Variability of the structure of correlations between the morphological and commercial traits of soybeans with different growth habit and branching characters

High yields of seeds,  green  pods  and  green  biomass  is the  main goal of soybean breeding in many  countries. An assessment of relationships between the  productivity traits  and  their  effect  on the  yield may be  useful in developing effective crop cultivation  programs. In soybean,  the stem  growth  habit  and the branching character are interrelated with plant  productivity and  in most  cases determine it. Therefore, the  aim of the  present work was to study  the  variability of the  level (strength) and  the  structure of correlations between 92 morphological, phenological, biochemical,  agronomic traits of soybean accessions  with different  growth  habits,  and  branching characters in different weather conditions. 270 soybean accessions  of different ecological and geographical origin from the VIR collection  have  been  grown  in the  Krasnodar region  within 3 years. Field studies  of the  traits and biochemical  analysis were carried out according to VIR guidelines. The variability of correlation  matrices as regards the  strength and  structure of relationships was analyzed  using the  correlation  and  factor analysis (the principal component method), as well as the method developed by N.S. Rostova. A comparison of the level (R2, coefficient of determination) and  structure of correlations in different  years has  shown  that  the  deterioration of external conditions is followed by an increase  in the strength of relationships (R2) between the traits and in the difference between correlation   matrices’ structure. Soybean  adaptation to  the  changing  conditions occurs  due  to  the rearrangements of relationship systems, whereas  the  degree and direction  of these  changes are determined by the  growing  conditions and  specificity of the  accessions  response. Under favorable  conditions, the  structure of correlations in soybeans with different  growth  habits,  and  branching characters has more  similarity than  in the conditions critical for development. The highest level of relationships (R2) between the traits was observed in the year that was unfavorable for the growth  of the semi-cultivated accessions  (with the indeterminate growth  habit and a large number of branches of the 1st and 2nd order). The green  biomass  productivity of accessions  with the determinate growth  habit and more than two branches is most strongly associated with the branch  weight, while in accessions  with the indeterminate growth  habit and with (or without) 1–2 branches it depends on the growing season  duration,  one leaf weight  and the number of leaves per plant. In the semi-cultivated accessions  (with the indeterminate growth habit and numerous branches of the 1st and 2nd order), it correlates, besides the listed traits, with the number of nodes, the internode length, the main stem diameter, the weight of leaves, seed morphometric parameters and their quality

New cultivars of vegetable cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i> (L.) Walp.) developed at VIR

Background. Cowpea is an important legume crop of great nutritional and economic value, ranking fourth in the world among leguminous crops in the area of cultivation. This crop is known to tolerate high temperatures and droughts, so new cowpea cultivars adapted to the local arid conditions of the Lower Volga are of considerable interest.Materials and methods. Mass and individual selection techniques were applied to develop new cultivars from cowpea landraces held in the VIR collection. Selection was carried out at Astrakhan Experiment Station of VIR in 2012–2018, and variety trials took place in 2019–2021.Results. Cvs. ‘Samma Nova’ and ‘Pasta Grin’ were released for vegetable use. The pod yield of ‘Samma Nova’ is 12.18–14.85 t/ha, seed yield is 0.92–1.14 t/ha, protein content is 28.8% in seeds and 27.1% in pods, and its growing season is 57–66 days. The cultivar is bushy, with synchronous pod and seed maturation, suitable for mechanized cultivation. The pod yield of ‘Pasta Grin’ is 24.68–25.84 t/ha, seed yield is 0.82–1.04 t/ha, protein content is 29.1% in pods and 23.6% in seeds. It is a mid-season cultivar, with a rambling stem, intended for growing on a trellis. Both cultivars significantly exceeded the reference (cv. ‘Sibirsky Razmer”) in most of the studied indicators. The breeding work with cowpea accessions showed that pod harvesting at the commercial ripeness stage stimulated plants to develop new pods, which extended the duration of fruiting and increased productivity. The maximum number of pods in all studied cultivars was formed in the first 20 days of the fruiting period.Conclusion. In 2022, according to the results of competitive and local trials, cvs. ‘Samma Nova’ and ‘Pasta Grin’ were included in the State Register for Selection Achievements (National List). The zones of cultivation and seed production for these cultivars are Astrakhan and Volgograd Provinces, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, and the Republic of Crimea

