Efficiency of methods for selecting elite winter triticale plants and evaluating their offspring in a breeding nursery

Abstract

Triticale is an artificially created crop. When creating new varieties of this crop, different types of wheat, rye, and wild cereals are used in modern breeding. In connection with the origin uniqueness of triticale, its genetic characteristics, questions of a methodological nature often arise in breeding work. One of these questions is the method choice of selection and evaluation of parent plants, the establishment of breeding nurseries. In this regard, the aim of the research was to improve the selection method of winter triticale parental plants and the establishment of a breeding nursery of the 1st year. Field and laboratory studies were carried out in 2019-2021 in the Izhevsk State Agricultural Academy. A comparative characteristic of the initial inflorescences’ selection methods and establishment of a breeding nursery of the first year was given. Inflorescences’ selection was carried out based on visual inspection without threshing and based on a morphological assessment of the ear and grain after thrashing. The breeding nursery of the 1st year was founded in two ways - by sowing seeds and unthreaded ears. The effectiveness of the breeding nursery establishment method was assessed by comparing the yield of breeding lines and the number of culled forms. It was found that at the initial stage of winter triticale breeding process, it is advisable to select the initial forms based on the weight of the ear, establish the 1st year breeding nursery with an unthreaded ear and carry out a comprehensive assessment and culling of breeding material based on field and laboratory methods. This will significantly increase the volume of breeding material and improve the quality of assessments, reduce labor intensity in the culling of selected inflorescences and lines.