Studying the potential of the initial potato material with the aim of breeding for drought resistance

Purpose. To evaluate and select hybrids, varieties of the parental nursery of the breeding process, biotechnological lines and wild species of potato for physiological parameters of drought resistance. Methods. Physiological and biochemical, selection ones, statistical data processing. Results. The data is given concerning the evaluation of the water retaining and water regeneration capacity of potato leaves of promising hybrids of competitive and ecological test, varieties of the parental nursery, biotechnological lines and wild species and their integral indicator of drought resistance. The studied samples were grown in the nurseries of field selection crop rotation. Accordingly, the initial material with the highest drought resistance value has been defined. Among the evaluated material, eight hybrids of the competitive and ecological test have been selected (drought resistance coefficient was ranging from 59.4% to 84.8%) and five biotechnological lines of ‘Hlazurna’ and ‘Dorohin’ varieties (drought resistance coefficient was in the range of 55.5% to 67.5%). As for wild species, almost half of the samples (47.8%) were characterized by a high coefficient of drought resistance (from 55 to 78%). Selected samples with high values of drought resistance were recommended to use as a source and drought resistance donors when creating new potato varieties. Conclusions. The initial potato material (hybrids, varieties, biotechnological lines and wild species) with high values of drought resistance (55.0–84.8%) has been selected. These samples are recommended to use in the breeding process when creating new drought resistance potato varieties.