The most important purpose of the VIR Herbarium collection (WIR) is to document the cultivated flora and its dynamics. In particular, the herbarium should reflect the species and varietal composition of the live collections of the institute at different periods of time. The collection of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars of Baltic breeding in the VIR Herbarium has been analyzed, and the cultivars from the collection maintained at the Science and Production Base "Pushkin and Pavlovsk laboratories of VIR" (SPB VIR), previously missing in the herbarium collection, herbarized. The collection contains 88 specimens of 56 apple cultivars of Baltic breeding, of which 38 specimens of 38 varieties were added to the collection in 2017.

Analytical and synthetic apple-tree breeding in the Urals and Siberia resulted in the development of a number of ornamental apple-tree forms with various architectural crowns. They are adapted for cultivation in Russian landscapes with severe climate, including – and it is very important – the environments of the Urals and Siberia. The following apple-tree variety accessions have a sphere-shaped crown: ‘Bespridannitsa’, «Zelenaya Prostertaya» and «Sharovidnaya» with green leaves, and ‘Avrora’, ‘Vesna’, ‘Karmen’ and «Malinovka Dekorativnaya» whose leaves, flowers and fruits have anthocyanin coloring of different intensity; an umbel-shaped crown: Malus baccata f. pendula ‘Plakuchaya’, «Volna» and «Zontichnaya Krupnoplodnaya» with green leaves, and ‘Alaya Plakuchaya’, ‘Gazonnaya’ and «Zvezda» with anthocyanin coloring of the tree’s vegetative parts; and a weeping crown: «Kaskad» and «Yaroslavna», non-flowering forms, but with anthocyanin-colored leaves.

Background. The increasing interest in spring oats is constrained by high lability of climate factors in the local environments, which causes considerable variability of yields in different years. This situation may be changed by identifying, developing and introducing new oat cultivars. The aim of this work is to assess the adaptive potential of yield in spring oat cultivars developed at Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center in the environments of the Near-Irtysh area in Omsk Province, taking into account the most common statistical parameters. The object of the research were 9 spring oat cultivars recommended for cultivation in the region and undergoing the State Variety Trials: ‘Orion’ (reference), ‘Irtysh 13’, ‘Irtysh 21’, ‘Irtysh 23’, ‘Tarsky 2’, ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’, ‘Skakun’, ‘Fakel’ and ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’. Materials and methods. The experimental part of the work was carried out in 2011–2017 on the experimental fields of Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center located in the southern forest-steppe area. Agricultural practice used in the experiments was conventional for West Siberia. Mathematical data processing was based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA); yield adaptability, stability and plasticity parameters were calculated. Results. The most plastic (according to A. A. Gryaznov’s methodology) were the cultivars ‘Orion’, ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’, ‘Fakel’, ‘Tarsky 2’ and ‘Irtysh 21’ with indices of environmental plasticity 1.00– 1.07. According to S. A. Eberhard’s and W. A. Russell’s criteria, plasticity was identified in ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’, ‘Fakel’, ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’, ‘Irtysh 13’, ‘Irtysh 21’ and ‘Tarsky 2’ (linear regression coefficient: 1.10÷1.30). High stress resistance (according to A. A. Rossielle and J. Hemblin’s technique) was observed in ‘Irtysh 23’, ‘Skakun’ and ‘Orion’ (up to ‒3.0). Highly stable (according to S. A. Eberhard and W. A. Russell) were ‘Orion’, ‘Irtysh 21’, ‘Tarsky 2’, ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’, ‘Irtysh 13’, ‘Skakun’ and ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’ with minimal nonlinear deviations from the regression line (0.1–0.3). High compensatory capacity (according to A. A. Rossielle and J. Hemblin) was shown by ‘Tarsky 2’, ‘Irtysh 21’, ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’, ‘Fakel’ and ‘Orion’ (4.00÷4.20). The most adaptable cultivars (according to L. A. Zhivotkov) were ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’, ‘Irtysh 21’, ‘Tarsky 2’, ‘Fakel’ and ‘Orion’ (adaptability coefficient: 1.00–1.07%). The cultivars ‘Irtysh 13’, ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’, ‘Fakel’ and ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’ were identified (according to V. A. Dragavtsev) as intensive-type cultivars (multiplicative coefficient: 2.30); ‘Orion’, ‘Irtysh 21’, Tarsky 2’ and ‘Skakun’ as semi-intensive ones (2.00÷2.10); and ’Irtysh 23’ as an extensive-type cultivar (1.82). Conclusion. In compliance with the principle of variety ranking, the cultivars ‘Tarsky 2’, ‘Irtysh 21’, ‘Sibirsky Gerkules’, ‘Pamyati Bogachkova’ and ‘Fakel’ are most suitable for cultivation under local environmental conditions.

