A new spring durum wheat variety ‘Tamara’ as a source of carotenoid pigments

The purpose of the current work was to develop and introduce into production a spring durum wheat variety adapted to the climatic conditions of the Lower Volga region, which meets the modern requirements of the raw material market for pasta producers to productivity and grain quality. Grain quality is the most important criterion by which durum wheat is evaluated. For modern pasta production, there is a great need in grain with a grain unit of at least 770 g/l; with kernel hardness of at least 80.0%; with high quality of gluten (gluten index of at least 80 u.); with carotenoid pigments of 7.0–8.0 mg/kg, where the yellowness index (semolina color) is not less than 22.0 c.u. The new spring durum wheat variety ‘Tamara’ meets all the requirements. The variety was developed by the method of complex hybridization between the best varieties and lines of the laboratory for spring durum wheat breeding and seed production of the “FARC of South-East” and selected samples from the collections of the breeding centers of the Russian Federation, VIR, and ICARDA. The variety is middle-maturing, with 50 days from a germination to heading stage, with plant height of 96 cm. On average, through three years (2019–2021), the productivity of the variety exceeded that of the standard variety ‘Krasnokutka 13’ on 0.3 t/ha, and the variety ‘Saratovskaya zolotistaya’ on 0.5 t/ha. In 2020 in the production sowing of the Krasavskoye OPH the maximum productivity was 3.14 t/ha. The variety is characterized by a high percentage of carotenoid pigments, gluten elasticity and strength, an amber-yellow shade of spaghetti, their low digestibility, delicious taste and nutritional value. The new spring durum wheat variety ‘Tamara’ has been included in the State List of Breeding Achievements since 2022. The variety has been recommended for cultivation in the 8th region of the Russian Federation.