Directions, methods and results of rye (Secale cereale L.) breeding in Belarus

At the present stage of science development, breeding of new varieties of plants using modern, including molecular methods, is one of the main links in the intensification of the agricultural industry. Rye is no exception in this respect. This is a traditional strategic crop for Belarus, that largely determines the country’s food security. In the paper, in a historical context, the main achievements in breeding of rye varieties for different uses are outlined. The main approaches are described, including: screening of the world diversity of winter rye in the conditions of Belarus; use of methods of experimental polyploidy, hybridization, stabilizing selection, molecular-genetic methods and techniques. Development and application of modern methods have allowed a number of genetic mechanisms and regularities to be discovered, which, in turn, has significantly increased the efficiency of rye breeding in different directions (population and heterosis). At present, RUE “Scientific and Practical Center of the NAS of Belarus for Arable Farming”, State Scientific Institution “Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the NAS of Belarus”, as well as jointly with other institutions have developed new breeding methods, including molecular-genetic ones, which is especially important for increasing the efficiency of obtaining competitive varieties. Significant results have been achieved on the use of the effect of heterosis based on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). To date, a system of highly productive competitive rye varieties has been created for soils of different levels of fertility: population tetraploid and diploid, as well as F1 hybrids – LoBel-103, Galinka, Plisa, and Belgi.

1. Urban E. Winter rye in Belarus: breeding, seed production, cultivation technology. Minsk, Belaruskaya navuka Publ., 2009. 269 p. (in Russian).

2. Utkina E.I., Voylokov A.V., Kedrova L.I., Chugunova N.V. Methodical approaches on creation of winter rye population varieties for different goal directions. Agrarnaya nauka Evro-Severo-Vostoka = Agricultural Science Euro-North-East, 2016, no. 6 (55), pp. 4-8 (in Russian).

3. Pavlova O.V., Marchenkova L.A., Chavdar R.F., Orlova T.G., Savoskina O.A. Assessment of grain crops on seed quality and resistance to unfavourable conditions. Vladimirskii zemledelets = Vladimir Agricolist, 2021, no. 2 (96), pp. 52-57 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.24412/2225-2584-2021-2-52-57

4. Bogomolov A.M. Issues of seed production of winter rye in Byelorussia. Selektsiya i semenovodstvo sel’skokhozyaistvennykh rastenii v Belorussii [Breeding and seed production of agricultural plants in Byelorussia]. Minsk, 1961, pp. 53-62 (in Russian).

5. Urban E.P., Gordei S.I., Gordei I.A. Winter rye. Geneticheskie osnovy selektsii rastenii. T. 2. Chastnaya genetika rastenii [Genetic bases of plant breeding. Vol. 2. Private genetics of plants]. Minsk, 2010, pp. 120-155 (in Russian).

6. Mukhin N.D., Semenova N.Yu., Sokolova N. A. Breeding ways to increase the resistance of winter rye to lodging. Zernovye kul’tury intensivnogo tipa Nechernozemnoi zony RSFSR: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Grain crops of the intensive type of the Non-Chernozem zone of the RSFSR: a collection of scientific papers]. Leningrad, 1979, pp. 3–8 (in Russian).

7. Shcheglov I.Ya., Semenova N.Yu. Selection of winter diploid rye. Novoe v selektsii, semenovodstve, tekhnologii vozdelyvaniya ozimoi rzhi i opyt ispol’zovaniya kampozana: tezisy dokladov V Vsesoyuznogo nauchno-metodicheskogo soveshchaniya, Saratov, 1–3 iyulya 1981 g. [New developments in winter rye breeding, seed breeding, cultivation technology and experience of using camposan: abstracts of the 5th All-Union scientific and methodological conference, Saratov, July 1-3, 1981]. Moscow, 1981, pp. 28-31 (in Russian).

8. Mukhin N.D., Lavrukovich S.D., Lavrukovich V.A., Lapchenko V.P. Effectiveness of the hybridization method in the development of tetraploid winter rye breeding populations. Zemledelie i rastenievodstvo v BSSR: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Agriculture and crop production in the BSSR: a collection of scientific papers]. Minsk, 1985, iss. 29, pp. 74-80 (in Russian).

9. Okazaki K., Shotarou N., Ootuka H. Application of nitrous oxide gas as a polyploidizing agent in tulip and lily breeding. Floriculture and Ornamental Biotechnology, 2012, vol. 6, spec. iss. 2, pp. 39-43.

10. Pershina L.A. On the role of wide hybridization and polyploidy in plants’ evolution. Informatsionnyi vestnik VOGiS = The Herld of Vavilov Society for Geneticists and Breeding Scientists, 2009, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 336-344 (in Russian).

