Department of Wheat Breeding and Seed Production

The department breeds and maintains pre-basic seed of universal-type soft winter wheat (Tr. aestivum) with a high and steadily increasing genetic yield potential (above 10 t/ha), the grain quality of strong and extra-strong wheat, and pronounced adaptive properties (disease resistance, frost and winter hardiness, drought tolerance, etc.). The varieties withstand biotic and abiotic environmental factors. This combination allows them to realise their yield potential on high-input backgrounds and to keep a relatively high minimum yield in extreme weather and on medium- and low-input backgrounds.

The programme for breeding universal-type soft winter wheat follows two main lines:

An improved breeding-process technology has been developed that optimally combines traditional methods and schemes with modern methods of producing androgenic doubled haploids and molecular-genetic control of individual traits. It shortens the breeding process by 3–4 years (6–7 years instead of the traditional 10–12) and raises breeding efficiency by 15–20%. The scientific-methodical manual “Improved technology of the soft winter wheat breeding process using biotechnological and molecular-genetic methods” was published on this development.

It has been experimentally proven that pre-basic seed production is more efficient when different schemes are used depending on how long a variety has been in production and on its level of heterogeneity. Biocenogenetic principles of forming balanced variety populations have been proposed and published in the scientific-methodical manual “Biocenogenetic processes in variety populations and their role in breeding and primary seed production of soft winter wheat”.

The department has scientifically substantiated and implemented a qualitatively new programme for breeding universal-type soft winter wheat, developed for more than 25 years. The results were presented in the doctoral thesis of M. A. Lytvynenko, now Academician of NAAS, “Theoretical foundations and methods of breeding soft winter wheat for increased adaptive potential in the Steppe of Ukraine”.

Under this programme, from 1992 to 2026 (34 years), 87 universal-type varieties with progressively improved traits have been created and entered into Ukraine’s State Register. In yield alone, under identical testing conditions (2006–2025), it rose from 5.4 to 8.5 t/ha compared with Odeska 51, a well-known variety of the previous stage — by 3.1 t/ha (57.4%) — and from 6.5 to 8.5 t/ha compared with Albatros odeskyi, the first universal-type variety — by 2.0 t/ha (30.7%).

Over the last 10 years (2015–2025) Ukraine’s Register has included 22 to 32 of the department’s universal-type varieties: each year 2–3 varieties that have served their time are withdrawn and 2–5 new, better ones are registered. The longest-serving were the “million-hectare” varieties, each grown on 1 to 4 million ha a year: Albatros odeskyi (1992–2005), Viktoriia odeska (1998–2012) and Antonivka (2008–2022). In recent years (2015–2026) the areas of Mudrist odeska and Katrusia odeska have approached a million hectares.

Six variety replacements have been carried out in Ukraine’s Steppe agroclimatic zone on the basis of universal-type varieties, which are also spreading in the Forest-Steppe and Polissia. At different times a number of varieties have been registered and grown abroad: 21 in Moldova, 4 in Türkiye and 2 in Hungary.

The development of the soft winter wheat breeding programme can be divided into 11 stages:

The next stage of the breeding programme aims to create soft winter wheat varieties of different intensity groups:

Intensive work continues on further improving grain quality by introducing the alien GPC-B1 genes from Tr. tauschii into hybridisation; they control increased grain protein and micronutrient (zinc, manganese, etc.) content.

Varieties with a white pericarp and high baking quality are being developed for special confectionery products (such as croissants).

Pre-basic seed production is essentially a continuation of the breeding process, so at PBGI NCSCI it has long been carried out in the Department of Wheat Breeding and Seed Production with the direct involvement of the breeders who authored the varieties. This makes it possible not only to maintain varietal purity but also to refine — especially new — varieties for distinctness, uniformity and stability during primary seed production. It is a heavy load, accounting for up to 60–70% of the department’s work.

