding work. One of these is the Rf1 gene. Our study aimed to identify alleles of the Rf1 gene in collection samples of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) adapted to the arid conditions of southern Russia. The studies were carried out in southern Russia (FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”, Zernograd, Russia) between 2018–2019. The presence of alleles of the Rf1 fertility gene using the Xtxp18 SSR marker by PCR analysis in collection samples of grain sorghum (313 pcs.) was studied. Some samples were crossed with two sterile lines: “Demetra S” and “Dzhetta S” (developed in FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”) in 2019. The assessment of the fertility of self-pollinated lines was carried out in the field using a 3-point scale. The polymorphism of the Xtxp18 marker allowed for the identification of a wide allelic diversity of the Rf1 gene in collection samples of sorghum, and the association of the identified Rf1 alleles with the fertility and sterility of self-pollinated hybrids of grain sorghum as a result of the study was performed. This result will make it possible to deepen understanding of the influence of the Rf1 gene alleles on the level of fertility of sorghum plants in the future, as well as to accelerate the breeding process to create sterile lines and their fertile analogues for further obtaining commercial hybrids.