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The current paper has presented a three-year estimation of 14 new winter bread wheat varieties, recently developed in the laboratory of half-intensive type of the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”, according to such indicators as kernel hardness, grain nature weight, protein and gluten percentage in grain, IDK, SDS-sedimentation, flour strength, volume yield of bread from 100 g of flour and general baking assessment. The main way to improve the quality of winter bread wheat grain and flour is breeding, the development of varieties and samples with optimal values of these indicators. The purpose of the current study was to estimate current winter bread wheat varieties developed by the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” according to the main quality indicators of grain and flour. Breeding for high flour-grinding and baking quality of grain has always been one of the priority areas for winter bread wheat breeding at the Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy”. There has been identified more than 14 % of protein in grain on average for all studied varieties in 2019 (14.14 %) and 2021 (14.10 %). The average value of gluten content in grain was at the level of 27.1 %. More than 28.0 % of gluten was found in such varieties as ‘Volnitsa’ (28.9 %), ‘Podarok Krymu’ (29.5 %) and ‘Zolotoy Kolos’ (28.9 %). According to a set of quality indicators, the studied genotypes belonged to the second and third quality classes according to GOST 9353-2016. According to the study results, there have been determined significant positive correlations between protein percentage and gluten content in grain (r = 0.71±0.19); volume yield of bread and general baking assessment (r = 0.95±0.05); gluten content and flour strength (r = 0.57±0.22); grain nature weight and SDS-sedimentation (r = 0.62±0.21); SDS-sedimentation and flour strength (r = 0.63±0.21).

The main purpose of breeding and commercial production is the quantity of grain and its quality. Occupying 74 % in the structure of grain crops, and 80 % in terms of gross yields, wheat grain is the most important source of income for grain producers in the Rostov region. The purpose of the current study was to reveal the effect of forecrops on productivity and SDS-sedimentation of the promising winter bread wheat varieties. In the trial there were studied 12 winter bread wheat varieties developed by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” and sent to the State Variety Testing in recent years. There were estimated productivity and the amount of SDS-sedimentation. On average, over the three years of study (2019–2021), for all the studied forecrops, in terms of productivity there have been identified such winter wheat varieties of the intensive type as ‘Razdolie’ (7.14 t/ha), ‘Razgulay’ (7.67 t/ha) and ‘Vasilich’ (7.51 t/ha), which makes it possible to recommend these genotypes for sowing according to high and medium levels of Agricultural background. Among winter wheat varieties of semi-intensive type there has been identified only one variety ‘Donets’ (7.31 t/ha), which allows us to characterize it as a universal variety and recommend it for sowing in production according to high, medium and low levels of Agricultural background. According to the value of SDS-sedimentation for all the studied forecrops, there have been identified such varieties of intensive type as ‘Razdolie’ (62 ml), ‘Azov Sea’ (61 ml), ‘Razgulay’ (63 ml) and ‘Vasilich’ (63 ml). The varieties of semi-intensive type did not significantly exceed the value of SDS-sedimentation of the standard variety or were at its level, however, the values were high. Such SDS-sedimentation values have indicated that the presented genotypes are able to form high grain quality for all the studied forecrops and regardless of the productivity value.

The current paper has presented the study and estimation results of winter bread wheat varieties in primary seed production (2019-2021) based on the method of electrophoresis. In order to maintain varietal purity in different varieties there were used different methods of primary seed production. The main method was the method of laying down the plots (a field testing method) for testing progeny with a two-year estimation of families according to progeny (PIP-1 and PIP-2). In laboratory conditions, there was used the method of electrophoresis, where there was studied the polymorphism of wheat gliadin reserve proteins. The purpose of the study was to estimate the efficiency of the method of electrophoresis on reserve proteins, to develop varietal purity and belonging of winter wheat seeds to the variety in primary seed production. On the basis of the conducted study, there was found that for winter bread wheat varieties there was possible to change the biotype composition from heterogeneous to monomorphic in PIP-1 by selecting families according to morphological traits (a field testing method), and the introduction of the method of electrophoresis into seed production made it possible not only to identify varieties on changes in the biotype gliadin composition in the varieties, but also to track the ratio in which it was necessary to purposefully preserve families in primary seed production, excluding monomorphism in heterogeneous varieties. All varieties were characterized by an individual set of gliadin-coding loci, which allowed using electrophoresis on reserve proteins to identify any variety and its varietal purity.

