DEVELOPMENT OF FIELD CROP SEED PRODUCTION IN RUSSIA

Seed production of field crops plays a key role in ensuring food security of the country and is a continuation of the selection process, a necessary link for the development and maintenance of the variety. In seed production, the main object is a variety that is genetically close to each other a certain group of plants, homogeneous in morphological and biological properties. The finish of high-quality seed production is seeds with good varietal and sowing qualities. The main condition for effective production of field crops is a well-established seed production system, which is a set of functionally interconnected structures engaged in the production of elite and reproductive seeds. Seed production of field crops solves two main tasks: variety exchange and variety renewal. When a variety is changed, one zoned variety is replaced by another with more valuable economic characteristics. During variety renewal, varietal seeds in farms are replaced with seeds of the same varieties, but of higher reproductions. Usually, seeds for cereals and legumes are updated every 3-4 years, for millet - every 2 years, for sunflower - annually. The main goal of seed production of field crops is to maintain a set of characteristics of the variety, its most valuable qualities and economic indicators.