UAV- and Machine Learning-Based Retrieval of Wheat SPAD Values at the Overwintering Stage for Variety Screening

In recent years, the delay in sowing has become a major obstacle to high wheat yield in Jiangsu Province, one of the major wheat producing areas in China; hence, it is necessary to screen wheat varieties are resilient for late sowing. This study aimed to provide an effective, fast, and non-destructive monitoring method of soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values, which can represent leaf chlorophyll contents, for late-sown winter wheat variety screening. This study acquired multispectral images using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the overwintering stage of winter wheat growth, and further processed these images to extract reflectance of five single spectral bands and calculated 26 spectral vegetation indices. Based on these 31 variables, this study combined three variable selection methods (i.e., recursive feature elimination (RFE), random forest (RF), and Pearson correlation coefficient (r)) with four machine learning algorithms (i.e., random forest regression (RFR), linear kernel-based support vector regression (SVR), radial basis function (RBF) kernel-based SVR, and sigmoid kernel-based SVR), resulted in seven SVR models (i.e., RFE-SVR_linear, RF-SVR_linear, RF-SVR_RBF, RF-SVR_sigmoid, r-SVR_linear, r-SVR_RBF, and r-SVR_sigmoid) and three RFR models (i.e., RFE-RFR, RF-RFR, and r-RFR). The performances of the 10 machine learning models were evaluated and compared with each other according to the achieved coefficient of determination (R2), residual prediction deviation (RPD), root mean square error (RMSE), and relative RMSE (RRMSE) in SPAD estimation. Of the 10 models, the best one was the RF-SVR_sigmoid model, which was the combination of the RF variable selection method and the sigmoid kernel-based SVR algorithm. It achieved high accuracy in estimating SPAD values of the wheat canopy (R2 = 0.754, RPD = 2.017, RMSE = 1.716 and RRMSE = 4.504%). The newly developed UAV- and machine learning-based model provided a promising and real time method to monitor chlorophyll contents at the overwintering stage, which can benefit late-sown winter wheat variety screening.

Razdolye – a new mid-late variety of soft winter wheat

Wheat bread rightfully belongs to the greatest inventions of mankind. The aim of the research is to characterize the new Razdolye soft winter wheat variety for compliance with these requirements. The research was carried out in 2016-2020. The research object was the Razdolye winter wheat variety. The Ermak variety was used as a standard. The accounting area of the plot is 10 m2. The Razdolye variety was submitted to the State Variety Testing of the ARC “Donskoy” jointly with the Federal State Budgetary Organisation “Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea”. Razdolye has a high grain yield. The average yield of Razdolye in competitive trials for the predecessor green manure fallow over five years of study (2016-2020) was 10.57 t/ha, which is 1.68 t/ha higher than the standard variety Ermak. By ripening, it belongs to the middle late ripeness group, hatches and ripens 4 days later than the standard variety. Possesses high drought resistance, heat resistance, frost resistance and resistance to the main diseases of the region. Razdolye is being studied since the fall of 2020 in the North Caucasus, Lower Volga and Central Black Earth regions of the Russian Federation.

Germination of common winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) treated with unconventional preparations

The study was conducted in the laboratory of the Agricultural Institute of Shumen. The germination energy and germination of winter wheat variety Venka 1 are reported following the adopted methodology. The germination energy was recorded on the fourth day of the experiment, and the germination and measurement of the coleoptile – on the eighth day. 10 granules of the following homeopathic preparations are pre-dissolved in distilled water: Calcium sulfuricum 6 D, Thallium sulfuricum 6 D, Sulfur, Graphites 6 D, Selenium, Ferrum metallicum 10 D, Magneziun fluoratum 10 D, Arsenicum album 12 D, Causticum Hanenmanni 30 D, Zincum metalicum 30 D. The tested homeopathic preparations have no proven effect on the germination energy and germination of seeds in wheat variety Venka 1. The variants treated with the homeopathic preparations Thallium sulfuricum and Sulfur have been proven to exceed the standard one in terms of coleoptile length. Тhis work will serve as a basis the study of other homeopathic preparations to determine their impact on uniform germination and their aftereffect on plant growth.