The main task of agricultural producers has always been and still remains to obtain high and stable yields, which can be provided by new developed varieties, which are the main reserve for increasing grain production. The current paper has presented the study results of the work in 2018–2021, namely, the development of promising varieties and the main features of seed production. The purpose of the study was to estimate promising winter durum wheat varieties according to the main economic and biological traits and properties, quality indicators of grain and pasta, and seed production features. The studied varieties were able to give consistently high yields (from 5.56 to 12.67 t/ha), combining the main economic and biological traits (drought resistance, frost resistance, resistance to major diseases and lodging) and quality indicators of grain and pasta. The study of the physicochemical properties of grain showed that the winter durum wheat varieties met the requirements of GOST 9353-2016 and belonged to the 1–2 quality classes, which was quite enough to produce good pasta and cereal. The pasta color of the varieties ‘Yakhont’, ‘Yantarina’, ‘Uslada’ was yellow (4.3–4.6 points); it was creamy in the variety ‘Yubilyarka’ (3.5 points); the content of carotenoids varied from 507 µg/% (the variety ‘Yubilyarka’) to 610 µg/% (the variety ‘Uslada’). In order to preserve and maintain the main features and properties characteristic for each variety, their seed production is being currently carried out with a comprehensive estimation of both phenotypic (approbation) traits and genotypic ones using protein markers. The varieties ‘Yakhont’, ‘Yubilyarka’, ‘Yantarina’ and ‘Uslada’ have clearly distinguishable spectra of gliadins 3.2.3T2, 13.2T+6T.3.T1, 5.2.4T1 and 13X.4T.3.2, which makes it possible to control their varietal purity at all stages of seed production.

The current paper has presented the study results of SDS-sedimentation and grain quality indicators of the winter bread wheat varieties in an interstation variety testing from the research institutions of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and France. The research work was carried out in 2017–2019 in the field of the laboratory for breeding winter bread wheat, the forecrop was maize for grain. The purpose of the research was to estimate SDS-sedimentation, protein percentage in grain, quantity and quality of gluten in the winter bread wheat varieties of interstation variety testing, for the subsequent introduction of the best samples in the breeding process aimed at improving grain quality. Grain quality indicators of the winter bread wheat varieties were identified in the laboratory for biochemical estimation of breeding material and grain quality using IR spectroscopy on ‘SpektraStar 2200’ analyzer. There was established that according to the SDS-sedimentation most of the samples corresponded to strong wheat (50–63 ml). There have been identified the genotypes with the highest values of this trait, such as ‘Shef’ (58 ml), ‘Nakhodka’ (59 ml) and ‘Don 107’ (61 ml). The largest gluten content in grain was identified in the varieties ‘Don 107’, ‘Shef’, ‘Kavalerka’, ‘Timiryazevka 150’ and ‘Nakhodka’ (25.5–26.2%). The largest protein percentage in grain has been identified in the varieties ‘Don 107’, ‘Shef’, ‘Aksinya’, ‘Nakhodka’ and ‘Timiryazevka 150’ (12.5-12.8%). The varieties ‘Don 107’, ‘Shef’, ‘Nakhodka’ and ‘Timiryazevka 150’ were identified according to the studied traits and were recommended to be involved in the breeding process as parental forms.

In recent years the Russian Federation is among the world's leading grain producers. The country is considered a world leader in export of wheat. Russian wheat in the world market attracts with its price and quality. How is high-quality wheat flour valued in the domestic market, in multiple shops? To study the problem, there were purchased flour samples in such multiple shops as Magnit, Record and SuperU (France), as well as flour of local production in AO “Uchkhoz Zernovoye” (Zernograd). We evaluated flour quality not only according to the information indicated on the packages, but also there were conducted analysis in our own laboratory (on protein percentage, SDS sedimentation, grain prolamins). The study results showed that protein content in flour was actually more by 0.3–2.9% (except “Farine de ble T-65”), which in terms of grain (cake meal) corresponded to grain of 1–3 class. According to SDS-sedimentation, all flour samples corresponded to the traits of “strong” and “valuable” wheat, except for rye flour and a special product “Pudov (French recipe)”. The gliadins in the studied samples were rated as “good” and “+”, “-”. Consequently, the price of premium baking flour was formed not only due to its quality, but also according to the brand's popularity (“MAKFA”, “Pudov”), according to supply and demand, and it sometimes differs twofold e. g. “Petrovsky niva” costs 22.45 rubles per kg., “MAKFA” costs 42.90 rubles per kg.

