Comparison of soft spring wheat breeding lines and F1 hybrid according to economically valuable traits

Abstract

Creation of doubled haploid lines in wheat is a promising direction of research in Russia. However, the criteria for identifying good cross combinations, for which it is advisable to carry out androgenesis in vitro, have not been defined. One of these criteria could be the rate of heterosis in F1 or F2. The aim of this work was to establish the possibility of achieving the yield level of the F1 hybrid by the lines of later generations. The studies were carried out at the experimental fields of the FSBSI “Federal Altai Scientific Center for Agrobiotechnology” in 2017-2019. Varieties ‘Golubkovskaya’, ‘Omskaya 28’, ‘Saratovskaya 70’, F1 ‘Omskaya 28’ × ‘Saratovskaya 70’, F1 ‘Golubkovskaya’ × ‘Saratovskaya 70’, four breeding lines from cross ‘Golubkovskaya’ × ‘Saratovskaya 70’ and seven breeding lines from cross ‘Omskaya 28’ × ‘Saratovskaya 70’ were material for this research. Germination, survival rate, plant height, number of spikes per m2, plant biomass, number of spikelets per spike and grain per spike, 1000-seed weight, grain weight per spike and plant, harvest index, yield, duration of the “germination – ear formation” period, lodging resistance and leaf and stem rust resistance were examined. In three cases out of six, high-parent heterosis in the studied F1 hybrids was observed (yield increase – 3–19 %). Five cases of significant yield improvement in breeding lines compared to F1 hybrids were detected in 2017–2019 (additional yield 2–44 %). Lines exceeding hybrid F1 in the context of yield were taller (+5–30 cm), with more extended period “germination – ear formation” (+7–8 days), higher plant biomass (+1.24–5.16 g), a larger number of spikelets per spike (0.5–2.8 units) and larger number of kernels (+3.5–8.0 units). Pure lines of soft spring wheat can be compared in yield to F1 hybrid, from which they were obtained. This fact was possible due to the selection of lines for desired traits determined by recessive genes.