Chlorophyll pigments and winter common wheat productivity under different water regimes

Chlorophyll in a flag leaf is an important indicator of drought resistance of wheat. Understanding the regulatory mechanism of chlorophyll content may accelerate breeding for drought tolerance. The current paper has presented the analysis results of the state of the pigment complex of flag leaves of winter common wheat samples and their effect on productivity under various growing conditions. The trials were carried out in the laboratory for cell breeding in 2021–2023. There were studied 11 winter wheat samples, developed in the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”. The purpose of the work was to identify the possibility of using indicators of photosynthetic pigments as traits responsible for drought resistance and high productivity. The study of the reaction of the pigment complex of winter wheat plants was carried out in the flowering phases and milk-ripe stages of grain. The quantitative content of chlorophyll pigment was determined by the I. G. Shmatko method (1976). Varieties’ testing for drought resistance on a growing plot was conducted according to the V. V. Maimistov method (1988). Having analyzed the ratio of chlorophyll content ( a+b, a/b ) and productivity under drought conditions in comparison with optimal conditions, there have been identified the varieties ‘Donchak’ (98.4, 84.0 and 81.4 %), ‘Razgulay’ (83.3, 80.8 and 70.9 %), ‘Flagman’ (87.9, 76.2 and 82.7 %) and the line ‘597/18’ (98.5, 87.6 and 75.2 %). The identified samples were characterized by high preservation of the total pigment in both phases with a slight productivity decrease. The lines ‘1762/17’ (43.3 and 79.2 %), ‘2060/17’ (71.1 and 79.2 %), ‘597/18’ (76.1 and 75.2 %) and ‘1724/18’ (75.0 and 79.7 %), which combined a minimal productivity and chlorophyll a/b ratio decrease, had a high adaptability under drought conditions.