The paper describes the stages of studying the biochemical heterogeneity of gluten proteins of wheat grain as an important factor in the baking quality of flour. It has been shown that the biochemical heterogeneity of gluten proteins is caused by genetic factors. Modern electrophoretic methods on gel carriers make it possible to study the component protein composition of varieties, biotypes, lines, split hybrids and to identify the Mendelian units of the spectrum (genes, alleles). The application of the idea of the genetic nomenclature of the hereditary unit of gliadins (a block of components) is over 40 years old, and it was proposed by domestic scientists (Kopus, Poperelya, Sozinov). This made it possible to compile catalogs of blocks of components (alleles), to study their correlation with quality, frost resistance and other traits, to develop a scale for combining gliadin blocks in the spectrum of varieties for the breeding assessment of samples from agro-nurseries. It has been established that electrophoregrams of prolamins serve as a reliable criterion to identify seed genotypes of commercial varieties by laboratory methods.

The article deals with the results of the assessment of breeding material of soft winter wheat with the use of such express methods of evaluation as SDS-sedimentation and analysis of gliadin electrophoregrams. The purpose of our research is to estimate genetic potential according to grain quality and soft winter wheat tolerance to frost (contribution of prolamins), and to assess real quality of grain (realized in the definite field conditions) using the indexes of SDS-sedimentation. Electrophoresis of prolamin proteins of grain (gliadins) has been carried out with the standard method on a starch gel. SDS-sedimentation has been done according to science-practical recommendations, developed in FSBSI ARRIGC after I.G. Kalinenko. The phased approach allows forming a necessary amount of the samples with good, high and excellent grain quality for the farms of competitive variety testing. It can be proved and characterized by the conventional but difficult technologic methods, which allow the farmers to choose promising, competitive varieties with high quality and productivity when sending them for the State variety testing. The conducted researches showed that in the competitive variety testing the main quantity of the samples of soft winter wheat of intensive type possessed high quality of grain in SDS-sedimentation and complied with the valuable and strong wheat. The promising varieties ‘Kipchak’, ‘Bonus’, ‘Kazachka’, ‘Luchezar’, ‘Aksiniya’ and ‘Nakhodka’ possess the high grain quality. The basic amount of the samples of soft winter wheat of half-intensive type has good, high and excellent grain quality. The promising varieties ‘Admiral’, ‘Krasa Dona’, ‘Kapitan’, ‘Kaprizulya’ and ‘Lilit’ showed the quality of the grain of valuable and strong wheat during the period. For the last years 12 varieties of soft winter wheat developed in ARRIGC after I.G. Kalinenko (‘Admiral’, ‘Krasa Dona’, ‘Kapitan’, ‘Kaprizulya’, ‘Lilit’, ‘Kipchak’, ‘Bonus’, ‘Kazachka’, ‘Luchezar’, ‘Aksiniya’, ‘Lidiya’ and ‘Nakhodka’) were sent to SVT. All commercial and promising varieties of soft winter wheat have a high estimation of allele contents of gliadins. These varieties have no gliadins which negatively effect on grain quality; many of them have Gld1D7-allelle, which positively effect on frost tolerance.

The article gives the results of a consistent assessment of breeding material of durum winter wheat with the use of express assessment methods as SDS-sedimentation and analysis of gliadin electrophoregrams. A consistent assessment allows forming a necessary amount of breeding samples with good and high grain quality right to competitive variety trials. It can be confirmed and characterized by the conventional and time-consuming technologies, that allows the farmer to choose promising competitive varieties with good quality and productivity when sending them to SVT. For the recent years of such practice we sent 11 varieties of durum winter wheat of FSBSI ARRIGC named after I.G. Kalinenko. They are ‘Aksinit’, ‘Kurant’, ‘Amazonka’, ‘Lazurit’, ‘Kristella’, ‘Oniks’, ‘Kiprida’, ‘Diona’, ‘Teya’, ‘Eyrena’ and “Yakhont’. They exceed the standard variety in grain quality, in productivity, in gliadins, that gives them opportunity to keep their position in the market of seeds.

