New varieties of winter rye of intensive type

The work of breeders of the Leningrad Research Institute of Agriculture Belogorka on the creation of new short-stature varieties of intensive type winter rye, characterized by increased resistance to adverse soil and climatic conditions of northern Europe is briefly described. The methods of selection used in the institute are presented, including the method of directed transpollination of crops “on a flower bed” developed in the winter rye laboratory. The characteristic of new varieties based on economic and useful features and on the main elements of the crop structure is given. It was shown that the new varieties significantly exceeded the standard Volkova variety in winter and lodging resistance, which allows obtaining a stable grain harvest even in unfavorable years. In addition, new varieties are characterized by the size and uniformity of seeds at the weight of 1000 grains 38–42 g, practically not inferior in this indicator to tetraploid and hybrid varieties of winter rye, which are more demanding of cultivation conditions.