Adaptive potential of spring covered oats (Avena sativa L.) according to green biomass under the conditions of Kirov Province

Background. Development of high-yielding cultivars with high quality of their products is one of the main tasks of plant breeders. Today, the most valuable cultivars are those with high adaptability to stressful conditions of cultivation. Therefore, it is important to study and introduce into production such promising cultivars that are able to implement their production potential to its fullest extent under changing environmental conditions. Materials and methods. Twelve cultivars and promising lines of spring covered oats (Avena sativa L.) from the competitive variety testing nursery were used as the material for the study. The parameters of plasticity (bi and KM) and stability (Si2), index of environmental conditions (Ij), homeostasis (Hom), breeding value (Sc), coefficient of variation (CV), stability factor (SF), adaptability factor (IA), and environmental plasticity index (IEP) were assessed according to the characters “green biomass yield” and “crude protein content” in covered oats. Results. Lines 91h18, 41h18, 23h20 and 40h20 formed the highest green biomass yield. High crude protein content was observed in lines 91h18, 23h20, 40h20 and 39h20. Lines 41h18, 40h20, 41h20, 42h20, and cv. ‘Kirovsky 2’ had the highest breeding value according to the green biomass yield, while cvs. ‘Medved’ and ‘Kirovsky 2’, lines 91h18, 50h18 and 23h20 had the highest breeding value according to crude protein content. Lines 91h18, 39h20 and 40h20 showed high degrees of plasticity for these characters. Line 39h20 manifested high plasticity and stability both in green biomass yield (bi = 1.20; Si2 = 0.07) and crude protein content (bi = 2.04; Si2 = 0.03). Conclusion. According to the sum of ranks, lines 41h18, 23h20, 40h20 and 41h20 were the most adapted to stressful nature and climate conditions in their green biomass yield (40–48), and lines 23h20, 39h20 and 91h18 in their crude protein content (34–44).