The increase of grain production is a key purpose of agricultural development in Russia. Spring barley largely determines the amount of gross grain yields in the regions of RF, including North Caucasus. Being principal forage crop, its grain is raw material for brewery, food and other types of production. Its specific weight in the production of forage grain was 80% for the last years, its share in the amount of sowing areas was more than 30%. On the present stage of agricultural development it is necessary to develop highly productive varieties with good agro ecologic stability to increase gross yield of spring barley and to supply husbandry with valuable forage grain. The early maturity is one of the main mechanisms protecting plants from summer droughts. The article gives economic-biological characteristics of a new early maturing drought tolerant variety of spring barley ‘Gris’, introduced into the State List of Breeding Achievements in North Caucasus in 2016. The new variety possesses high plasticity and productivity. The variety exceeds the main zoned varieties in resistance to lodging and in tolerance to regional diseases under artificial and natural infection. The introduction of the spring barley variety ‘Gris’ will play a definite part in the improvement of barley productivity, stability of the crop and complete supply with valuable forage grain.

In recent years, Russia has returned to the number of world leaders in the production and export of wheat grain. However, a paradoxical situation has developed in the domestic wheat market. According to statistics, “almost no grain of the 1 and 2 grades (strong-valuable)” is produced in the country, and the various stores sell the top-grade flour which can be only produced (in accordance with GOST) from the grain of the 1-2 grades. The article tries to find out the reasons of the paradox. We have studied top-grade flour of three domestic producers, flour from France as well as flour and oilcake of seven varieties of domestic breeding listed in the State List as strong-valuable. For the comparative assessment we have used such efficient express-methods as electrophoresis of prolamins, SDS-sedimentation and estimation of protein content according to the Kjeldahl method. The study showed that the top-grade flour chosen for the analysis is soft (hexaploid) wheat and its gliadins do not possess alleles, which are negative for quality. SDS-sedimentation of the samples ‘Makfa’ and ‘Pudov’ corresponds to strong wheat; SDS-sedimentation of the samples ‘Petrovskie Nivy’ and ‘Ture 65’ corresponds to valuable wheat. The amount of protein in grain is on 1.6% more than in flour. The protein content in flour of domestic producers indicated on the packages does not correspond to the factual amount, and according to it the amount of protein in grain would be 13.7-15.2%, that corresponds to the grain of the 1-2 grades. GOST R 52189-2003 for wheat flour does not have any requirements to the protein content, and for grain such requirements are of great importance. For grain of the 1-2 grades, the requirements for the mass share of protein are overestimated in comparison with the scientifically justified restrictive norms on 0.5% (GOST 9353 "Wheat" (USSR) and DSTU 3768-98), and GOST R 52554-2006 itself does not give a right to maneuver in the procurement of grain, which takes place in the international requirements for some kinds of products from wheat. Such a situation is not normal. It discredits the selective achievements, misleads the state and agronomical services and requires amendments of GOST R 52554-2006 for grains of the 1-2 grades to reduce the protein content by 0.5%, and also to include in GOST R 5254-2006 “Wheat flour ...” the restrictive norms for the mass share of protein which come from the world experience (Fig. 2).

