For effective breeding work, clear guidelines (the so-called variety model) are of great necessity. Winter common wheat breeding is no exception. There has been given characteristics of the optimal variety model for the Non-Blackearth region according to the data obtained in the laboratory for winter wheat breeding and primary seed production of the FSBSI “Federal Research Center “Nemchinovka”. There should have productivity of more than 10.0 t/ha, winter resistance of 90 % and higher, 310 days of vegetation period. The plant height of the variety model was 60–70 cm, lodging resistance was 5 points. The variety must have field resistance to leaf rust, powdery mildew, and leaf and ear blight. Yield structure elements were as follows: stem density was of 650–700 pieces per 1 m2, number of grains per ear was above 50 pieces, grain weight per ear was 2.0–2.5 g, 1000-grain weight was above 50 g. There was 15 % of protein and 30 % of gluten in grain. The purpose of the current work was to study the lines of winter wheat breeding according to a compliance degree with a given variety model according to the data of 2023. There was established that these lines had characteristics corresponding to the optimal variety model for the Non-Blackearth Region, individually or in combination. In terms of plant height, productivity, grain weight per ear, a number of grains per ear and 1000-grain weight, the frequency distribution of lines was normal. Correlation analysis has found out that a mean positive correlation was between grain weight per ear and a number of grains per ear (r = 0.56±0.05), and grain weight per ear and 1000-grain weight (r = 0.48±0.06). A mean negative correlation was found between a number of grains per ear and 1000-grain weight (r = -0.44±0.06). Correlation between other studied indicators was weak or absent, which indicates the possibility of combining optimal productivity parameters in one genotype.

Obtaining wheat grain with good baking qualities is an important part of the food security of the Russian Federation. An important link in the production of grain is the development of winter common wheat varieties, which have genetically determined quality characteristics. FSBSI “FRC “Nemchinovka” is a leading institute for the development of strong and valuable winter wheat varieties. In recent years, the most spread varieties of winter common wheat developed by “Nemchinovska” are ‘Moskovskaya 39’, ‘Moskovskaya 56’ and ‘Nemchinovskaya 85’. The purpose of the current work was to study productivity and quality indicators of these varieties during the with years different weather conditions (according to the Competitive Variety Testing in 2015–2022). The most productive variety is ‘Nemchinovskaya 85’, the mean productivity is 7.35 t/ha, exceeding the standard ‘Moskovskaya 39’ on 1.47 t/ha with its maximum of 12.14 t/ha. According to the considered qualitative indicators, there was identified the variety ‘Moskovskaya 39’ with 15.9 % of protein in grain, 34.8 % of gluten in grain, 72.6 u. appr. of IDK, 350 u.a of strength of flour on the alveograph, 72 u.val. of valometric estimation, 1003 cm 3 of volumetric yield of bread. The varieties ‘Moskovskaya 56’ and ‘Nemchinovskaya 85’ had quality indicators corresponding to valuable and strong wheat. There was found that the variety ‘Nemchinovskaya 85’ was the most variable over the years of the study (CV 8.0–18.9 %). The strength of flour on the alveograph differed to the greatest extent both according to the factors ‘variety’ and ‘year’ (17.1 %; 15.4 %; 17.6 %). There was identified that the volumetric yield of bread was the least variable indicator (5.5 %; 14.0 %; 8 %). When estimating the correlations, there was established a strong negative relationship between productivity and protein percentage in grain, similar in three varieties, and a mean positive correlation between productivity and IDK.