Green gram and black gram: prospects of cultivation and breeding in Russian Federation

Diversifcation of crop production in the Russian Federation could be partly achieved by the introduction and production of minor and underutilized crops. Green gram or mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) and black gram or urd (V. mungo (L.) Hepper) are grain legume crops cultivated in limited areas in the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, green gram occupies about 8.5 % of the world production area under pulses (without soybean). It is cultivated mainly in countries of Southeast Asia, but production is expanding to the entire subtropical belt of the globe. In our country these crops can be successfully grown on irrigation in a number of regions in the southern area of the European part and the Russian Far East, where the temperatures during their vegetation are about 28–30 °C and always above 15 °C. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the world’s experience in breeding improvement of mung bean and urd as crops with promise for cultivation in certain soil and climatic zones of the Russian Federation. The world production, use of these high-protein crops, history and peculiarities of breeding, including in the USSR, are covered. To expand the production of both crops in the Russian Federation, their popularization and development of breeding are required. Basic requirements for modern varieties include resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors which can be introgressed from wild relatives. The great importance of both crops in the Asian countries led to the rapid development of molecular researches there. The genome of black gram has been fully sequenced, the genome of green gram has been partly sequenced. Some genes and QTL of adaptability traits have been marked and mapped in a number of wild species of the genus Vigna. The role of wild relatives in the breeding of crops concerned is discussed. In the world genebanks, signifcant genetic resources of mung bean and urd have been accumulated. All this creates prerequisites for the development of marker-assistant and genomic breeding

Application of multivariate analysis to identify relationships among useful agronomic characters of cowpea and differentiation of cultivars for vegetable and grain uses

Background. Сowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a thermophilic crop; in most countries it is grown for grain and vegetable uses. Positive results of open-field cowpea production in the southern regions of Russia and the possibility of its cultivation on infertile soils in hot and dry climate imply the need to develop new cultivars suitable for wider introduction into Russian agriculture. It is of paramount importance for cowpea breeders to know the patterns of variability in the relationships among agronomic traits and their characteristics in cultivars grown for different uses (grain and vegetable). Besides, acceleration of the breeding process to a large extent depends on the knowledge of the traits that make it possible to differentiate the source material according to its intended purpose.Materials and methods. For three years, 315 cowpea accessions of various origin from the VIR collection were studied in Astrakhan Province, Russia. Eight useful agronomic characters were examined. The variability and relationships of these characters were assessed in cultivars grown for grain and vegetable purposes using multivariate statistical analyses.Results and discussion. The characters that differentiate grain and vegetable cowpea accessions were identified: the type of seed coat surface, the presence of fiber in ventral and dorsal pod sutures and a sclerenchyma layer in pods valves, and pod length. Discriminant functions were calculated for identification and classification of accessions according to their grain and forage uses. The character (presence of depressions or longitudinal striae on the seed coat surface) diagnosing vegetable cowpea cultivars was pinpointed. Characters associated with high seed yield were identified. For grain cultivars such character is the weight of 1000 seeds, while for vegetable cultivars it is a large-seeded and long-fruit pod

Mobilization of plant genetic resources from the territory of Astrakhan Province, Russia

Background. The vegetation in Astrakhan Province has for a long time attracted the interest of natural scientists. However, due to inaccessibility of a number of habitats and ‘landscape fluidity’ in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga estuary, not all of its areas have been explored comprehensively enough. The local vast resources of useful plants of arid steppes and deserts, including crop wild relatives (CWR), have until now remained unused. Studying and mobilizing valuable plant samples, forms and species from natural communities would help to preserve the bioresources of desertified steppes and deserts, and enhance their utilization in arid areas.Methods. The collecting mission’s route passed through Chernoyarsky, Yenotaevsky, Narimanovsky, Krasnoyarsky, Kharabalinsky, Akhtubinsky, Privolzhsky, Kamyzyaksky, Limansky and Ikryaninsky districts of Astrakhan Province. With the itinerary-based method of surveying, the explorations were carried out from August 12 through August 30, 2017. The length of the route was 2,467 km. Coordinates of the collecting sites and altitudes above sea level were identified with a Garmin etrex 20x navigation device.Results. The diversity of CWR and landraces was explored in various natural ecosystems of the Volga river basin. Sixty-eight phytocenoses were described, and 160 seed samples of 39 plant species (25 genera) were collected, representing old landraces and wild relatives of fodder, fruit, cereal, vegetable and fiber crops. Many of the collected plant forms and populations with valuable biological traits deserve to be included in introduction trials and breeding programs, especially those that may serve as sources of heat, drought and salt tolerance

