"STATUS OF WINTER CROPS IN THE KHARKIVSKA OBLAST AT THE BEGINNING OF 2024"

On January 31, 2024, on the initiative of Acting Director of the Institute Leonov O.Yu., an interlaboratory seminar "Status of Winter Crops in the Kharkivska Oblast at the Beginning of 2024" was held at the Yuriev Plant Production Institute of NAAS. Researchers of the Laboratory of Wheat Breeding, the Department of Plant Production and Variety Investigations, the Laboratory of Seed Production and Science, the Laboratory of Triticale Breeding and Genetics, and the Laboratory of Winter Rye Breeding and Genetics participated in the seminar.

Chief Researcher of the Laboratory, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Riabchun N.I. summarized data on the weather conditions of the autumn-winter period and their influence on the overwintering of winter crops.

The fields in the Oblast were monitored to evaluate the viability of crops and degrees of their development and to determine the content of soluble carbohydrates in different cultivars sown after different predecessors.

           

The results of the analyses and observations indicate that the majority of winter cereal fields in the Oblast (about 85–91% of all analyzed samples) are represented by well-tillered or poorly-tillered plants, the tops of which (10–20% of leaves or approximately on a third of the lamina) were damaged by low temperatures. However, at the moment, the roots (and the root system, tillering nodes, and apex tissues of the well-tillered plants) are not severely damaged. The plant survival is quite high: from 91-98% of live plants in the well-developed crops to 86-89% in poorly developed ones.

Direct freezing of winter wheat cultivars under controlled conditions at YPPI NAAS showed that the critical freezing point ranged from -17.0 to -17.5°С for well-tillered plants and from -15.0 to -16.5°С for moderately frost-tolerant cultivars. For triticale and winter rye cultivars, this parameter ranged from -18.0 to -20.0°С. However, for poorly-developed plants and for cultivars that are not adapted to growing in the northeastern forest-steppe of Ukraine, the critical freezing point ranged from -13.5 to -16.0°C and to -11.0 °C for some cultivars, i.e., such fields may be at risk if further wintering is unfavorable.

The regrowth of plants of the studied cultivars in vegetation boxes is satisfactory and corresponds to the level of their frost tolerance, which may be due to sufficient contents of soluble carbohydrates in the tillering nodes. As of mid-January 2024, the tillering nodes of well-developed plants of Ukrainian winter wheat cultivars, 'Doskonala', 'Bohdana', 'Podolianka', 'Zapashna', 'Fermerka', and 'Harmonika' contain 29.5–36.0% of soluble carbohydrates, while German cvs. 'Altigo', 'Lemmi', and 'Centurion' contain 12.2–15.9%. In poorly-developed late-sown plants, the soluble carbohydrate content is 19.0–24.5%. Such crops especially need initial fertilization to intensively form the secondary root system and photosynthetic apparatus.

Good development (3-6 shoots per plant, developed secondary roots) of plants is observed for crops sown after fallow or pea with sufficient wetting (the carbohydrate content amounts to 34-36%; the survival - to 96-98%). Plants regrow somewhat worse when sown after sunflower, corn, or stubble forecrops (1-3 shoots per plant, developed primary roots, carbohydrate content of up to 24–27%, survival of up to 89–95%).

The head of the Department of Plant Production and Variety Investigations, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Popov S.I. emphasized the importance of timely mineral fertilization of winter crops, since the root layer of the soil is depleted of nutrients because of leaching of nitrogen-containing compounds.

The head of the Laboratory of Seed Production and Science, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Ohurtsov Yu.Ye. noted the need for sowing certified seeds that meet the requirements of DSTU 2240-93. Sowing high-quality seeds ensures high germination energy and seed germination, good growth and development of plants during the autumn vegetation, and, as a result, the accumulation of sufficient amounts of sugars in the tillering nodes for successful overwintering.

The head of the Laboratory of Wheat Breeding, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Leonov O.Yu. emphasized the importance of choosing winter wheat cultivars that are adapted to the climatic conditions of our region, in particular those which were bred at the Yuriev Plant Production Institute of NAAS: 'Zdobna', 'Pryvitna', 'Harmonika', 'Krasa Laniv', 'Prynada', 'Vyhadka', 'Metelytsia Kharkivska', 'Haiok', and novelties - cvs. 'Pronia', 'Maliovanka', 'Melashka', 'Malusha', and 'Mizynka'.

The head of the Laboratory of Winter Rye Breeding and Genetics, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Yegorov D.K. characterized new winter rye cultivars and hybrids of the Plant Production Institute, emphasizing their high frost tolerance and yield.

The head of the Laboratory of Triticale Breeding and Genetics Chernobai S.V.  proposed to grow on farms of the Kharkivska Oblast new winter pasta wheat cultivars ('Shulyndinka and 'Pryazovska') and winter triticale cultivars ('Lukashevskyi', 'Yelan', 'Oleksandra', 'Yaroslava', 'Leontii', and 'Pavlodarskyi), which yield a lot and are highly adaptable.

The head of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Kolupaiev Yu.Ye. reported on the important prospects of researching into mechanisms of resistance of winter cereals and peculiarities of responses of genotypes to harmful abiotic factors in hardened and unhardened plants for the development of biochemical strategies of adaptation to hypo- and hyperthermia, dehydration and water deficit, with the further implementation of proven methods for identifying highly resistant cultivars and breeding lines to create new adapted cultivars of winter cereals.

The Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Usova Z.V., the Candidates of Biological Sciences Suvorova K.Yu. and Pozdniakov V.V., and the researcher Antsyferova O.V. participated in the discussion.

Based on the results for the plants grown in the vegetation boxes and data on the sugar content in the tillering nodes in the middle of wintering, the participants of the seminar concluded that the fields of winter cereals were mostly in a satisfactory or good condition in the middle of 2024 wintering, but considering the weakened status of late-sown plants and their development from autumn, attention should be paid to the timely application of nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. To sustainably harvest high yields, it is recommended to grow mainly cultivars adapted to the regional conditions and to expand winter rye and triticale fields on farms of the Oblast.