Achievements and prospects of selection of awnless barley for fodder production

Goal. To create innovative varieties of awnless barley, which are a source of energy feed for fodder production. Methods. Research on the creation of awnless varieties of barley at the Institute of plant breeding named after V.Ya. Yuriev of NAAS has been held for 17 years (2006–2023). The method of creating barley varieties was intraspecific hybridization. The sources of awnless were Hranal, Hranal 447 (Kazakhstan), Sicarpi 7 (France) and IR 08027 (Syria) varieties. In the process of selection, the Hranal variety turned out to be the most effective. Varietal testing was carried out according to the methods of the Ukrainian Institute of Examination of Plant Varieties. During the growing season, phenological observations were made, and resistance to lodging was evaluated. Statistical processing of the research results was performed by variance analysis using the STATISTICA 6 program. Results. 5 awnless barley varieties of the inerme spring type included in 2011–2021 into the State Register of plant varieties suitable for distribution in Ukraine were created and introduced: Modern, Kontrast, Krechet, Iner and Hercules. A new variety of spring awnless barley Yarets was submitted for qualification examination. In awnless varieties, instead of awns, there are outgrowths in the form of teeth on the outer flower scales. The yield of these varieties is more than 5 t/ha, the protein content is 12–13%. The new Yarets variety has increased nutrition, which is determined by the high content of phenolic compounds — 1.10 mg/g of gallic acid equivalent. Conclusions. In the selection process, economic indicators of new varieties improve compared to previous awnless varieties. The introduction of varieties of Western European selection into the selection process solved the problem of resistance to lodging and damage by pathogens of foliar diseases. As a result of breeding, the protein content and nature of the grain increased. A new awnless variety Yarets was created with the increased nutritional quality of the grain — high content of phenolic compounds.