Over time the number of varieties in primary seed production has ranged from 2–3 to 30–35. For the last 10 years pre-basic seed production has covered 22–28 commercial varieties and 6–8 new varieties in State Variety Testing each year. The full scheme (RV-1, RV-2, RR-1, RR-2) is generally used, but shortened schemes developed in the department are also applied, depending on how long a variety has been in use and its genetic status (level of heterogeneity), using storage-protein electrophoresis, the sedimentation index and, in some cases, uniformity assessment with molecular markers.

The department’s researchers take part in soil control, field work to bring varieties to the required level of purity and uniformity, certification of seed crops, seed cleaning and the formation of seed lots.

Within PBGI NCSCI, joint research with the Department of Genetic Bases of Breeding under F. O. Poperelia stands out. The evaluation scheme covered, between harvest (July) and sowing (September), analysis of 5–7 thousand samples from the early stages of breeding and seed production and, in autumn and winter, full milling and baking analysis of 350–400 lines in variety trials; the material was analysed by storage-protein electrophoresis. The first super-strong varieties, Panna and Leleka, were created jointly.

Productive work on creating disease-resistant source material was carried out with the Department of Phytopathology under L. T. Babaiants; it is now being resumed under O. A. Vasyliev.

Cooperation with the Biochemistry Laboratory has always been steady and productive under its various heads (A. P. Levytskyi, V. Vovchuk and now O. O. Molodchenkova): improving breeding material by biochemical indicators and analysing, at the department’s request, physiological and biochemical indicators of resistance to biotic and abiotic factors.

With the Department of Genetics (formerly headed by D.Sc. V. I. Fait, with the direct involvement of Academician of NAAS A. F. Stelmakh), the Ppd (photoperiod sensitivity) and Vrn, Vrd (vernalisation requirement) genetic systems were studied in varieties and promising lines, allowing variety models to be adjusted to climate change and production needs; work has begun on lines combining Ppd and Vrd genes that give a facultative (alternative) growth habit.

Each year the department studies introgression lines created in the Department of General and Molecular Genetics by PhD, Leading Researcher I. I. Motsnyi, which are periodically used as parental components. While the Southern Biotechnology Centre in Plant Production operated under Academician of NAAS Yu. M. Syvolap, varieties were certified by molecular formulas, ensuring their full legal protection; research now focuses on molecular identification of disease-resistance genes and alien genes from rye and other wheat relatives (PhD Tokaiev).

Over the years the department has cooperated widely with state research institutions (the Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Fundulea, Romania; the Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute in General Toshevo, Bulgaria) and private companies (Limagrain, France; Strube, Germany; Marmara, Türkiye; Agrostoc, Moldova), exchanging genetic material and scientific information and testing varieties in each country.

Since 1981, after M. A. Lytvynenko (now Academician of NAAS) trained at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, Mexico), the department has run a broad programme crossing local winter varieties with short-stemmed spring CIMMYT accessions, producing original source material and qualitatively new varieties. When CIMMYT set up its regional winter wheat programme (headquartered in Ankara), the department became an associate member of the CIMMYT–ICARDA–Türkiye programme, enriching its winter wheat collection with material from practically all leading research centres of the world.

M. A. Lytvynenko served on the organising committees of four international wheat conferences and gave plenary talks (7th — Ankara, Türkiye; 8th, 2002 — Budapest, Hungary; 9th, 2006 — Buenos Aires, Argentina; 10th, 2010 — Saint Petersburg). The department’s varieties (Ukrainka odeska, Viktoriia odeska, Syrena odeska) have repeatedly ranked first for yield in international trials run by CIMMYT’s regional centre in Türkiye. In 2019, at CIMMYT’s suggestion, PBGI NCSCI hosted an international conference of leading breeders — programme heads from 19 countries of Europe, Asia, North and Latin America. The varieties registered in Türkiye (Krasunia odeska, Syrena odeska, Misiia odeska, Zahrava odeska) are managed by Yildiz Bitkisel (Tekirdağ).