Background. Perennial grasses are essential in the development of field forage production in West Siberia. Very pronounced continental climate of the cropping areas in Siberia leads to increased demands on the cultivars. The objects of the study were cultivated varieties of perennial grasses (awnless bromegrass and variegated alfalfa). The aim of the work was to identify the sources of high-quality green matter in variegated alfalfa and awnless bromegrass. Materials and methods. The experimental part of the work was carried out over the period of 2011–2016 on the experimental fields of Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center, located in the southern forest steppe near Omsk. Agricultural practice was conventional for West Siberia. Analysis of variance was used in mathematical data processing; stability and plasticity parameters were calculated. Results. The content of protein and cellulose fiber in the green biomass of perennial grasses was mainly influenced by the weather conditions of the year: 84.1 and 76.5% in alfalfa, 93.9 and 91.2% in bromegrass, respectively. A reduction of cellulose fiber content in the studied crops contributed to an increase in raw protein content (r = –0.348 and –0.335) and in feed value units (r = 0.544 and 0.352 for alfalfa and bromegrass, respectively). Higher yields had a negative impact on feed value units (r = –0.402 and –0.713). Besides, the yield of awnless bromegrass demonstrated a significant negative correlation with protein content (r = –0.617) and a positive one with cellulose fiber (r = 0.744). The yield of variegated alfalfa showed a weak degree of interdependence with protein and cellulose fiber contents (r = 0.239 and 0.306).). Conclusion. High responsiveness to improved environmental conditions and high stability (bi > 1, σ2 d < 1) were observed in the alfalfa cultivars ‘Omsky 7’, ‘Elbrus’ (protein content); ‘Flora 5’ and ‘Flora 6’ (protein content, feed value units, and green matter yield), and the bromegrass cultivars ‘SibNIISKhoz 99’ (protein content, feed value units, and green matter yield) and ‘Titan’ (feed values units). During the period from 2011 through 2016, the best examples in yield and in a set of green matter quality characteristics were selected: the intensive-type alfalfa lines SP-2-99/91-267 and SP-2-99/01-282, extensive-type alfalfa line SP-2-99/01-132, and the line of bromegrass SP-2-06/08-28, which was intensive-type in protein content and feed value units, and extensive-type in cellulose fiber content and green matter yield.

Background. Modern hemp cultivation and processing are targeted at the production of textiles for various purposes, hurds, seeds and oil for functional food and pharmaceutical use. The import of textiles to Russia has been observed to grow continuously, reaching $8.96 billion in 2016–2017. The present industrial hemp production in Russia is still a source of textile yarn, integrated in the industrial turnover of goods in the Russian Federation. There are 27 cultivars and hybrids of industrial hemp for universal and dual use listed in the Russian Register of Breeding Achievements. However, there are no registered cultivars specifically earmarked to produce seeds or high-quality oil with improved fatty acid profile for production of functional food ingredients. Hemp genetic resources, as a reserve stock for crop improvement in the world’s plant breeding centers, are quite scanty and genotypically similar, and their major useful traits have practically not been evaluated. Thus, accumulation of hemp germplasm variable in traits, its evaluation and screening to identify sources of such characters as earliness and high seed yield should be prioritized for further progress in the development of new cultivars on a broader genetic base. Materials and methods. Accessions of Cannabis sativa L. of the Mid-Russian and Northern ecotypes were studied under the edaphoclimatic conditions of Russia’s northwest at Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR with the purpose to assess the following traits: ripening of female and male plants 100 days after sowing (scores), seed yield per female plant, technical plant lengths, and correlations between plant sex types. Results and conclusions. The accessions k-528 (Tyumen), k-413 (Kazakhstan), k-313 (Kirov), k-151 (Mari), k-315 (Kirov), k-316 (Kirov), k-317 (Kirov), and k-132 (Ukraine) were characterized as early-ripening (female plants). Accessions similar in earliness of female plants, but differing in earliness of male plants (early, medium early and late) were identified. Medium and late male plants, as well as late female ones, are needed for the development of CBD-rich conventional dioecious cultivars. The accessions k-88, k-317 and k-351 were selected for earliness in female plants and medium earliness in male ones as well as for comparatively high seed yield per plant; they may be used in breeding programs to develop cultivars specifically for palatable seeds, which would make high-quality functional food ingredients due to their polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) profile.

