EVALUATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY WITHIN THE GENE POOL OF POLONICUM WHEAT(TRİTİCUM POLONİCUM L.) IN AZERBAIJAN

The manuscript presents the results of an investigation into the morphometric and agronomic traits of new T. polonicum accessions from Azerbaijan, selected in hybrid and breeding nurseries at the Terter Research Station of the Azerbaijan Research Institute of Crop Husbandry.The study, which involved 164 T. polonicum accessions deposited in the National Gene Bank, revealed significant variability in growth habit, earing time, plant height, lodging, disease resistance, spike shape, and density, indicating a significant intraspecific polymorphism.The majority of the genotypes exhibited stability in their morphobiological characteristics, while some demonstrated new forms and varieties due to a resurgence of "open" flowering.Most of the T. polonicum genotypes were found to be resistant to lodging and diseases.The selected accessions are proposed for use as raw material in the development of low-and medium-height, high-yielding durum wheat varieties with excellent grain quality and resistance to diseases.