The dissertation summarises theoretical and practical studies of the source material of popcorn by the main breeding traits and presents new approaches developed to the breeding and evaluation of popcorn hybrids by a complex of important economic characteristics.
The relevance of the work is to provide the agro-industrial complex of the country with popcorn hybrids that are cost-effective in cultivation and completely satisfy the needs of consumers in terms of the quality of finished products.
The scientific novelty of the research is due to the fact that for the first time in Ukraine:
– a modern method of evaluating the technological indicators of popcorn grain was developed,
– lines-sources of valuable breeding traits were identified,
– the influence of breeding traits and popping-methods on the volumetric expan-sion of grain was determined,
– the efficiency of selection of new lines from source material of different quality
was revealed,
– the heritability of technological indicators of popcorn grain was established.
According to the results of the work, it was found that most of the lines were suit-able for breeding hybrids of sweet corn by their morphological and biological character-istics. It was observed that the desired duration of the growing season had 73.8% of the lines; plant height – 97.8% of the lines; ear insertion height – 91.3% of the lines; tiller-ing – 93.5% of the lines; number of ears per stem – 95.7% of the lines; grain weight per ear – 73.9% of the lines; drought resistance – 73.9% of the lines and lodging resistance – 84.8% of the lines.
According to the duration of the growing season, the lines were divided into three maturity groups: mid-early, mid-ripening and mid-late. We identified the lines-sources of early maturity: IKR 2-1, IKR 11-9, RV 1 and RV 3, which will be used to develop new source material for FAO 200-290.
In Ukraine, a comprehensive study of popcorn lines and hybrids was first carried out using a new methodology for evaluating the technological characteristics of grain, according to the following parameters: kernel size (kernels per 10 g), popping fold, per-centage of unpopped kernels, finished product yield, popping expansion, popping rate, flake type and popcorn taste.
For the first time, it was proposed to define 4 types of flakes, namely spherical type, butterfly, mushroom and rose. To overcome the negative correlation between yield and popping expansion, it is proposed to use a super trait, which is defined as popcorn volume per hectare.
So, among the experimental hybrids, the Tsyklon × RK 72 hybrid is the best for the production of glazed popcorn. It has the following breeding characteristics: grain yield – 4.07 t/ha, popping expansion – 47.4 cm3/g, kernel size – 57 kernels per 10 g, percentage of unpopped kernels – 0 %, type of flakes – mushroom, popcorn taste – 4.3 points.
Hybrids Shans × RR 2 and Shans × RP 3 are most suitable for individual produc-tion of popcorn.
Shans × RR 2 hybrid has the following breeding characteristics: grain yield – 3.93 t/ha, popping expansion – 45.8 cm3/g, kernel size – 91 kernels per 10 g, percentage of unpopped kernels – 2.9 %, type of flakes – butterfly, popcorn taste – 5.0 points.
Shans × RP 3 hybrid has the following breeding characteristics: grain yield – 3.77 t/ha, popping expansion – 47.9 cm3/g, kernel size – 66 kernels per 10 g, percentage of unpopped kernels – 1.5 %, type of flakes – butterfly and rose, popcorn taste – 4.8 points.
Based on the results of the research, recommendations for breeding practice and production are proposed, namely:
– should be used lines RS 3, RS 5, RS 11, RS 9, RS 13, RS 19, RK 7, RK 48, RK 72, RP 11, RP 36, RP 61, RP 72, RR 2, RR 7, IKR 11-9, IKR 15-2, IKR 36-3, which are sources of valuable breeding traits, and lines RS 3, RS 19, RK 7, RK 72, RP 36, RP 72, RR 7, IKR 11-9, IKR 15-2, IKR 36-6, which combine high combining ability with a
complex of valuable breeding traits, for the breeding new popcorn lines;
– to cultivate a DN Start hybrid entered in the State Register of Plant Varieties Suitable for Dissemination in Ukraine for 2023 in order to provide the confectionery industry with quality raw materials.
