A.M. ABEKOVA, R.S. YERZHEBAYEVA, S.O. BASTAUBAYEVA, K. KONUSBEKOV, T.A BAZYLOVA., D.I. BABISSEKOVA, and A.A. AMANGELDIYEVA SUMMARY Sugar beet is a highly valuable and profitable crop in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the only source of raw materials for the production of crystalline sugar and incidentals (tops, bagasse, and molasses).

Soybean is a major legume and oilseed crop with enormous economic importance, but its production is highly dependent on optimal rainfall or ample irrigation. In Kazakhstan, soybean production is highly vulnerable to drought and irrigation shortages. The aim of this study was to assess the level of drought escape and tolerance of soybean genotypes in different maturity groups, grown in well-watered conditions or without irrigation. Field trials were conducted in the very dry conditions of Kazakhstan with the hydrothermal coefficient 0.46–0.67. Nineteen soybean cultivars from five maturity groups were tested over four seasons under two conditions, with and without irrigation. The main indicators of drought tolerance were seed yield, seed weight per plant, percentage of seeds with smooth coats compared to wrinkled and shriveled ones, and 1000 seed weight. Under drought, seed yield of the studied genotypes decreased by 45.5–69.5% compared to well-watered controls. The most optimal genotypes for cultivation without irrigation were soybean cultivars from medium maturity group MG I (Vilana, Cheremosh, Xin-D11-252, and Desna) with a vegetation period of 115–128 days when avoiding drought during flowering, and the average yield for the group (1.7 t/ha) was slightly below that of those in drought-tolerant genotypes from medium–late/late maturity groups MG II–III (1.9–2.0 t/ha). Based on yield under drought, the best cultivars were identified as follows: Ivushka (1.2 t/ha) for MG 00 group; Ustya (1.3 t/ha) for MG 0; Vilana (1.8 t/ha) for MG I; Zen (2.3 t/ha) for MG II; and Sponsor (2.5 t/ha) for MG III. The identified genotypes can be used in breeding programs to reduce drought effects on soybean crops.

Zymoseptoria tritici (Z. tritici) is the main threat to global food security; it is a fungal disease that presents one of the most serious threats to wheat crops, causing severe yield losses worldwide, including in Kazakhstan. The pathogen leads to crop losses reaching from 15 to 50%. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate a wheat collection for Z. tritici resistance during the adult plant and seedling growth stages, (2) identify the sources of resistance genes that provide resistance to Z. tritici using molecular markers linked to Stb genes, and (3) identify potentially useful resistant wheat genotypes among cultivars and advanced breeding lines. This study evaluated 60 winter and spring wheat genotypes for Z. tritici resistance. According to the field reactions, 22 entries (35.7%) showed ≤10% disease severity in both years. The resistant reaction to a mix of Z. tritici isolates in the seedling stage was associated with adult plant resistance to disease in four wheat entries. The resistance of Rosinka 3 was due to the presence of Stb8; Omskaya 18 showed an immune reaction in the field and a moderately susceptible reaction in the seedling stage, possibly provided by a combination of the Stb7 and Stb2 genes. The high resistance in both the adult and seedling stages of Omskaya 29 and KR11-03 was due to the Stb4 and Stb2 genes and, possibly, due to the presence of unknown genes. A linked marker analysis revealed the presence of several Stb genes. The proportion of wheat entries with Stb genes was quite high at twenty-seven of the genotypes tested (45.0%), including four from Kazakhstan, nine from Russia, nine from the CIMMYT-ICARDA-IWWIP program, and five from the CIMMYT-SEPTMON nursery. Among the sixty entries, ten (16.7%) carried the resistance genes Stb2 and Stb8, and the gene Stb4 was found in seven cultivars (11.6%). Marker-assisted selection can be efficiently applied to develop wheat cultivars with effective Stb gene combinations that would directly assist in developing durable resistance in Kazakhstan. Resistant genotypes could also be used as improved parents in crossing programs to develop new wheat cultivars.

Genetic diversity and marker–trait association with yield-related components were assessed in 39 chickpea accessions from a germplasm collection with either spring or autumn-sown seeds in South-Eastern Kazakhstan. Chickpea accessions originated from Azerbaijan, Germany, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Syria, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Eleven SSR markers were used for molecular genotyping. Yield and yield components were evaluated in nine traits in experiments with spring and autumn seed sowing. The number of alleles of polymorphic markers varied from 2 to 11. The greatest polymorphism was found in the studied chickpea genotypes using SSR marker TA22 (11 alleles), while NCPGR6 and NCPGR12 markers were monomorphic. In the studied chickpea accessions, unique alleles of the SSR loci TA14, TA46, TA76s, and TA142 were found that were not previously described by other authors. An analysis of correlation relationships between yield-related traits in chickpea revealed the dependence of yield on plant height, branching, and the setting of a large number of beans. These traits showed maximal values in experiments with chickpea plants from autumn seed sowing. An analysis of the relationship between the SSR markers applied and morphological yield-related traits revealed several informative markers associated with important traits, such as plant height, height to first pod, number of branches, number of productive nodes, number of pods per plant, hundred seed weight, seed weight per plant, and seed yield.

A. AMANGELDIYEVA, A. DANIYAROVA, L.K. TABYNBAYEVA, S. BASTAUBAYEVA, N. KOVALCHUK, and R. YERZHEBAYEVA Citation: Amangeldiyeva A, Daniyarova A, Tabynbayeva LK, Bastaubayeva S, Kovalchuk N, Yerzhebayeva R (2023). Assessment of the genetic diversity in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) using SSR markers. SABRAO J. Breed. Genet. 55(5): 1616-1628. http://doi.org/10.54910/sabrao2023.55.5.15. Summary The

EFFECT OF ZEATIN ON in vitro EMBRYOGENESIS AND PLANT REGENERATION FROM ANTHER CULTURE OF HEXAPLOID TRITICALE (× Triticosecale Wittmack) R.S. Yerzhebayeva, M.A. Abdurakhmanova, Sh.O. Bastaubayeva, D. Tadjibayev