Stress exposures during vegetation are known to reduce the yield in crops, but the intensity and duration of stress is rather difficult to determine from the crop loss. Allelotoxins are released from plants into soil on exposure to stress factors. Soil allelotoxicity after vegetation was assumed to provide a diagnostic parameter that characterizes the total stress effect on crops. To verify the assumption, changes in soil allelotoxicity were studied after vegetation of three winter wheat cultivars fed with different amounts of nitrogen fertilizers. The cultivars Nemchinovskaya 85, Moskovskaya 39, and Lutescens 982/08 were found to differently respond to fertilizing. Nemchinovskaya 85 and Lutescens 982/08 showed lower stress responses at higher doses of nitrogen fertilizers, while their responses were appreciable when soil nitrogen was lacking. In the case of Moskovskaya 39, higher doses of nitrogen fertilizers caused an adverse reaction of increased allelotoxin release. Stepwise nitrogen fertilization was concluded to be necessary for preventing delayed plant development in the case of this cultivar. The results confirmed that soil allelotoxicity measured growing plants can serve as an indicator of stress caused by the growth conditions and use of various agricultural techniques.

It is well-known that soil allelotoxicity and the water stability of soil structure are determined by the entry of plant residues into the soil, but the relationship of these soil properties has not been investigated. Soil samples from the fields of the Federal Research Center "Nemchinovka" after growing 25 cultivars of spring and winter wheat on plots with sod-podzolic soil are selected in this study. The effect of the soil's allelotoxicity of plot samples on the germination of spring wheat seed of the Liza cultivar is studied by the biotesting method. The water stability of the soil structure is determined for the same samples. The existence of a sigmoid dependence between the allelotoxicity of soil samples and their water stability with a correlation greater than 95% is established. The presence of this dependence is apparently related to the increase in the soil's water stability with an increase in the amount of fresh plant residues entering them, which is known from the literature, and the transition of the allelotoxins' effects from stimulation to suppression with a growth in their concentration in soils.

The article describes the main stages and achievements of the breeding of winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Non-Chernozem zone for more than a century. The beginning of breeding work was laid by D.L. Rudzinsky on the experimental field of the Moscow Agricultural Institute. Beginning from the 1940s, under the leadership of Academician N.V. Tsitsin, and then Prof. G.D. Lapchenko, the method of distinct hybridization with blue wheatgrass (Agropyron glaucum (Desf. ex DC.) Roem. & Schult.) was actively used. The resulting wheat-wheatgrass hybrids had an average winter hardiness, increased grain quality and productivity. Cultivar Zarya developed in the 1970s (by individual selection from the F3 cross combination of cv. Mironovskaya 808 × line 126/65 (in the pedigree of this line, there is a wheat-wheatgrass hybrid PPG 599)) had a high yield and was widely used in further crosses. In the 1980s, Academician B.I. Sandukhadze achieved a significant increase in yield by using the method of intermittent backcrosses due to the producing of varieties with a new morphoecotype (cvs Inna, Pamyati Fedina, etc.), namely, winter-hardy, short stemmed (dwarf), and productive. Cultivar Moskovskaya 39 (registration in 1999) was referred to strong wheat, with a stable protein content of 15–16 %, gluten 30–35 %. Produced in the 2000s, cvs Moskovskaya 56, Nemchinovskaya 57, Galina, Nemchinovskaya 24, Nemchinovskaya 17, and Moskovskaya 40 have a high adaptability to the environment of the region; give a high yield and quality of grain. The area of crops of these cultivars in Russia occupies more than 2 million ha. The current trends in wheat breeding are indicated, the production yield of commercial cultivars of breeding by the Federal Research Center “Nemchinovka”over 12.0 tons per ha and the protein content in the grain up to 17 % are shown. As a result of succession, originality and application of the methodology of scientific breeding, the yield of winter bread wheat in the period from the beginning of the last century to the present has increased from 1.0 to 12.0 and more tons per ha.

A brief description of the stages of winter wheat breeding in the Non-Chernozem Zone of the Russian Federation is given. The characteristics of the Mironovskaya 808, Pamyati Fedina, Inna, and Moskovskaya 39 varieties were given in comparison with the new Nemchinovskaya 85 and Moskovskaya 27 varieties in terms of yield, productivity elements, and protein content in grain for 5 years of research (2015–2019). The grain yield in the Nemchinovskaya 85 variety (submitted for state variety testing in 2018) was 7.9 t/ha (maximum yield was 10.1 t/ha), while that in the Moskovskaya 27 variety (2019) was 7.7 t/ha (8.89 t/ha); the protein content in grain was 15.0 and 14.4%, respectively. A significant excess of these varieties in terms of yield over the varieties of the earlier breeding stages and the Moskovskaya 39 standard was shown. The data on the constant lines of the F5 generation of the hybrid combination Boema × Mera, combining large-grain, short-stemming, and high protein content in the grain, are presented. Correlation analysis confirmed the possibility of combining a low plant height and a high mass of 1000 grains in one genotype. The best lines of this combination are seeded in the breeding and control nurseries.

