Assessment of Spring Wheat Varieties for Pest Resistance

The article is devoted to the study of spring wheat varieties cultivated in the steppe area of North-Eastern Kazakhstan and their resistance to the main pests. The dynamics of the number and phenology of spring wheat phytophages were investigated in relation to the varietal and climatic characteristics of agricultural production. Modern spring wheat varieties' resistance to the main pests was evaluated in the area of study for the first time. In the course of studying the harmfulness of pest complexes for the studied varieties, three-point mobile scales were used for the first time. They made it possible to identify patterns of varieties damage according to different pest numbers. Reliable differences of nine varieties with respect to the uptake of spring wheat by major pests, as well as their harmfulness, were established. 'Triso', 'Likamero', and 'Kurier' varieties with group resistance to them were identified. An economic evaluation of resistant spring wheat varieties was provided. The study used a three-point evaluation method with moving score limits to identify spring wheat varieties that were settled and damaged by pests. It enables the estimation of varieties with different background densities of insects and the comparison of data from different soil-climatic zones. The analysis of the obtained results confirms the high economic efficiency of pest-resistant varieties cultivation and the role of these varieties in the phytosanitary stabilization of agrobiocenoses and environmental protection. The results of the research could be used in the zoning of spring wheat varieties. Identified cultivars with group-based pest resistance might be used as donors for new breeding varieties.