Evaluation of durum winter wheat varieties by growth and development indicators

The article presents the study results of the formation of growth and development indicators (growing season length of plants, plant height, density dynamics, ear parameters and grain yield) of domestic varieties of durum winter wheat. It is analyzed that the level of the signs manifestation varies signifcantly depending on the weather conditions of the growing season. However, the growing season duration hardly depend on weather conditions and is 268–269 days. In the full ripeness stage, the height of plants increased 1.4–1.8 times in comparison with earing with insignifcant variation (V=1–5 %) depending on the variety. The lowest plants were Athena, Continent and Laguna – 71–76 cm. Uneven precipitation distribution and high air temperature in 2013 contributed to the formation of fewer stems of durum winter wheat plants compared to more favourable 2014. In the full ripeness stage of durum winter wheat grain in 2013, the coefcient of total tillering was 1.01–1.26 depending on the variety. In 2014, the stem density was the highest. In the full ripeness stage of grain, the number of stems ranged from 650 to 812 pcs/m2 depending on the variety with a total tillering rate of 1.54–1.91. It should be noted that Athena and Linkor varieties retained a higher ability to tillering and stem survival in different weather conditions. The ear length of winter durum wheat varied from 5.9 to 6.7 cm depending on the variety with slight and small variation (V=3–16 %). The number of spikelets in the ear was from 16 to 20 pcs with a small variation coefcient. The ear length of durum winter wheat varied most. Thus, of the nine varieties, the variation coefcient of this indicator in six varieties was average, and in the rest of them - small. However, there was no signifcant difference between the varieties. The highest yields were formed by Argonaut, Gardemaryn and Linkor varieties – 6.00–6.31 t/ha or 13–19 % more than the standard. Grain yield varied signifcantly depending on the weather conditions of the growing season, which is also evidenced by the stability index and was below 1 (0.48–0.64). Less favourable weather conditions in 2013 provided the yield of 3.74–4.63 t/ha depending on the variety. More favourable weather conditions in 2014 provided the grain yield of 5.46–8.25 t/ha depending on durum winter wheat variety. It is obvious that the positive effect of weather conditions in 2014 on tillering and stem survival of winter durum wheat determined the formation of higher grain yield. Key words: durum winter wheat, variety, growth and development indicators, yield.

Ecological signifcance of winter wheat varieties in phytosanitary optimization of agroecosystems

Mycobiota of Podolyanka and Poliska 90 winter wheat varieties seeds was found to be represented mainly by fungi of the Alternaria, Fusarium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Trichothecium genera which are characterized by various levels of pathogenicity, depending on the physiological and biochemical properties the host variety. Signifcant increase is air temperature and relative humidity during the wheat flowering and milking stage of grain ripening contributed to the spread of micromycetes of the genus Alternaria Nees. (50 %). The seeds the affected by fungi Alternaria were physiologically underdeveloped, had low energy and germination, which averaged 40 %. Plants form such seeds lag behind in growth and development. It is established that the physiological and biochemical mechanism of Podolyanka winter wheat variety stimulates mycelium radial growth and intensity of fungi Alternaria sporulation indicating the rapid reproduction of micromycetes, which contributes to the contamination of agrophytocenoses by propagative structures of the pathogen. However, the intensity of spore formation and the rate of mycelium radial growth on Poliska 90 variety seeds, was signifcantly lower. This fact gives reason to believe that the physiological and biochemical mechanism of the Poliska 90 variety plants is able to restrain the intensity of the genus Alternaria micromycetes spore formation at an ecologically safe level. It was found that the seeds of the Podolyanka and Poliska 90 winter wheat varieties are low in protein content and have high humidity. In terms of raw gluten content, they are classifed in the quality group 3. Isolates of fungi the genus Alternaria developed more intensively on the Podolyanka winter wheat variety grain, which is characterized by a lower content of protein and gluten. However the development of fungi was signifcantly lower on the Poliska 90 variety grain, which is characterized by a slightly higher content of protein and gluten. System-ecological approach to the improvement of agroecosystems in organic farming can be carried out using indicators of the variety physiological and biochemical properties interaction with physiological properties of phytopathogenic fungi, namely sporulation intensity and mycelial radial growth rate. This can increase the level of biosafety in agroecosystems and improve the quality of plant raw materials. Key words: the frequency of occurrence, mycelium radial growth, sporulation intensity, phytosanitary optimization, wheat winter agrphytocenoses.