Background. Despite the value of common beans as a food product, the area under this crop in Russia is quite small and the assortment of commercialized cultivars is limited. In this regard, a vital breeding trend for common bean in this country is still the development of new cultivars, more high-yielding and adapted to various areas of cultivation. To solve this problem, an advanced science-based search for breeding sources is required. Materials and methods. The research was carried out at Volgograd Experiment Station of VIR by conventional methods. Fifty-nine common bean accessions from the collection of VIR were altogether studied to determine their precocity, yield components and attraction indices. Statistical data processing and correlation analysis of the results were carried out. Results and conclusions. A comparative study of common bean accessions belonging to different earliness groups was conducted. Differences in the degree of variability were identified for yield components and macro- and micro-attraction indices. For a majority of traits, early-ripening accessions exceeded medium and late ones in the degree of variability. Strong positive correlations were observed between the seed weight per one plant and such characters as the number of pods, aggregate weight, weight of pods, and weight of valves. The index of micro-attraction practically did not correlate with productivity in early accessions, and only slightly correlated in medium/late ones, so it seems inexpedient to use the micro-attraction index in common bean breeding for higher yield in the region. Accessions with high maximum yield rates were selected mainly from the group of early-ripening accessions, and those with high macro-attraction levels, from the group of medium/late ones. In view of their obvious advantages, it is early cultivars that should be recommended for yield-targeted common bean breeding in the northern areas of the Volga-Akhtuba Floodplain. Special attention needs to be paid to the accessions ‘Code 128’ (k-15261), ‘Bertires’ (k-15262) and ‘Oxy Amidor’ (k-15269). The medium- or late-ripening accessions ‘Jetta’ (k-14689), ‘Prima’ (k-14687) and ‘Zlute’ (k-15127) are recommended to be used in breeding for micro-attraction

Background. Cultivated in the arid steppe zone of Volgograd Province is mainly two-rowed spring barley of the varieties nutans and medicum (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. distichon (L.) Koern. var. nutans Schuebl. and H. vulgare L. subsp. distichon (L.) Koern. var. medicum Koern.). The areas under multi-rowed spring barley, with higher yield potential, are minimal. The aim of this work was to study multi-row spring barleys of the variety pallidum (H. vulgare L. subsp. vulgare var. pallidum Ser.) of various origins in the arid steppe environment. Materials and methods. The research was conducted in the arid steppe zone of Volgograd Province, with its light-chestnut heavy loamy soils, on the experimental field of the Lower Volga Research Institute of Agriculture. The nursery was set up according to the standard technique, and 120 multi-rowed spring barley accessions representing the pallidum variety from 11 countries were selected for the research. The commercialized two-rowed barley cultivar ‘Donetsky 8’ of the medicum variety was chosen as a reference. Results and conclusions. In the arid steppe environment of Volgograd Province, on light-chestnut heavy loamy soils, with the precipitation amount of 51.6–168.1 mm during vegetation and the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) of 0.5–0.83, the productivity of all multi-rowed spring barley accessions of the pallidum variety was lower than that of the reference. Under dryer conditions (HTC = 0.5), the accessions from Tajikistan and Turkmenistan demonstrated good results, while in a wetter year (HTC = 0.83), those from Kyrgyzstan, Peru, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan proved better. During all the years of experimenting, the accessions from Mexico and Bolivia were producing 1.2–1.5 times lower yields than the average for the collection. The accessions from Egypt had the highest economic efficiency ratio (36.9%–41.4%).