11. Mukhin N.D., Lavrukovich V.A. Growing conditions and yield qualities of Belta winter tetraploid rye seeds. II Vsesoyuznoe soveshchanie po selektsii, semenovodstvu i priemam vozdelyvaniya ozimoi rzhi, 28-30 iyunya 1971 g.: tezisy dokladov [II All-Union meeting on winter rye breeding, seed production and cultivation practices, June 28-30, 1971: abstracts]. Kharkov, 1971, pp. 72-73 (in Russian).

12. Kedrov-Zikhman O.O., Shilko T.S. Production and use of winter rye trisomyces. Minsk, Nauka i tekhnika Publ., 1979. 175 p. (in Russian).

13. Kulminskaya I.V., Gordei I.A., Ukrainko A.P., Shimko V.E. Genetic analysis of transgressive variability in diploid plants growth in progeny of heteroploid crosses of winter rye (Secale cereale L.). Doklady Natsional’noi akademii nauk Belarusі = Doklady of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2003, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 77-79 (in Russian).

14. Kedrov-Zikhman O.O., Bel’ko N.B., Sharepo T.I., Ponyatovskaya L.N. A new source of winter rye self-fertility. Vestsі Akademіі navuk Belarusі. Seryya bіyalagіchnykh navuk [Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of BSSR. Biological series], 1986, no. 3, pp. 115-116 (in Russian).

15. Kartel’ N.A., Malyshev S.V. Molecular-genetic mapping of cereals. Tsitologiya i genetika = Cytology and Genetics, 2000, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 5-10 (in Russian).

16. Korzun V., Malyshev S., Voylokov A.V., Börner A. A genetic map of rye (Secale cereale L.) combining RFLP, isozyme, protein, microsatellite and gene loci. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2001, vol. 102, pp. 709-717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220051701

17. Hardzei S., Urban E. Prospects and problems of hybrid rye breeding in Belarus. Plant Breeding and Seed Science, 2003, vol. 47, no. ½, pp. 29-31.

18. Kargatova A.M., Stepanov S.A., Ermolaeva T.Y., Nuzhdina N.N. Biological characteristics of productivity of various breeding and genetic forms winter rye. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya: Khimiya. Biologiya. Ekologiya = Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series. Series: Chemistry. Biology. Ecology, 2017, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 48-52 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.18500/1816-9775-2017-17-1-48-52

19. Pryanishnikov A.I., Sayfullin R.G., Lyascheva S.V. The development of the techniques used in the selection process in the adaptive crop farming. Agrarnyi nauchnyi zhurnal = The Agrarian Scientific Journal, 2015, no. 10, pp. 20-23 (in Russian).

20. Petrovtseva N.A., Esimbaeva E.M., Kopyl T.V. Inheritance mode of winter rye lodging resistance in hybrids of new short-stem variety Evrika. Trudy Kubanskogo gosudarstvennogo agrarnogo universiteta = Proceedings of the Kuban State Agrarian University, 2019, no. 81, pp. 156-159 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.21515/1999-1703-81-156-159

21. Geiger H., Miedaner T. Hybrid rye and heterosis. Genetics and exploitation of heterosis in crops. Madison, 1999, pp. 439-450. https://doi.org/10.2134/1999.geneticsandexploitation.c41

22. Hardzei S. Heterosis in rye. Symposium on plant breeding for the future, October 21, 2011, Geneva, Switzerland. Geneva, [2012], pp. 24-28.

23. Pryvalau F.I., Urban E.P., Hardzei S.I. The basic results and prospects of biotechnology use in breeding of agricultural crops. Molekulyarnaya i prikladnaya genetika: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Molecular and applied genetics: collection of scientific papers]. Minsk, 2015, vol. 19, pp. 13-24 (in Russian).

24. Pryvalau F., Hardzei S. Genetic and biotechnological methods in crop breeding. Nauka i innovatsii = Science & Innovations, 2016, no. 6 (160), pp. 12-17 (in Russian).

25. Ponomareva M.L., Ponomarev S.N., Mannapova G.S. The value of the genetic resources of winter rye and their estimation methods multivariate analysis. Uspekhi sovremennoi nauki [Advances in Modern Science], 2017, vol. 1, no. 10, pp. 139-146 (in Russian).

26. Ponomareva M.L., Ponomarev S.N., Mannapova G.S. Initial material for winter rye (Secale cereale L.) selection. Vestnik KrasGAU = Bulletin of KSAU, 2018, no. 3 (138), pp. 19-24 (in Russian).