FIELD STUDY RESULTS OF IMIDAZOLINONE-RESISTANT SPRING RAPE LINES IN THE FOREST-STEPPE ZONE OF THE CENTRAL CHERNOZEM REGION

The aim of the study is to investigate the interannual variability of key economically valuable traits and propose new source material for breeding herbicide-resistant rapeseed in the Central Chernozem Region of the Russian Federation. From 2021 to 2023, a field study of 54 accessions of new imidazoline-resistant spring rapeseed lines bred by the Lipetsk Research Institute of Rapeseed (VNIIMK) was conducted at the Lipetsk Research Institute of Rapeseed, a branch of the Lipetsk Research Institute of Rapeseed. The experimental data were processed using statistical methods: mean values were compared using the Tukey HSD test and the Student–Newman–Keuls test (SNK test) with visualization in boxplots. Rank correlation coefficients were calculated, and the significance of differences was confirmed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The presence of a lodging-resistant group of biotypes with stably expressed high seed productivity (over 203.5 g/m2) was revealed: HRrL36, HRrL41, HRrL39. On average, over 3 years, the yield significantly correlated with the weight of seeds per plant (r = 0.58) and the weight of 1000 seeds (r = 0.59), and a weak positive correlation with plant height (r = 0.09) and lodging (r = 0.03) was also found. The most favorable weather conditions for yield formation were formed in 2023 (average yield in the experiment was 221.2 g/m2, plant height was 224.4 cm, and weight of 1000 seeds was 3.87 g). Based on the results of the SNK test on 1000 seed weight, the following samples were identified: HRrL41, HRrL33, HRrL36, and HRrL39 (3.51–3.68 g). The HRrL56 and HRrL58 lines were also identified with increased oleic acid content in their oil (70.04–73.74 %), exceeding the average value of the standard variety Forpost KL with a traditional fatty acid composition (67.3 %). The obtained statistical parameters of the main economically valuable traits of the imidazoline-resistant HRrL lines allow their use in breeding programs for herbicide-tolerant spring rapeseed varieties.