Genealogical Analysis of Diversity of Russian Winter Wheat Cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.)

With the aid of genealogical analysis the genetic diversity of Russian winter Triticum aestivum L. wheat cultivars was studied. The change of diversity in time from 1929 to 2002 shows an increase in diversity of Russian cultivars due to the use of foreign material in the breeding programs. At the same time, the genetic erosion of the released diversity occurred. In the 1950s and the 1960s about 50% of the Russian local and old varieties had dropped out of the pool of landrace ancestors. The set of the modern cultivars included in the Russian Official List 2002 has a cluster structure. The overwhelming majority (96%) are the descendants of cultivars Bezostaya 1 and/or Mironovskaya 808. The low diversity of cultivars recommended for cultivation in the Central and Volga-Vyatka regions is apparent. This situation can result in losses of a yield due to a uniform susceptibility to pathogens.