Northern Kazakhstan is the main zone of spring wheat cultivation where, 85 % of the cultivated area is located. There is not a single variety resistant to Septoria spot among the varieties approved for use. The frequency of epiphytoties of wheat diseases in the northern part of Kazakhstan is four cases every ten years. During the years of epiphytotic development of brown rust and Septoria spot with the dominance of a particular disease, the yield of spring wheat is reduced by 25 % or more. Knowledge of the species composition of pathogens of Septoria spot allows a more focused approach to the study and creation of varieties of wheat resistant to this disease. The aim of the research is to study the species of Septoria spot pathogens in wheat in Northern Kazakhstan. In 2018–2019, the pathogenic complex of the causative agents of wheat Septoria spot was studied. The collection of leaves affected by Septoria spot was carried out on spring wheat varieties in the steppe, forest-steppe zones of Northern Kazakhstan. The species composition of Septoria pathogens was determined from microscopic preparations from the collected samples; which were represented by three types of septorial fungi: Septoria tritici, Stagonospora nodorum, Stagonospora avenae. In the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Northern Kazakhstan, the dominant species was S. tritici followed by S. nodorum.

Background Bread wheat is the most important cereal in Kazakhstan, where it is grown on over 12 million hectares. One of the major constraints affecting wheat grain yield is drought due to the limited water supply. Hence, the development of drought-resistant cultivars is critical for ensuring food security in this country. Therefore, identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with drought tolerance as an essential step in modern breeding activities, which rely on a marker-assisted selection approach. Methods A collection of 179 spring wheat accessions was tested under irrigated and rainfed conditions in Northern Kazakhstan over three years (2018, 2019, and 2020), during which data was collected on nine traits: heading date (HD), seed maturity date (SMD), plant height (PH), peduncle length (PL), number of productive spikes (NPS), spike length (SL), number of kernels per spike (NKS), thousand kernel weight (TKW), and kernels yield per m2 (YM2). The collection was genotyped using a 20,000 (20K) Illumina iSelect SNP array, and 8,662 polymorphic SNP markers were selected for a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify QTLs for targeted agronomic traits. Results Out of the total of 237 discovered QTLs, 50 were identified as being stable QTLs for irrigated and rainfed conditions in the Akmola region, Northern Kazakhstan; the identified QTLs were associated with all the studied traits except PH. The results indicate that nine QTLs for HD and 11 QTLs for SMD are presumably novel genetic factors identified in the irrigated and rainfed conditions of Northern Kazakhstan. The identified SNP markers of the QTLs for targeted traits in rainfed conditions can be applied to develop new competitive spring wheat cultivars in arid zones using a marker-assisted selection approach.

Kazakhstan–Siberian Network on Spring Wheat Improvement unites 18 spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) research and breeding programs and presents opportunities to study genotype × environment interactions. Trial data from six locations in Kazakhstan and Russia in 2017–18 were used for grain ionomics analysis to evaluate the relative contributions of environment and genotype to variation in elemental composition and to formulate a methodology to enhance concentrations of important minerals in grain. The effect of year was least important to variation. For several elements (P, S, Cu, Mn and Mo), the effect of site was 2–3 times higher than the effect of genotype. The effects of genotype and site were similar for Ca, Mg, Fe, Cd and Sr concentration. Average broad-sense heritability across six sites in both years was: (for macroelements) Mg 0.59 > Ca 0.50 > K 0.44 > P 0.30 > S 0.20; and (for microelements) Zn 0.44 > Mn 0.41 > Cu 0.40 > Fe 0.38. Biplot analysis grouped the traits into five clusters: (1) concentrations of Co, Cu, Mo and Sr; (2) concentrations of Mg, P and Zn; (3) concentrations of K and Ni; (4) protein content, concentrations of Cd, Fe, Mn and S; and (5) grain yield, concentrations of Ca and Rb. These associations reflect regional soil and environment variation independent of genotype. Protein content had positive and significant genotypic correlations with Mg (0.57), P (0.60), S (0.68), Fe (0.64), Cu (0.50), Mn (0.50) and Zn (0.53). A combination of high grain yield, relatively high protein content, and high concentrations of P, S, Mn, Cu and Zn (singly or combined) was identified in the genotypes Element-22 (check cultivar), Lutescens-3-04-21-11, and Silach. The study contributes to research and cultivar development to improve the nutritional profile of grain for consumers.

