JUSTIFICATION OF METHODS FOR CREATING NEW STARTING MATERIAL FOR BREEDING HIGH-YIELDING TOBACCO VARIETIES (NICOTIANA TABACUM L.) ADAPTED TO THE AGROCLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE FOREST-STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Until recently, tobacco farming was one of the most profitable agricultural sectors with a profitability level of 28-40%. However, over the years of our country's independence, there has been a steady downward trend in the production of raw tobacco. The main reason for the decline in tobacco production is the reduction of cultivation areas in Zakarpattia and Transnistria and the loss of the unique cultivation zone in Crimea [1, с. 24–27]. According to official statistics, tobacco production in Ukraine currently meets the needs of the industry by only 5%. The operation of tobacco factories is completely dependent on imports of raw materials from abroad. Accordingly, the strategic task of the industry is to increase the volume of tobacco produced domestically, which is possible only through the introduction of new competitive varieties of domestic breeding with improved quantitative and qualitative productivity indicators [2, с. 25–27]. The progress of modern tobacco breeding is primarily due to the genetic potential and diversity of the source material. Longterm study of collection samples makes it possible to identify the sources of the most important morphological and economically valuable traits with high genotype adaptability to the agroclimatic conditions of the central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine [3, с. 70–76]. One of the important directions of the development of the tobacco industry is not only the increase in the volume of tobacco cultivation, but also the improvement of its quality. This is due, first of all, to the fact that a significant part of the tobacco products of Ukrainian factories is made from imported raw materials. Accordingly, the support of the own producer is possible only due to the introduction into production of new competitive varieties of domestic breeding with improved quantitative and qualitative indicators of productivity. Our country can be one of the leading European countries that produces high-quality tobacco raw materials. Growing tobacco in Ukraine has become traditional thanks to the geographical location, favorable climatic conditions, the presence of large areas of fertile land, and qualified labor resources. According to the results of the research, the tobacco trait collection was classified according to a set of morphological, biological and economically valuable traits and the source material for breeding highly productive tobacco varieties adapted to the agroclimatic conditions of the central part of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine was formed.