YIELD VARIABILITY OF GRAIN CROP VARIETIES IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE STEPPE ZONE OF WESTERN SIBERIA

Abstract

The work presents the results of research into the yield and quality of grain obtained from crop varieties of different maturity types, namely spring common wheat varieties (mid-early Pamyati Aziyeva, mid-late Baganskaya 95 and Omskaya 28), spring barley (early-ripening Bagan, mid-ripening Acha and Signal) and spring oats (early-ripening Krasnoobsky, mid-ripening SIG, mid-late Ural 2). The study was conducted in the conditions of the steppe zone of Western Siberia (North Kulunda), the climate of which is extremely continental, and is characterized by signifi cant variability of agrometeorological conditions of the vegetation period by years and a drought during the fi rst half of summer. It was established that sowing of midripening and mid-late varieties of wheat and barley resulted in the increase of the grain yield by 0.47-1.07 t/ha or by 24-30%, compared with the more early-ripening varieties. Among various biotypes of oats, the highest yields of grain were formed by sowing of the mid-ripening variety, which was by 0.60-0.87 t/ha or 19-30% higher than the early and mid-late varieties, whereas the highest yield of green mass was achieved by sowing of the mid-late variety. All varieties of barley, oats and mid-early wheat were characterized by signifi cant variability in grain yields by years (with coeffi cient of variation being 24-38%), while midlate varieties of wheat were characterized by medium or small variability in grain yields (coeffi cient of variation being 3-12%). The content of crude gluten in the grain of wheat varieties varied considerably depending on agrometeorological conditions (coeffi cient of variation being 20-25%). On average, over the years of research, the highest content of gluten (34.0%) was in the grain of the mid-early variety Pamyati Aziyeva, the lowest content (27.4%) was in the mid-late Baganskaya 95. The maximum amount of crude gluten in the wheat grain (33.6-40.0%) was observed in the dry year, the minimum (19.9-26.4%) was in the year with favorable humidity. The content of crude protein in the barley grain varied in the experiment from 11.6 to 14.9% (coeffi cient of variation being 9-14%) and did not differ signifi cantly by varieties (12.5-12.9%). The greatest amount of crude protein in the grain of all varieties of barley (13.7-14.9%) was recorded in the dry year.