Background. The article presents information on the results of screening potato cultivars for major commercial traits: earliness, high yield, high starch content, resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary), virus diseases and potato nematode (Globodera rostochiensis Woll. (Ro1)). Materials and methods. VIR’s collection of domestic and foreign potato cultivars served as the material for this research. The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines developed at the Potato Genetic Resources Department of VIR. Results and conclusion. The analysis of pedigrees helped to select source material for the main trends of domestic potato breeding. Data of a number of cultivars identified by analyzing progenies from self-pollination are presented in the paper. Potential sources of major commercial traits were found: cvs. ‘Banba’ (k-25222), ‘Bastion’ (k-25198), ‘Belukha’ (k-25146), ‘Charoit’ (k-25221), ‘Colleen’ (k-25224), ‘Gala’ (k-25270), ‘Geyzer’ (k-25266), ‘Gornyak’ (k-25311), ‘Larets’ (k-25211), ‘Leoni’ (k-25244), ‘Manifest’ (k-25265), ‘Meteor’ (k-25212), ‘Nur-Alem’ (k-25253), ‘Prizer’ (k-25217), etc. were identified as high yield sources; cvs. ‘Aktyubinskiy-2’ (k-25300), ‘Alaya roza’ (k-25144), ‘Charaўnik’ (k-25139), ‘Darnitsa’ (k-25179), ‘Lad’ (k-25180), ‘Levada’ (k-25121), ‘Maksimum’ (k-25136), ‘Palitra’ (k-25123), ‘Tamyz’ (k-25307), ‘Universal’ (k-25137), ‘Vektor’ (k-25200), ‘Vytok’ (k-11897), ‘Zarevo’ (k-10773) and ‘Zholbarys’ (k-25155) as sources of high starch content; cvs. ‘Aral’ (k-25107), ‘Aymurat’ (k-25248), ‘Bastion’ (k-25198), ‘Berkut’ (k-25250), ‘Gastsinets’ (k-25264), ‘Musinskiy’ (k-25312), ‘Nur-Alem’ (k-25253), ‘Rapsodiya’ (k-25130), ‘Senim’ (k-25306), ‘Sunkar’ (k-25258), ‘Tamyz’ (k-25307), ‘Udovitskiy’ (k-25260), ‘Vektor’ (k-25200), ‘Velikan’ (k-25201), ‘Zholbarys’ (k-25155) and ‘Zvezdochka’ (k-25209) as sources of late blight resistance; cvs. ‘Adil’ (k-25112), ‘Azart’ (k-25196), ‘Bastion’ (k-25198), ‘Charoit’ (k-25221), ‘Favorit’ (k-25132), ‘Gastsinets’ (k-25264), ‘Geyzer’ (k-25266), ‘Krasavchik’ (k-25210), ‘Maksimum’ (k-25136), ‘Malyshok’ (k-25189), ‘Manifest’ (k-25265), ‘Nadezhda’ (k-25213), ‘Nur-Alem’ (k-25253), ‘Pamyati Lorkha’ (k-25214), ‘Rapsodiya’ (k-25130), ‘Senim’ (k-25306), ‘Sirenevyy tuman’ (k-25143), ‘Sultan’ (k-25131), ‘Shchedrik’ (k-25126), ‘Tekes’ (k-25173), ‘Velikan’ (k-25201), ‘Volat’ (k-25263), ‘Zhemchuzhina’ (k-25128), etc. as sources of field resistance to virus diseases. Cultivars combining resistance to potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis Woll. (Ro1)) with other valuable commercial traits were also identified.

 

Background. One of the main tasks of the present-day breeding practice is the development of high-yielding intensive-type fodder crop cultivars for indoor feeding of livestock. Alfalfa, as a productive and high-protein crop, deserves special attention. An offer of new breeding sources would enable breeders to broaden the diversity of alfalfa cultivars. Objective. The present study involved 65 local varieties and wild accessions of alfalfa from Turkey preserved in the VIR collection. Material and methods. Yekaterinino Experiment Station of VIR (Tambov Province) was chosen as the research site. Evaluation of the alfalfa collection was carried out in 2015–2017, using the methods developed at VIR for fodder crop research targeted at such traits as green biomass yield, seed productivity, and leafiness. The cultivar ‘Marusinskaya 425’ was used as the reference. Results and conclusions. In 2015, four accessions were identified as promising for their green matter yield and seed productivity: local varieties k-3373 and k-3378 from Konya Province, k-5992 from Isparta Province, and k-6116 from Sivas Province. In 2016, three accessions exceeded the reference in the yield of green matter, and three accessions had higher seed productivity. Eight accessions surpassed the reference in leafiness. In 2017, only one accession, k-6009 (Kayseri Province), significantly exceeded the reference in green matter yield. Nine accessions were selected for their high seed yield. The maximum seed productivity was observed in the accession k-3379 (Konya). Leafiness was notably higher than the reference’s in 15 accessions. The average for three years shows that none of the accessions credibly surpassed the reference in green matter yield. Four accessions had higher seed productivity than the reference. According to the three-year average, 11 accessions exceeded the reference in leafiness. All in all, in the three years of study, the accessions k-3373, k-3378 and k-3379 (Konya) were selected for high green matter yield and seed productivity. High seed productivity and leafiness, with satisfactory green matter yield, were registered in the accession k-5992 (Isparta). The accession k-6009 (Kayseri) significantly exceeded the reference in green matter yield, but demonstrated low seed productivity and poor leafiness. The place of origin for the identified local accessions had been Central Anatolia, with its continental climate. These accessions are valuable breeding sources with noteworthy commercial traits. Alfalfa from Asia Minor can be recommended for use in breeding practice, targeted at the development of new high-yielding intensive-type cultivars.