Ecogeographic assessment of mung bean (<i>Vigna radiata</i> (L.) R. Wilczek) from the collection of the Vavilov Institute (VIR)

Background. Mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) is a nontraditional crop for Russia. The crop’s main areas of cultivation are situated in the subtropical zone of the planet. However, positive experience with mung bean cultivation in a number of regions – the South of the European part and the Far East of Russia – implies the expediency of a search for source materials suitable for the development of cultivars adapted to these conditions.Materials and methods. The results of the field phenotyping of 76 mung bean landraces from VIR have been analyzed. The experiments were performed in 1949–1956 in Uzbekistan (former Central Asian Branch of VIR), and in 2009, 2018 and 2019 in Astrakhan Province, where VIR’s collection had been reproduced from the early 1990s. The data on the variability of phenological and agronomic characters and their relationships were compared for both areas and analyzed using the methods of multidimensional statistics.Results and discussion. A strong variability of all studied characters and their dependence on the environment were observed in both locations. According to the averaged longterm data, differences were found in the duration of interphase periods and the entire growing season, seed yield, plant height, and 1000 seed weight in both sites. Significant differences were shown in the strength of correlations between the studied characters. In Astrakhan Province and in the years with less favorable conditions in Uzbekistan, the level of correlations between most traits was higher. Therefore, an increase in the strength of the relationships between crop characters may be regarded as an indicator of unfavorable growing conditions. The genotypes with short periods from sprouting to flowering and from sprouting to maturation were the most resistant to environmental changes. It is these traits that should first of all be transferred to mung bean cultivars when promoting its production to the north, beyond its traditional area

CROP WILD RELATIVES IN THE NORTHWESTERN BAIKAL REGION (ACCORDING TO THE MATERIALS OF THE 2014 COLLECTING MISSION)

The explorations carried out by a collecting team over the territory of the northwestern Baikal region made it possible to study the diversity of crop wild relatives (CWR) in 37 natural habitats in Bayandayevsky, Kachugsky, Zhigalovsky, Kazachensky-Lensky, Olkhonsky and Ekhirit-Bulagatsky districts of Irkutsk Province and the North Baikal district of the Republic of Buryatia. As a result, the areas richest in CWR species diversity were identified. Herbarium specimens and 102 seed and layering samples of 56 species from 23 genera representing wild relatives of fodder, legume, fruit, cereal and fiber crops were collected, including endemics listed in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation, Irkutsk Province and the Republic of Buryatia

POLYMORPHISM OF SOME SPECIES FROM THE TRIBE <i> VICIEAE </i> BRONN (FABACEAE LINDL.) ACCORDING TO THE DATA OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSIS

Morphological, karyological and molecular genetic analyses of the accessions of Vicia unijuga A. Br. s. 1 (V. unijuga A. Br., V. ohwiana Hosok.) from the tribe Vicieae Bronn. have been performed. Samples were collected during expeditions in the Russian Far East, Siberia and China. The results of factor and discriminant analysis revealed as important morphological characters for the classification of inter- and intraspecific diversity: peduncle length, leaf length, stipule shape, bean length, and the number of internodes on the main stem. The cytotypes 2n = 12, 2n = 24 at V. unijuga and V. ohwiana Hosok. were found to occur almost over the entire territory of their areas of distribution. 2n = 12 is not species-specific characteristics for V. ohwiana. The ITS, SSR and ISSR marker analyses revealed a significant taxonomic proximity of V. unijuga and V. ohwiana with the species V. baicalensis (Turcz.) B. Fedtsch., V. ramuliflora (Maxim.) Ohwi and V. venosa (Willd. ex Link) Maksim. The complex species V. unijuga s. 1 is a genetically heterogeneous group. Some populations localized on the islands and the coast of the Sea of Japan need to be classified into independent taxa of a higher rank