The breeding and genetic assessment of winter durum wheat hybrids on gluten quality The improvement of grain quality is one of the principle directions in winter durum wheat breeding, as the present automated pasta producers need raw material with qualitative and strong gluten. The breeding process will be successful if the estimation of qualitative traits is known at the early stages. It would be an important criterion of selection while sorting out the breeding material and it would reduce the amount of work at the further stages of breeding. In our study for that purpose we have used a method of SDS-sedimentation, which is widely applied for the breeding work with spring and winter soft wheat. Thus the main purpose of the researches was to study variability and heritability of gluten quality in the hybrid populations F2-F4 of winter durum wheat by SDS-test. It has been done to determine the generation and the possibility to use it as a criterion of selection on quality and as a criterion on selection of parental pairs for hybridization. There have been studied 14 hybrid populations obtained by the crossing of varieties with contrast and similar SDS-indexes. They are the variety ‘Kurant’ with super-strong gluten (SDS of 40 ml and more), the variety ‘Terra’ with strong gluten (SDS of 35-39 ml), the varieties ‘Zolotko’ and ‘Aksinit’ with average gluten (SDS of 30-34 ml), the varieties ‘Kremona’ and ‘Gelios’ with weak gluten (SDS of less than 30 ml). The study of winter durum wheat sown in a green-manured fallow land was carried out in the FSDSI ARC ‘Donskoy’s laboratory in 2012-2014. It has been established that according to the amount of SDS-sedimentation the hybrids took an intermediate position among the parental forms with a shift to the best parent. The most hybrids had average indexes of the trait in the limits of parental variability. The SDS-sedimentation is a slightly variable trait. The coefficient of the variability was about 5-10%. It has been shown that genotypically controlled variability of SDS-sedimentation (H2) in the generation F2 was about zero, F3 and F4 hybrids possessed larger and more stable SDS-sedimentation in dependence on hybrid combinations, therefore it’s better to start selection of qualitative genotypes with F3. The degree and, especially, the frequency of transgressions in the generations of major winter durum wheat hybrids are small or absent in relation to parental forms with a higher value. However, it becomes possible to select qualitative progenies at the level of the average sedimentation value of the best parent or with the sedimentation value of more than 35 mm. We should exclude the use of two low-qualitative varieties or average varieties with low-quality in winter durum wheat hybridization on high quality.

Don wheat: productivity and grain quality, competitiveness and varietal diversity In the structure of grain crops, winter wheat occupies 74% of the area, and yields about 80% of gross amount. Therefore, wheat grain on the Don area, its productivity and quality is the most important source of income of its producers. The main sowing areas in the south of Russia are occupied by new varieties of such three research institutes as ARC ‘Donskoy’, ‘RCG named after P.P. Lukyanenko’ and DGRIA with the leading varieties ‘Ermak’, ‘Grom’, ‘Gubernator Dona’. Many modern winter wheat varieties are sown in the inter-station variety testing in the department for winter wheat selection and seed-growing of the ARC ‘Donskoy’, which makes it possible to compare them both in grain quality and productivity and to reveal their differences and features. The analysis of the allelic composition of prolamins showed that among the Krasnodar varieties there are a lot of alleles (78%) that negatively affect on the quality of flour (Gli 1B3, 1B2) and there are very few alleles with high frost resistance (Gli 1D4, 1D7 - 30%). At the same time, the varieties of Don selection have a visa versa effect. These alleles give an advantage in frost resistance, but lead to productivity decrease.

The initial material and the achievements in winter durum wheat breeding in a content of carotenoids in the grain of FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” The carotenoids of winter durum wheat are of great importance for their consumption; they color flour and grain products (pasta, spaghetti, cereals, semolina, couscous, ravioli, etc.) in yellow. Besides, they are a source of vitamin A. The content of carotenoids in grain depends on both hereditary (genetic) and non-hereditary (phenotypic) factors. Out work deals with the characteristics of commercial, promising and breeding variety samples of winter durum wheat selected by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” compared with the varieties selected in other regions. The material for research was the grain (oilcake) of the varieties cultivated in interstation (IsVt) and competitive (CVt-1) variety testings in 2014-2016. Protein and gluten content in grain has been measured by SpectraStar-2200, carotenoids have been determined by the Sozinov and Zhukova’s method (1967) with additions and changes by the biochemical laboratory. The study showed that the variety “Donchanka” possessed the highest index of carotenoids with variability of 68Mg%. The promising and breeding samples are similar to or slightly inferior to standard. At the same time the local variety “Novinka 5” and the varieties “Winter Gold” and “Karavella” of other regions significantly surpass the standard variety in carotenoids. Importantly, the large content of carotenoids in grain doesn’t reduce protein and gluten content in grain; they have an effect only on the grade of purchased marketable grain.