ГЕТЕРОЗИСНАЯ СЕЛЕКЦИЯ СУДАНСКОЙ ТРАВЫ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЗАПАДНОЙ СИБИРИ

Studies on heterosis breeding of Sudan grass were conducted in the forest-steppe area of West Siberian region in 2013–2015. A polycross breeding scheme allowed us to study total combining ability in parent forms and variability of polycross populations as to main economic characters. Twenty five polycross populations were studied in the nurseries of polycross progenies. The Sudan grass populations of various eco-geographical origins were used as the initial material; these were varieties Priobskaya, Kulundinskaya, Novosibirskaya 84, Lira and Brodskaya 2; variety specimens VK 37/12, KM 24/10, VR 68/10, SK 135/11, and others. The study of populations on 17 biological and economic characters has shown that the samples in the polycross nurseries are aligned to the height of plants and flowering period. Variation coefficients were 13–27 and 8.7–11.2 percent, respectively. There were distinguished the initial mother forms, promising for breeding, with high values of total combining ability for feed and seed production. There were selected six initial forms with high total combining ability for dry matter yield, five forms for seed yield, and four forms for thousand-kernel weight. There were singled out polycross progenies with heterosis of more than 20 percent. The best polycross progenies made it possible to form complex-hybrid populations (SGP 11, SGP 12), the best mother forms – synthetic populations (SGP 13, SGP 14, SGP 15). Early maturity and affection by bacterial infections in the initial mother forms and polycross progenies were taken into account when forming complex-hybrid and synthetic populations. After the complex-hybrid and synthetic populations formed have been cross-pollinated and propagated in the isolated land plots, they will be included in competitive variety trials to evaluate their economic characters.