Background. The 2S albumins of sunflower and other oilseed plants possess a high nutritional quality, the defense activity against fungi diseases casual gents and also valuable functional properties. The major component of albumin fraction, the SFA8 protein consists of 103 amino acid residues among which methionine constitutes 15 Mole %. In the cultivated sunflower gene pool the SFA8 structural gene is represented by the two alleles the products of which have different isoelectric points and differ by the electrophoretic mobility, however molecular mechanisms of the polymorphism are still unknown. Results. The amplified sequences of the SFA8 gene from seven Helianthus annuus L. accessions and three accessions of wild Helianthus L. species from VIR collection were sequences. The intron of 258-303 bp length depending on the genotype was firstly found in the central part of the gene. The length of the first exon constitutes 99 bp, the second exon is of 210 bp length. The nucleotide and translated amino acid sequences are polymorphic among different genotypes. The line VIR 130 in which the two expressing SFA8 proteins, the normal polypeptide with isoelectric point (pI) approximately 6.0 (normal SFA8) and its allelic variant with pI 6.5 (variant SFA8) have been earlier revealed possesses two types of the SFA8 encoding sequence. In one sequence the substitution 108С—G is present that results in the substitution of the polar uncharged amino acid serine for the positively charged arginine and respectively in alteration of the protein charge and isoelectric point. The intron sequence is also polymorphic and characterized by the presence of indels of approximately 45 bp. The intron sequences of all accessions contain dinucleotides GT at the 5΄ end and AG at the 3΄ end which are characteristic for consensus sequences of splicing sites in the U2-type introns. The variants of the secondary structure of the SFA8 intron sequences of H. argophyllus Torr. & A. Gray and all the analyzed H. annuus genotypes are similar and differ from those of H. petiolaris Nutt. and H. giganteus L. Conclusions. The data on the SFA8 gene sequence polymorphism are important understanding the molecular mechanisms of genotypic differences in biochemical and functional properties of the protein, and he revealed differences in the intron secondary structure can be important for understanding expression patterns of the protein.

Background. Leaf rust (causal agent: Puccinia triticina Erikss.) is a serious disease of bread wheat in all crop-growing regions. An environmentally safe and economically profitable method to protect plants is cultivation of resistant varieties. Their development requires searching for the forms carrying new genes of resistance. Despite the fact that more than 70 Lr genes have been described, only two (Lr39(41) and Lr47) are effective in the seedling stage over all the territory of the Russian Federation. Thus, expanding the set of effective leaf rust resistance genes is a high-priority task. An important source of such genes are wild relatives of Triticum aestivum L., including Aegilops L. species. Knowing genetic control of resistance in newly identified forms will help to avoid the transfer of the same alien resistance genes onto bread wheat. Materials and methods. Inheritance of effective juvenile leaf rust resistance was studied in 6 accessions of Ae. speltoides Tausch from the VIR collection. Crossings were carried out in the field of Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR (St. Petersburg). Genetic control of resistance to the disease was analyzed in the following accessions of Ae. speltoides: k-1000 (Turkey), k-1015 (Afghanistan), k-1593 (Iraq), k-2279 (Iran), k-2753 and k-2819 (unknown origin). Results and conclusions. The analysis of segregation for seedling resistance to leaf rust in F₂ и F₃ from the crosses between the 6 studied accessions and the susceptible Ae. speltoides accession k-1596 showed that each of them possessed one dominant resistance gene. The absence of susceptible plants in hybrid populations from the crosses between resistant accessions testified to a tight linkage or, more likely, the identity of their genes associated with resistance. The identified resistance gene cannot be identical to Lr28, Lr35, Lr36 and Lr51, earlier introgressed into the T. aestivum genome from Ae. speltoides. Before the introgression of the newly identified gene, it is necessary to study its identity to Lr47 using the phytopathological test; the use of molecular markers for this purpose is little informative.

 

 

Background. Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae introduced from North America. Preparations from crude herbal materials of E. purpurea have a widerange effect against pathologies of the immune system, infectious and inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract, genitourinary system and musculoskeletal system. Breeding work involving E. purpurea has been carried out at the All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (Moscow Province) since 1996 with the aim of developing varieties adapted to the regional environments of Central Russia as well as increasing the yield and quality of raw materials by breeding methods. Objects and methods. In the process of breeding in 2009–2016, the collection material of E. purpurea was propagated vegetatively in the field, while the breeding material was reproduced by sowing and transplanting techniques from the seeds obtained under controlled pollination conditions. In the control nursery of the 2nd–5th years of vegetation, accessions promising for breeding were studied and evaluated by comparing them with the reference (var. ‘Tanyusha’). Breeding accessions (Nos. 1-09, 2-09 and 22-09) were obtained by individual selection based on the biological collection of VILAR (Nos. 79, 80 and 38) received in 1998 from the UK (Exchange Seed Fund). Seeds were sown into plots (total area of 9.6 m2 ) with a 4-fold replication. The yield of crude herbal materials (above-ground part) was registered at the beginning of the flowering phase (the first 10 days of August), and fresh and dry mass of the accessions were measured (after 48-hour ventilated drying at 45°C). Chemical analysis of crude herbal materials was made to find the sum of the derivatives of oxycinnamic acids calculated as chicoric acid using chromatic spectrophotometric techniques according to Temporary Pharmacopoeial Article 42-2371-94 and Private Pharmacopoeial Article in State Pharmacopoeia XIII. Results. According to the results of competitive variety trials in 2014–2016, the breeding accessions reliably exceeded the reference ‘Tanyusha’ in a set of economically valuable parameters: in crude herb yield by 10–27%; in the content and total harvest of active substances in crude herb materials by 7–18% and 21–80%, respectively; and in seed yield by 35–47%. Breeding accessions demonstrated normal adaptability to regional conditions (duration of the growing season was 174–176 days, and winter hardiness reached 89–94%). Conclusion. Accession No. 1-09, the best according to a set of economically valuable and biological traits as the results of competitive variety trials have shown, has been submitted to the State Variety Trials as a new cultivar of E. purpurea under the name ‘Severyanka’.

