МODELING A POTATO VARIETY (SOLANUM TUBEROSUM L.) BASED ON ECONOMICALLY VALUABLE TRAITS AND BIOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF СENTRAL POLISSIA OF UKRAINE

Under the specific soil and climatic conditions of Central Polissia of Ukraine, potato is one of the few crops capable of providing relatively high yields, which determines its important role in agricultural production of the region. Developing a model that accounts for climate factor variability is relevant for predicting adaptation potential and creating stress-resistant potato varieties. To create a model of Solanum tuberosum L. variety adapted to the stress conditions of Central Polissia of Ukraine, during 2021–2024 at the Polissia Research Department of the Institute for Potato Research of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, a comprehensive evaluation of promising breeding material was conducted in the field crop rotation of the potato breeding and seed production laboratory. The subject of the research was the standard varieties Radomysl and Lietana and promising hybrids from competitive-ecological variety testing. The evaluation was conducted based on economically valuable traits, biometric characteristics, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses using weight-based, analytical, visual methods, determination of drought resistance and consumer qualities, and mathematical-statistical analysis.A model that takes into account the influence of a complex of ecological (hydrothermal regime, soil conditions) and economic factors, with adjustments to productive traits according to the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) has been developed. The model provides for achieving desired values in consumer qualities, tuber mealiness, starch and reducing sugar content, and complex resistance to major diseases, pests, and drought. The modeled ideal variety is characterized by a medium-early maturity group, high early (11.4 t/ha) and total (at HTC 1.1- 19.3 t/ha, at HTC 0.5-13.2 t/ha) yield, marketability of 89 %, average tuber mass of 69 g, number of marketable tubers 9.5 per plant, starch content of 17.1 %, high consumer qualities of 8.6 points, resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors above 6 points, pink coloration of round-oval tubers with shallow eyes and light yellow flesh. The created model serves as a valuable reference point for breeding potato varieties adapted to the conditions of Central Polissia and will contribute to improving the efficiency of the breeding process.