Review of breeding results of facultative soft wheat in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This review summarizes the main results of breeding facultative soft wheat varieties at the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Industry LLP (KazNIIWR) during the period 2013-2024. The study focused on varieties, hybrids, and lines of facultative wheat from the competitive variety trial (CVT) nursery. The experiments were conducted in the foothill zone of the Zailiyskiy Alatau on light chestnut soils. Sowing was carried out in both autumn and spring. Field trials, inventory assessments, hybridization, structural analysis, evaluation, VRN gene analysis, and statistical processing of the results were performed using both domestic and international methodologies. The methodological aspects of facultative wheat breeding are discussed. New sources of germplasm in the form of initial parental lines were identified, and promising breeding lines were developed as potential new wheat varieties.