Comparative analysis of wild and cultivated Lathyrus L. species to assess their content of sugars, polyols, free fatty acids, and phytosterols

Under climate change, the need for crops resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses increases. Lathyrus spp. Are characterized by a high nutritional value of their green biomass. The grass pea is one of the most resistant to drought, aterlogging, cold, salinity, diseases and pests among cultivated legumes, and it is grown at minimal cost. The development of new Lathyrus cultivars with an improved composition of nutrients will make it possible to produce high-quality animal feed in areas with extremely unstable weather conditions. With this in view, the patterns of variability in the parameters of the carbohydrate complex (sugars, their lactone and methyl forms), polyols (including phenol-containing alcohols), phytosterols, free fatty acids (FFA) and acylglycerols were studied in the green biomass of 32 accessions representing Lathyrus sativus L., L. tuberosus L., L. sylvestris L., L. vernus (L.) Bernh., L. latifolius L. and L. linifolius (Reichard) Bassler. from the VIR collection, reproduced in Leningrad oblast under contrasting conditions of 2012 and 2013. The content of identified compounds varied depending on the genotype, species, and weather. High temperatures and high precipitation in 2013 contributed to the accumulation of monosaccharides, and the colder and drier conditions of 2012 to an increase in oligosaccharides, most polyols, and FFA. The cultivated species (L. sativus) was distinguished by its high sugar content, and the wild species as follows: L. latifolius by FFA; L. linifolius by ononitol, myo-inositol, and glycerol 3-phosphate; L. vernus by MAG and methylpentofuranoside. The resulting data showed that the Lathyrus accessions studied are promising for breeding stress-resistant cultivars of high nutritional quality

Сomparative analysis of wild and cultivated Lathyrus L. spp. according to their primary and secondary metabolite contents

Species of the genus  Lathyrus L. are known as forage and medicinal plants, widely used in traditional medicine  and homeopathy. The content of protein,  essential  amino  acids and  carotene in their green  biomass  is higher  than  in other  annual  leguminous plants  traditionally  cultivated  in Russia. Until now, the requirements for the crop’s quality were reduced to a high content of protein  and dry matter in seeds  and herbage. In-depth biochemical  analysis of accessions  from the collection of plant genetic resources  will significantly improve  selection  of source materials  for breeding. Such tasks can be solved  using  gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in plant  diversity studies. In view of the above,  our goal was to analyze organic  acids, free amino  acids and secondary metabolites in green biomass  of Lathyrus to facilitate comprehensive assessment of its forage  and  pharmacological value. We analyzed 32 accessions  of Lathyrus sativus L., L. tuberosus L., L. sylvestris L., L. vernus (L.) Bernh., L. latifolius L. and  L. linifolius (Reichard) Bassler from the collection of the Vavilov Institute (VIR). The studied Lathyrus accessions had significant interspecific and intraspecific variability both in the composition (presence)  and number of the identified compounds. The analysis of plants across different years confirmed that biochemical parameters depended on weather conditions. The colder and drier conditions of 2012 contributed to the accumulation of organic acids (mean: 890 mg/100 g), free amino acids (mean: 201.59 mg/100 g), and secondary metabolites (mean: 84.14 mg/100 g). The range of variability for organic acids ranged from 140 to 2140, for free amino acids from 11.8 to 610, and for secondary metabolites from 4.4 to 224.6 mg/100  g. Grass pea accessions  with high organic acid, free amino acid and secondary metabolite contents were identified: k-900 (Colombia) for organic acids (2140, 610 and 178 mg/100  g); k-51 (Georgia) and k-959 (Afghanistan) for free amino acids (401.29 and 540.63 mg/100 g); k-893 (Eritrea) for secondary metabolites (199.39 mg/100 g), etc. They can serve as source material for the development of cultivars for different uses (forage and medicinal)