Background. Distinguishing morphological traits of peach varieties (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) and their gradations to a greater extent reflect the range of variability characteristic of the peach cultivars grown for fruit. Ornamental peach cultivars have their original features, especially as far as quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the flower are concerned. The use of wild peach and almond species in breeding for decorative purposes significantly widened the range of morphological variation in cultivars and invoked new gradations of their morphological traits. Therefore, it is vital to revise periodically the tables of morphological characters used in the assessment of cultivars. Materials and methods. The work was based on the ornamental peach collection maintained at the Nikita Botanical Gardens. Main morphological traits of cultivars were studied using the peach variety testing guidelines of the Russian State Variety Testing Commission, UPOV Guidelines, the Descriptor List of the Genus Persica Mill., and Expert Examination Methods for Ornamental Peach Varieties. Results. Analysis of the collection according to the main ornamental and morphological traits showed that its diversity in form is represented by 5 grades of tree height, 4 of tree vigor, 5 of tree habit, 10 of corolla color, 5 of double-flowering degree, 9 of flower shape, 4 of leaf color, 8 of flowering time, etc. This allowed us to adjust the tables of morphological characters for describing ornamental peach cultivars when they are assessed for their distinctness, and add new data, namely: 25 new traits with a set of grades and 22 new grades of tree, shoot and flower descriptors, which were absent in the peach testing guidelines of the Russian State Commission and UPOV (1995); 31 traits and 23 grades were added to the new UPOV Guidelines; and 1 trait and 16 new grades to the Expert Examination Methods for Ornamental Peach Varieties. Conclusions. The identified new traits and gradations, which were absent in the previously accepted expert examination procedures, expand the conception of ornamental peach variability. Thirty-one traits characterizing the plant’s overall ornamental appearance during the flowering period were classified as first-priority traits; six of them (tree height, tree habit, flower color, flower shape, double-flowering degree and flowering time) are recommended for classifying cultivars into groups.

Background. Jerusalem artichoke (Heliánthus tuberósus L.) is a valuable crop grown for feed, food, industrial and medicinal purposes. Studying biological, geographic, environmental, taxonomic and other features of this species is a vital task, whose solution will help, first of all, to disclose the variability of its traits, develop its intraspecific system, and work out methods for researching into the morphology of Jerusalem artichoke. Analyzing morphological features of its inflorescence and flower is one of the basic components of such a study. Materials and methods. The material for the research was the collection of Jerusalem artichoke maintained in a live condition at Maikop Experiment Station. The inflorescences of 58 accessions were analyzed to investigate eleven traits. Statistical analysis was carried out using StatSoft’s Statistica 13.0 software package. Results and conclusion. The greatest differences among the groups, formed according to geographic origin, were observed in the number of inflorescences per plant and the number of false ligulate florets in the inflorescence. The length of tubular florets was constant within the species, being 1.4 cm; as the most stable trait, this descriptor probably may be used as a diagnostic tool for this species. The accession ‘Sakhalinsky Krasny 4’ (Sakhalin population of Japanese origin) was the most distinctive, as regards the set of its characteristics.

