Evaluation of the NEW breeding lines of winter soft wheat with purple grain for productivity and grain quality

Abstract

Aim. To investigate the productivity and grain quality of new breeding lines of purple-grained winter soft wheat. Methods. Physiological: morphometric indicators and elements of the yield structure; physico-chemical: infrared spectroscopy and SDS-30 determination; technological: a single-phase method of dough preparation; mathematical statistics. The method of placing plots (10 sq.m.) was systematic. The samples were grown in blocks (400 thousand plants per hectare) and evaluated based on economically valuable traits (yield, morphometric parameters, components of productivity structure, grain quality indicators) as compared to the standard. The experiment had three repeats. The yield structure parameters (plant height, tillering, number of spikelets/grains, grain weight per spike/plant and thousand grain weight) were measured in three repeats (sampling ≥30 plants). Grain quality (content of protein and gluten) was determined by infrared spectroscopy with an Inframatic 8600 device. For the analysis, a 40-gram sample of meal was used, which was obtained by grinding in a Perten LM 3100 laboratory mill. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using ANOVA software and Tukey’s post-hoc test for significant differences based on mean values. Results. The average yield of the created purple-grain wheat lines in the comparative trial in 2023–2025 varied within 91.2–109.8 centners/ha. The genotypes, significantly outperforming the standard purple-grain variety Chornozerna in terms of productivity, were identified. Most breeding lines did not significantly differ in plant height from the Chornozerna variety, but significantly exceeded the standard variety Favorytka by this indicator and were characterized by high resistance to lodging. All the investigated wheat lines with purple grain and standard varieties were characterized by high resistance to lodging (5 points) and had no differences. The lines, considerably exceeding both standards in terms of the length of the main spike and the number of spikelets therein, were identified. All the studied genotypes were inferior in terms of the number of grains in the main spike to the Favorytka variety, but some were found that significantly exceeded this indicator in the Chornozerna variety. The lines, which were at the level of the Favorytka variety in terms of the weight of grains from the main spike and significantly exceeded the Chornozerna variety, were obtained. In terms of the weight of grains per plant and the thousand grain weight, almost all the studied lines were inferior to the Favorytka variety. Half of the lines significantly exceeded the Favorytka variety in terms of protein content, but did not significantly differ from the Chornozerna variety. In terms of gluten content, six lines did not significantly differ from the Favorytka variety, while the others did not significantly differ from the Chornozerna variety. It was found that the sedimentation index in purple-grained lines was higher than in red-grained wheat. All the lines with purple grain had a considerably higher sedimentation index than the standard red-grained variety, Favorytka. Conclusions. A comprehensive analysis of 14 created breeding lines of purple-grained winter soft wheat was carried out by economically valuable traits. In terms of productivity, all the studied lines were inferior to the standard variety of red-grained wheat Favorytka, which is due to the smaller number of grains in the main spike and the thousand grain weight. Purple-grained wheat lines were obtained, which in terms of yield were significantly superior to the standard variety Chornozerna. The lines with a higher thousand grain weight are characterized by the highest yield, which emphasizes the importance of increasing the thousand grain weight while maintaining a stable number of grains per area unit as a key strategy for increasing the yield potential of colored wheat. The created purple-grain lines are technologically oriented towards a new direction in the selection of wheat for cereal use with improved nutritional value of grain. Some of the highest indicators in terms of all the analyzed parameters were noted for the line UK 4776/23, which was transferred to the State Variety Testing as a variety of colored winter soft wheat Chornozirka.