Представлены результаты научных исследований по выявлению потенциальной продуктивности озимой пшеницы в условиях Нечерноземья за счет селекции и применения минеральных удобрений. Показано, что при достаточном минеральном питании урожайность сортов селекции ФИЦ «Немчиновка» достигает 6,0 т/га и более. Максимальная урожайность озимой пшеницы - более 9 т/га - получена от селекционной линии отбора из Лютесценс 982/08, что является рекордной для почвенно-климатических условий Нечерноземной зоны Российской Федерации. The results of scientific research to identify the potential productivity of winter wheat in the Non-Chernozem Region due to the selection and use of mineral fertilizers are presented. It is shown that with sufficient mineral nutrition, the yield of varieties of the selection of the Federal Research Center "Nemchinovka" reaches 5.0-6.0 t/ha and more. The maximum yield of winter wheat - more than 9 t/ha, was obtained from the selection line from Lutescens 982/08, which is a kind of record for the soil and climatic conditions of the Non- Chernozem Region of the Russian Federation.

In the course of the study (2011-2018), the stability of winter wheat varieties and lines was assessed by the reaction of plants to water stress and their ability to mobilize protective mechanisms was determined. The results indicate a high toxic effect on plants waterlogging, which is manifested in depression of seedlings, rotting and seed death. On the backgrounds of exposure to this stress identified samples, clearly reacting to excessive waterlogging. The main diagnostic indicator of this method is the germination of seeds in the conditions of their artificial flooding, which, like germination and infection with diseases, is largely determined by weather conditions. Analysis of the formation of winter wheat seeds during the study period showed that hydrothermal conditions were favorable, except for 2013 (rains during harvesting), and germination ranged from 94 to 96 %, in 2013 - 90 %. A longterm study of the spectrum of pathogens of seed infection of winter wheat revealed a pathogenic complex represented by the genera Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichothecium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Cladosporium and Rhyzopus, of which the most common and dangerous is Fusarium. Germination is largely determined by the level of Fusarium infection, which over the years of research (2001-2018) did not exceed 9 %. On the background of anaerobic stress have been revealed the cultivars with the long-term and sustainable response to prolonged waterlogging, among them - Nemchinovskya 17, Nemchinovskya 24, and Moskovskaya 39. High capacity of resistance to hypoxia is characterized by lines and to a lesser extent prone to depression - Eritrospermum 3512/10 (Ital.988 x Pamyati Fedina), MV Abigel x Moscovskaya 39, (Soldier x Moscovskaya 39) x Moscovskaya 56, Erythrospermum 689/16 (Nemchinovskaya 17 x Moscovskaya 39), etc.

The article gives the results of growing the generations of two hybrids F1 and F2 under the scheme combining the regulated and natural conditions, which are characteristic to the center of Non-Black Earth area. The scheme has got two stages. The first stage is to obtain the generation of F1. The seeds of hybrids are sown on F1 in the container in the terms of winter wheat sowing. Until the end of vernalization they are in natural conditions, and then they are placed for ripening in the greenhouse. The combinations are valued according to a phenotype and selective traits; a sorting out takes place. The second stage is to sow seeds on F2 in a heated soil greenhouse, after vernalization the heating is turned off and a further growing continues in natural conditions. The seeds selected from F2 lines for F3 are sent to the breeding plots of 1.5 m2 or they are sown in the autumn of the year. Some samples, which originated from F1 and F2 and were grown in the containers and in the heated greenhouses in 2012, were approved for the competitive Variety Testing in 2015.