PRODUCTIVITY STRUCTURE OF MOSCOVSKAYA 39 WINTER WHEAT VARIETY DEPENDING ON TREATMENT WITH BIO- AND HUMIC PRODUCTS

As a result of the research, the influence of biological products recommended for foliar fertilization of crops on winter wheat productivity structure in the conditions of the Republic of Mordovia was revealed. Comparison of the effectiveness of different treatment times of plants is made. The appropriate combination of application time and biological product type has been established, which has a positive effect on winter wheat productivity structure. Appropriately selected elements of cultivation technology play a significant role in increasing crop yields. Research shows that growth stimulators have a positive effect on crops, increasing their yield and grain quality. On average, over the years of our research, the maximum yield of Moskovskaya 39 winter wheat variety in OOO “Lunga” was observed on the variant with two-fold treatment of plants with Potassium Humate in autumn and spring. The increase in comparison with the control variant (without treatments with biological products) was 1.1 t / ha. All products under study significantly increased winter wheat grain yield from 11.6 to 42.6%, but this also depended on the treatment time. The maximum yield parametres were observed on the variants where the crops were double-treated: in autumn and spring. A smaller increase was noted on the variant with spring treatment of crops. In comparison with the control, the number of survived plants by the harvesting time increased by 5.8–10.4% (by 15–27 pcs / m2) under the influence of bio- and humic products; the total number of stems - by 11–74 pcs / m2 or 2.4–16.0%; the number of productive stems - by 20–85 pcs / m2 or 5.5–23.4%. The number of grains per spike in the variants treated with biological products significantly changed in comparison with the control by 1–2 pcs. The change of 1000 grain mass was 36.3–38.2 g. The smallest value was observed on the control variant, the largest - on the variant with double treatment of crops in autumn and spring with the biological product albite.

SOFT WINTER WHEAT VARIETY YUVIVATA 60 AS A PERSPECTIVE FOR GRAIN PRODUCTION AND SELECTION FOR ADAPTABILITY AND SUSCEPTABILITY TO PHOTOPERIOD

Soft winter wheat variety Yuvivata 60 has been characterized according to its economically valuable indices. Its morphological features and biological characteristics have been described. The uniqueness of the Yuvivata 60 genotype has been determined. It is related to a number of ontogenetical peculiarities, ecological and adaptive mechanisms: high ecological plasticity of plants due to genetical heterogeneity that proves inhomogeneity of phenetic markers – spectres of proteins-gliadins, high crop capacity of grain (with the potential of 10 tonnes/hectare) due to high reproductive ability, viz.: multifloweredness (up to 60 flowers in an ear), multispiculateness (up to 23) and ear grain content (96%); high quality of grain (with the amount of protein up to 16%, gluten up to 34%); forming a strong root system (prolonged coleoptile – up to 6 cm, deep and branched bedding of primary and secondary radicles in spring with optimal sowing terms between 25–30 September); medium photoperiod susceptibility and highly active renewal of spring bunch-formation (the variety of prolonged daylight hours); synchronic development of spring shoots (low percentage of aftersprings, earless stems); high photosynthetic productivity of crops (7 g/m2/day conditioned by continuous functioning of the leaf apparatus of the first and second layers, awns and ear); resistance to lodging side by side with medium-growth and high crop capacity of the grain due to a strong and incrassate stem; high resistance to sprouting within the ear (caused by a long latent period); resistance to pests and pathogenic agents of fungus infections, viz. septoriose, yellow stripe rust and various kinds of brand (8–9 points), medium resistance to leaf and stem rust, as well as oidium (5–7 points); high resistance to anomalies of climatope in the autumn-winter and spring-summer periods (drought resistance 8–9 points, winter and frost resistance above average – 7 points). Keywords soft winter wheat, high crop capacity, agricultural and ecological peculiarities, economically valuable characteristics, donor of determining insusceptibility to photoperiod.