Spring wheat is the main export crop in Kazakhstan. The main share of the grain sold on the world market is the grain of spring wheat grown in Northern Kazakhstan, where the acreage used for this crop reaches 85%, which is about 10 mln ha. Moisture deficiency is the main limiting factor in increasing the yield of spring wheat; in this region, the average annual precipitation is 320-350 mm. Droughts of varying intensity have periodically occurred 2-3 times within the previous five years. Therefore, the yield variability is high and reaches 30% or more. Another reason for the low yield is the occurrence of wheat diseases. Brown rust and Septoria blight are the most common diseases in the region. Upon the joint manifestation of these diseases, the loss of grain yield may reach 30-40%. The research was aimed at creating a drought-resistant, productive, high-quality variety of spring wheat adapted to changes in the environmental conditions. The method of studying has been generally adopted in breeding and genetic studies. In the competitive grade testing, 40 promising lines of spring soft wheat were studied. Line 371/06 had an average yield of 2.54 t/ha, which was higher by 0.48 t/ha than in the standard, and ripened at this level. Over the three years of study, this line has significantly exceeded the Astana variety in terms of the yield. Line 371/06, which has Lr37/Sr38 genes in its genotype, is characterized by group resistance to brown and stem rust. The content of protein in this line amounted on average to 15.22%, which was by 1.38% higher than in the standard Astana variety. By the gluten content, the excess over the standard reached 2.8%. Over the three years of studying the 40 spring wheat lines, line 371/06 has been chosen, which is high-yielding, resistant to droughts, leaf and stem rust, and is of high grain quality. In 2018, line 371/06 was sent for state grade testing under the name of Taymas.

Background. Spring bread wheat is the main export crop in Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, wheat varieties cultivated for large-scale production do not fully meet the requirements of agricultural producers. The world diversity of wheat genetic resources should be widely used in breeding programs in order to develop new wheat cultivars with stable yields and with resistance to adverse environmental factors.Materials and methods. One hundred collection accessions of spring bread wheat were studied in 2015–2017 at the A.I. Barayev Science and Production Center of Grain Farming, Ltd. Seeds were sown at an optimum time (May 20–25), using an SSFC-7 seeder. Harvesting was conducted with a Wintersteiger combine. The study of the collection material was carried out in accordance with the guidelines developed by the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR). The protein content was measured in line with State Standard 10846-91. The method of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sedimentation, modified by V. M. Bebyakin and M. V. Buntina, was used to measure the level of sedimentation.Results and conclusion. During the three-year study of spring bread wheat accessions in Northern Kazakhstan, only the cultivars ‘Shortandinskaya 2012’ and ‘Astana 2’ exceeded the reference ‘Astana’ in yield. The accessions ‘BW 252’, ‘Neepawa’ (Canada), ‘MANITUOU LR 13’ (CIMMYT, Mexico) and ‘Novosibirskaya 29’ (Russia) ripened 1–2 days earlier than the reference, while their average yield for 3 years was almost on the same level with the reference. The cultivars ‘Astana’ (the reference, Kazakhstan), ‘WA007824 WA7824’ (USA), ‘Novosibirskaya 29’, ‘Novosibirskaya 15’ (Russia), ‘OPATA85 LR10’ and ‘LR27+LR31,LR34’ (CIMMYT, Mexico) were distinguished for grain quality due to their high protein content and the level of sedimentation.

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Climate change is one of the reasons influences to decline grain quality in Kazakhstan. This includes the growing threat of droughts and frosts during the growing season of wheat, increased winds, and climate contrast against the background of soil degradation (salinization, desertification) because of irrational use and disruption of the ecological balance in the biocenosis. The aim of this work is to obtain drought - resistant regenerant plants of spring soft wheat in in vitro culture and their seeds. The authors have introduced 10 domestic varieties of spring wheat into in vitro culture. Obtained morphogenetic callus of wheat have been cultivated on nutrient medium MS, with ttreatment of optimal concentrations of selective agents: polyethylene glycol 6000 - 5%; mannitol - 2%; NaCl – 0,5%. There have been determined the regenerative capacity of wheat genotypes. High morphogenetic potential was observed among 10 cultivars using 2% mannitol and 5% polyethylene glycol, which made up to 44,2% and 38,9%, respectively and characterizes there in vitro adaptive ability to drought. Seeds (R0-R1) of obtained wheat regenerant lines were produced. Structural analysis has been carried out for obtained regenerant plants from selective agents such as mannitol 2%, NaCl 0.5% and polyethylene glycol 5%. As a result, drought-resistant regenerant plants have been selected and grown to produce their seeds (R1).