Background. Black scurf (agent Rizoctonia solani J.G. Kuhn) is common in almost all areas of potato cultivation and causes crop yield damage. At present, many cultivars are susceptible to this disease. Common scab is caused by Streptomyces scabies (Thaxter) Waksman et Henrici. This pathogen does not reduce harvest with the same force as black scurf, but produces a considerable negative effect on the commercial quality of tubers. The modern market has a high demand for high commercial tuber quality due to the appearance of new types of potato-based products, including washed and packaged potatoes sold raw. In some years, processing industry suffers losses due to the destruction of industrially grown potatoes by scabs, while producers are forced to pay extra for chemicals, so a search for cultivars with low susceptibility to these diseases is very important. Material and Methods. Susceptibility to black scurf was studied in 219 cultivars of domestic and foreign origin from the VIR potato collection and 17 breeding clones from the collection maintained at the Research Institute of Agriculture “Belogorka”; besides, 217 early cultivars from the VIR collection were analyzed for susceptibility to common scab. Field observations were made during harvesting in VIR’s experimental field (Pushkin). Susceptibility to both pathogens was assessed using a 4-grade scale, where grade 0 means no symptoms and grade 4 denominates 90–100% damage of the tuber surface. Results and conclusions. According to the data obtained, susceptibility to both pathogens was variably present in a number of cultivars introduced from countries with advanced potato breeding, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, etc. As a result of the study, cultivars and breeding clones without disease symptoms or their weak manifestation were identified. Severity of the symptoms of both pathogens depended much on a season. Plant material with low susceptibility to the diseases can be of interest for potato breeders.

The productivity of apricot plantations in the Urals is limited by the irregularity of fruiting due to poor fruit bud winter hardiness in a majority of introduced cultivars. In 1999–2016, a research project was underway at the Department of Horticulture, Southern Ural Research Institute of Horticulture and Potato Growing, aimed at studying the apricot collection accessions of diverse geographic origin under the climate conditions of the Southern Urals. Such a long-term study made it possible to identify abiotic factors affecting the yield of this crop as well as to select highly adaptive and high-yielding cultivars for the Southern Urals: ‘Prizer’ (9.4 kg/tree), ‘Snezhinsky’ (9.2 kg/tree), ‘Kichiginsky’ (9.0 kg/tree) and ‘Uralets’ (8.5 kg/tree). Among the studied genotypes there were tree forms with irregular fruiting pattern, characterized by low resistance to adverse effects of abiotic factors: ‘Khabarovsky’ (0.9 kg/tree) and ‘Michurinsky No. 22’ (0.3 kg/tree). In the environments of the Southern Urals, critical winters (continuous frosts of –40°C) considerably damage generative buds, which results in having no apricot harvest in such years. Despite the harsh winters, annual shoots of local apricot-trees tended to freeze only to a small degree. Field survey of the apricot plantations showed that generative buds of local apricot cultivars (‘Kichiginsky’, ‘Prizer’, ‘Snezhinsky’ and ‘Uralets’) could withstand frosts of –40... –43°С (2003) only if they were brief, while continuous frosts destroyed them completely (2006, 2010). In addition, a decline in harvest was observed as a result of springtime frosts and temperature fluctuations in the end of winter (1999, 2014). Despite the abundant flowering in 2001, 2015 and 2016, the yield of apricot trees was low due to the frosts during the flowering period. Productivity of apricot trees also depends on their genetic characteristics, and in particular, on the geographical origin of cultivars. The introduced cultivars ‘Khabarovsky’ and ‘Michurinsky No. 22’ yielded fruit only thrice during the entire period of research.

Background. The intensive inflow of strawberry cultivars from abroad in recent years and a great number of cultivation practices make an accelerated comprehensive study of these cultivars in new soil and climate conditions a high priority for the Northwest of the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. In 2016–2017, 35 newly introduced strawberry cultivars were studied at St. Petersburg State Agrarian University according to the Program and Methodology of Variety Research on Fruit, Berry and Nut Crops. The primary study focused on the biometric characteristics of strawberry cultivars, their winter hardiness, performance of the full cycle of phenological stages in plant development, resistance to spider mite, and productivity. These are the main criteria for cultivars to be grown in plastic film greenhouses in Leningrad Province. Results and conclusion. The primary study of the introduced cultivars under plastic film greenhouse conditions in Leningrad Province and their evaluation for winter hardiness, productivity and spider mite resistance made it possible to identify the cultivars ‘Vechnaya Vesna’, ‘Vystavochnaya’, ‘Yubileynaya Govorovoy’ ‘Jive’, ‘Diamante’ and ‘Elianny’ as promising for cultivation. They require further research targeted at a set of economically important traits.

