This article presents the results of studies of winter wheat species and varieties depending on the meteorological conditions of the research years. The purpose of the research is to determine the density of the productive stem, the mass of 1000 grains, the yield and quality of winter wheat grain, depending on the species and varietal composition. Methods. Experimental studies were conducted during 2015/2016-2020/2021 yrs in the experimental field of Mykolaiv National Agrarian University (Ukraine). Agricultural techniques for growing winter wheat of various species were generally accepted for the southern steppe zone of Ukraine. Its predecessor was sown peas. Results. It was determined that a larger number of productive stems per unit area (467-853 pcs./m 2 ) formed plants of the studied varieties of soft winter wheat, while the smallest (443-694 pcs./ m 2 ) were plants of winter durum wheat varieties. The largest mass of grain from one ear (1.06-1.20 g) on average over the years of research was formed by plants of spelt wheat varieties, and the smallest was formed 0.96-1.01 g of soft wheat plants. It was found that a higher yield of soft winter wheat (6.03 t/ha) on average over the years of research was formed in the Vidrada variety, hard wheat (5.58 t/ha) was formed in the Bosphorus variety, spelt was formed 5.36 t/ha in the Europa variety. The highest grain yield (7.13 t/ha) among the species and varieties put for study was provided by the Vidrada variety (T. aestivum) in 2016 yr, which was 5.3% more than in the variety Shestopalivka (T. aestivum), 5.9% more than the Linkor variety (T. durum), by 7.0% than the Bosphorus variety (T. durum), by 12.5% than that of the Europa variety (T. spelta) and 43.5% more than the Zorya Ukrainy variety (T. spelta). It was determined that the largest mass fraction of protein in grain was provided by the spelt Zorya Ukrainy wheat variety as 19.2-25.6% depending on the year of research, while the smallest was provided as 11.0-14.2% by the Shestopalivka soft wheat variety. In the conditions of the Southern steppe of Ukraine, to ensure a high grain yield (5.24-6.03 t/ha) with a high protein content (14.1-15.1%), it was recommended to sow the variety of soft winter wheat Vidrada, hard winter wheat as Linkor and spelt as Europe.
Topicality. Ukraine is a world known producer of high-quality grain. Actually, the potential for grain production of all grain crops, especially, winter wheat is quite powerful, especially in the southern region of Ukraine. At the same time, grain yield levels largely depend on influence of many factors: the moisture supply of plants during the growing years, the agricultural background of nutrition, the selection of varietal composition, the tillage method and measures, the plant protection, the weed infestation, and other factors. There are no trifles in plant cultivation, because strict compliance with all the necessary technological requirements will allow you to obtain constant productivity and ensure a gross harvest of grain every year. This is significantly important both for the state's own needs and for exports. Currently, it is not possible to successfully cultivate crops in all fields and agricultural lands due to military operations in Ukraine. The Ukrainian manufacturers should implement previously developed elements of technology and improve new less-known and resource-saving measures. The last aspect also becomes significant in term of the weakening the economic capacity of farms, the increase in the price of material resources and a certain decrease in soil fertility. Under such conditions, the most effective measure is to review of the list of agricultural crops and select the most unpretentious to environmental conditions crops for cultivation, and among them, it is necessary to select crops highly adapted to biotic and abiotic factors of the environment, and varieties that are able to show their genetically programmed biological and eco-nomically valuable characteristics. Purpose. We attempt to achieve a significant increase in both grain yield and its quality by means of selection and involvement of new varieties in the production, and improvement of certain elements of growing technology. Materials and Methods. Setting up and conducting field experiments was carried out in accordance with the generally accepted methodology of the research case. The experimental part of the work was carried out during 2007–2021 at the research field of the NNPC of the National Academy of Sciences. Results. It was determined that winter wheat responds to predecessors, increases grain productivity against the background of fertilization. With regard to the selection of the varietal composition of soft winter wheat bred by Ukrainian breeding institutions in the last decades, it was established that most varieties are adapted to cultivation in the conditions of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine, and are able to form a stable level of harvest, which does not clearly fluctuate over the years. Conclusions. We substantiated that winter wheat should be planted after more favorable predecessors, a moderate dose of mineral fertilizers should be applied, and the most productive varieties should be selected, which have the best characteristics in the conditions of the growing zone. Keywords: winter wheat, selection of adapted varieties, grain harvest, weather and climate conditions, elements of cultivation technology