Middle-early soft spring wheat variety Speaker

The results of research on the development of a middle-early variety of soft spring wheat with improved yield parameters, tolerance to early summer drought, low susceptibility to diseases and pests, intended for cultivation in the Altai Territory and adjacent regions of Siberia are presented. The variety Speaker was created as a result of intervarietal hybridization (Ershovskaya 33/Omskaya 36) followed by two-fold individual selection in split generations. Speaker belongs to the middle-early group of genotypes with a vegetation period of 79 days. The new variety forms a medium-sized pyramidal awnless plain spikelet of white color and large red grain. The variety is medium-grown, has a rather strong, partially solid straw with resistance to lodging at the level of the standard. In the competitive variety trial Speaker significantly exceeded the yield of the standard Altayskaya 70 by 0.67 t/ha (21.4%) and the best released variety Omskaya 36 by 0.60 t/ha (18.8%). The high ecological plasticity of the new variety is confirmed by the relative stability of the yield over the years of research, as well as by the results of testing in various locations in the Siberian region, where the average gain to the standard varieties amounted to 1.48 t/ha (30%). The advantage in grain productivity of the new variety is formed due to better preservation of plants for harvesting (+0.42 t/ha, or 62.7% of the total increase) and higher grain weight per plant due to better developed tillering shoots (+0.22 t/ha, 32.8% of the total increase). According to the complex of grain quality traits, Speaker meets the requirements for valuable wheat. The variety is immune to local populations of pathogenic powdery mildew and loose smut fungi, weakly susceptible to brown rust and moderately susceptible to stem rust. Against the background of intensive manifestation of leaf-stalk diseases, it exceeds the yield of susceptible control varieties by 45–53%. The Speaker was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements for the West Siberian region in 2023.