The Influence of Leaf Area and Their Photosynthetic Activity on the Formation of Winter Wheat Yield in Drought Conditions

The article presents an assessment of winter soft wheat samples on the effect of leaf area on yield in drought conditions. 11 varieties of intensive type of winter soft wheat of selection of FSBSI “Agrarian Scientific Center “Donskoy” were studied. As a result, the smallest decrease in the value of the total leaf surface area under conditions of lack of moisture in the earing and flowering phases was found in the “Etude” varieties (by 11.3 and 17.8%), “Jubilee of Don” (by 11.9% and 15.1%), “Aksinya” (by 12.0 and 10.5%), “Zodiac” (by 12.3% and by 15.3%), and the “University” and “Razdolye” varieties in the phase of milky ripeness of grain (by 6.1 and 5.2%).The results of the assessment of the crop and its structural elements showed that the highest value of the productive levelled stem in drought conditions was recorded in the “Aksinya” and “Etude” varieties: 299 pcs./m2, “Jubilee of the Don”—294 pcs./m2, “Ruby of Don”—292 pcs./m2. The maximum number of grains from the main ear was formed in drought conditions by the samples “Jubilee of Don”, “1582/16”, “Azov”, and “Razdolye” (28 pieces each). High values of grain weight from the main ear were noted in the “Razdolye” (1.13 g), “Zodiac” (1.01 g), and “Jubilee of Don” (0.97 g) varieties, and by weight of 1000 seeds of the varieties “Zodiac” (43.9 g) and “Etude” (41.6 g). The “Zodiac” (290.9 g/m2), “Jubilee of Don” (285.2 g/m2), and “Etude” (275.1 g/m2) have high grain productivity in conditions of tough drought.