In the regions of insufficient and unstable moisture, hydrothermal conditions are the main natural factors that determine the level of crop productivity. The purpose of our study was to identify the role of the main meteorological factors in the formation of winter durum wheat productivity at different periods of its growth and development. The study was carried out in the southern part of the Rostov region in the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2003–2014. The objects of the study were winter durum wheat varieties and breeding lines of competitive variety testing, sown in black fallow, in four replications, with a plot area of 25 m². The current paper presents the analysis results of the average daily temperature, precipitation, hydrothermal index (HTI) by the periods of winter durum wheat growth and development through the years of study, average varietal productivity for each year. It has been established that the characteristic features of the studied years are a temperature rise, especially in the pre-sowing and sowing periods, during the wintering period and the resumption of spring vegetation, and irregular precipitation, their shift in the fall from November to October, in the winter from February to January, in the spring from April to March, and its decrease or absence during the active growing season. The conducted correlation analysis between main meteorological factors and productivity showed a decisive role of the temperature regime in winter durum wheat productivity formation. It turned out to be less significant in relation to precipitation. This indicates that winter durum wheat productivity does not depend on the total amount of precipitation, but on its distribution, moisture presence in soil, and temperature. According to the analysis of the main meteorological factors, their connection with productivity, there have been identified positive and negative points in the ontogenesis of winter durum wheat associated with climate change, which must be taken into account in breeding and growing technology. There have been determined the main objectives for winter durum wheat breeding, aimed at improving such adaptive properties as drought resistance, heat resistance, especially at the initial stages of growth and development, winter tolerance, disease and pest resistance occurred due to climate change (septorisis, pyrenophorosis, bacteriosis and fusarium of heads and kernels).

The article presents the study results of winter soft wheat lines in competitive variety testing according to productivity and grain quality indicators. The study was conducted at the experimental plot of the laboratory of the breeding and seed-growing of winter soft wheat of intensive type in the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2016–2018. 47 winter soft wheat samples of competitive variety testing were used as the studied material. The winter soft wheat variety “Ermak” was used as a standard. Over the years of study 23 lines exceeded productivity of the standard variety “Ermak”, the increase ranged from 0.49 to 1.66 t / ha on average. The maximum protein percentage in grain was formed by the samples “1992/16” (13.5%), “1221/16” (13.5%), “1914/16” (13.6%), “1788/16” (13.9%), “2030/16” (14.0%). The lines “1854/16” and “1990/16” combining high yields (11.17–11.30 t/ha) with protein percentage of 12.9–13.2% are of great interest for breeding. The highest content of gluten in the grain (29.3–30.0%) was identified in the samples “1992/16”, “1914/16”, “2030/16”, “1221/16” and “1093/16”. There were identified the lines “1385/16”, “1533/16” and “1862/16”, combining high yields (11.20–11.59 t/ha) and 27.9–29.1% of gluten in grain. The highest value of SDS-sedimentation (66–70 ml) was found in the samples “1093/16”, “1990/16”, “2079/16”, “1533/16” and “1987/16”. The lines “1547/16”, “1385/16”, “1854/16” combined high yields (11.10–11.31 t/ha) with high value of SDS-sedimentation (62–65 ml). The breeding material identified during the research was used for further study and has been involved in hybridization to increase productivity and grain quality.

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To successfully increase grain production and improve its quality, the development and introduction of new winter wheat varieties is of great importance. The winter soft wheat varieties developed by the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” and included into the State List of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation are able to form grain with 30.0% gluten and more, and are suitable for the first, second and third class of baking. A comparative characteristic of the grain quality of winter wheat varieties of the intensive type included in the State List and their ability to form food grain suitable for baking is currently of practical interest. There have been studied 6 varieties in the conditions of drought in 2013 and 2014 (the amount of precipitation during the growing season was 190.0–191.5 mm, the average daily air temperature was 20.3–20.9 °C), and in the conditions of excess moisture in 2016, 2017 (the amount of precipitation was 274.2–292.8 mm, the average daily air temperature was 19.5–20.4 °C). The studied varieties formed the highest productivity from 8.70 to 9.01 t/ha under conditions of excessive moisture. Under drought conditions, productivity of the varieties decreased significantly and ranged from 6.50 to 7.69 t/ha. Better grain quality of the studied varieties was formed in the conditions of the drought of 2013, 2014 with 14.9 to 15.9% of protein and 27.9 to 31.0% of gluten. Food grain close to the first class (from 30.0 to 31.0% of gluten) were formed by the varieties “Aksiniya”, “Tanais” and “Nakhodka”; the second class (more than 28.0% of gluten) was obtained from the varieties “Shef” and “Etuyd”. The ranking method according to grain quality indicators allowed establishing an average rank and identifying the varieties “Aksiniya”, “Tanais”, “Nakhodka” and “Shef” with the best baking traits.

The systematic study on winter wheat breeding began in 1955 in the former Zernograd experimental station, and now the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “ARC “Donskoy”. Under these conditions, the development of the most suitable for local conditions varieties of intensive type with increased frost resistance determined the main direction of winter wheat breeding in those years. In the early 1980s, the area of black fallow increased in the Rostov region, much attention was paid to irrigated agriculture. There was planned to increase the area under irrigation in the North Caucasus to 1 million hectares. Therefore, there was set a goal to develop highly productive, low-stemmed, resistant to lodging varieties, responsive to mineral fertilizing with complex immunity to diseases. The breeding work of the laboratory for the breeding and seed production of winter bread wheat of an intensive type over the past forty years resulted in the development of 22 varieties of intensive type with good adaptability to the conditions of the Rostov region. In 2020, 17 winter bread wheat varieties of an intensive type were included into the State List of Breeding Achievements, five varieties ‘Yubiley Dona’, ‘Zodiak’, ‘Univer’, ‘Razdolye’, ‘Rubin Dona’ are currently undergoing the State Variety Testing at the SVTs of the Russian Federation. A stable productivity improvement is possible only with the emphasis on the development of varieties with broad adaptive properties, providing sufficiently high yields under various cultivation conditions. Among the breeding traits that affect productivity stability, the most significant in the conditions of the Don are winter and frost resistance, disease resistance, drought resistance, early ripeness, and grain quality. Therefore, the adaptive potential increase is the most important task for the future breeding. In order to solve this problem, intraspecific and interspecific hybridization, followed by targeted selection, remains the main breeding method of winter bread wheat of an intensive type.