The main document attesting the composition of a collection is the passport database (DB), which contains basic information about every accession: its name, status, origin, the year of its placement into the collection, etc. The effort to include every detail of such information into the database opens up a number of possibilities for structuring and exploring the diversity available. For the bean collection, the history of its systemization has had several stages. In 1923, systemic recording of bean accessions that entered the collection started with their registration in special journals, called catalogues. Since the middle of the 1960s, computer aids have been used for data logging and processing. In the 1990s, the DBs thus developed were transferred to personal computers. Today, such data are formatted as a computerized passport database, unified in accordance with modern international standards and consisting of 35 fields. Analysis of the Phaseolus passport database has shown that the bean collection consists of 6586 accessions, registered in the permanent catalogue. These accessions represent four cultivated species of different breeding status from 102 countries of the world. The largest percentage in the collection belongs to the accessions of European origin (61%). The accessions from North and South Americas (over 600 and 460 entries, respectively) make up 17% of the collection, while the gene pool of Asian countries, 16%. The biggest replenishments of VIR’s bean collection in its entire long history happened in the times of the USSR (2129 entries). The passport DB also makes it possible to conduct worldwide monitoring of the breeding work with beans, because it provides a comprehensive overview of the history of bean breeding and its present-day status in foreign countries, the ex-USSR republics and the Russian Federation. The purpose of this article has been to analyze the passport database of VIR’s bean collection and the information stored in it, and produce a retrospective essay on the documentation of the Phaseolus germplasm holdings at VIR.

Despite the success of molecular genetics, overwhelming majority of Russian breeders still rely on selection based on plant phenotype. The most common way of identifying traits for such selection is calculation of their correlation with yield. However, the world science has accumulated extensive experience in direct selection among early generations of hybrid populations for different traits with the purpose to increase yield. The aim of this study was to inform Russian scientific community about the results of such experiments and analyze them in order to find the most efficient selection criteria. Sixty-seven scientific papers on direct or indirect selection in early generations have been analyzed. Thirty-three papers have reported positive results. The highest ratio of positive research results to negative ones refers to 1000 kernel weight and biological yield (aboveground biomass), and the lowest ratio of positive research results to negative ones is found in harvest index and yield. Taking into account high heritability of 100 kernel weight and simplicity of measuring, this trait is recommended for use in breeding practice. This result contradicts some reports on the evolution of productivity traits in plant breeding. Five efficiency-reducing factors have been identified for early generation selection: genotype-environment interaction, heterozygosity, low heritability of quantitative traits, intergenotype competition, and polygenic nature of productivity traits. The main conclusion of the study is that promising plants often emerge in the process of breeding, but many of them cannot be identified due to imperfect selection techniques. A still unresolved fundamental problem is making prognoses for hybrid populations where selection according to a definite selection criterion may lead to the appearance of a promising line.

 

 

The article is dedicated to the mobilization of plant genetic resources from the territories of India to VIR’s collection by means of collecting explorations, germplasm requests and the exchange of accessions. The first, the longest and the only pre-war expedition to India was undertaken by Prof. V. V. Markovich; it lasted three years (1926–1928). He explored the Northern, North-Western (Punjab and Kashmir) and Southern India, where he collected 2557 germplasm samples. From 1956 through 1959, D. V. Ter-Avanesyan, who worked as an agricultural attaché at the USSR Embassy in India, familiarized himself in every detail with the country’s plant resources and agriculture, collecting more than 5000 samples. The late 1960s were marked by intensification of plant genetic resources introduction and new opportunities to organize regular collecting missions. In the period from 1969 to 1991, there were five plant exploration trips to India. In 1969, V. F. Dorofeev visited scientific institutions in 10 Indian states, got acquainted with the main trends in cereal crop breeding, and collected 938 plant samples. In 1975, V. N. Balabanov took part in a specialized collecting mission launched to study and collect wild forms of rice and to assimilate methods of breeding high-yielding, immune and highquality cultivars. In 1976, an expedition team led by V. L. Vitkovsky collected and studied wild and cultivated forms of fruit crops, subtropical plants and grapevines. The team visited 11 institutes and experiment stations in six states of India, and collected 725 accessions. In 1977, another collecting team led by R. A. Udachin, whose task was to study the system of nation-wide projects on crop improvement, traveled over five states, visited 24 scientific and academic institutions, and collected 3189 germplasm samples. The last collecting trip to India was led by S. G. Varadinov in 1983. The accent was made on groat crops, such as sorghum, pearl millet, etc. The team collected 250 varieties and local samples. In total, the Institute’s collecting and exploration activities in India mobilized and added to its collections over 13,146 accessions, representing 620 plant species. In addition to direct collecting in India, VIR has always been replenishing its holdings by seed requests. During the whole pre-war period, from 1925 through 1941, 2181 germplasm accessions were added. In the post-war times, acquisition of accessions by mail requests was performed within the framework of scientific collaboration and exchange via the Embassy of the USSR in India (agricultural attachés), the Ministry of Agriculture, and from 1985, the Agroindustrial Committee. All in all, from 1948 through 2018, 9278 accessions were introduced from India. The greatest number of accessions received by the Institute represented groat crops (over 3500), followed by wheat (1250), and industrial crops and grain legumes (nearly 1000 each). In total, during the whole period of its existence, the Institute has mobilized 24605 accessions.