Peculiarities of cold resistance and methods of ecological assessment of frost resistance of winter grain crops

The article gives analysis of existing problems of winter crops hardiness (wheat, rye, triticale) and methods of assessment the it frost hardiness. Based on the results we suggested an improved method of environmental assessment and selection by frost, winter hardiness of winter crops on the basis of temperature and light factors during the autumn growing season, data monitoring and forecasting features wintering in specially created extreme natural conditions. Research was carried out in the forest-steppe (Myronivka Institute of Wheat named. V.N. Remeslo) and continued in terms of Polissia (Zhytomyr National Agroecological University). Some of the determining factors affecting the level of preparedness of winter crops to winter are temperature and light conditions during autumn vegetation season as well as different technological factors that determine metabolic activity in plants while entering into winter. Obviously, an important role in survival of winter crops plays accordance of genetically determined ability of the sort to resist variety of unfavourable conditions and peculiarities of different agro-ecological systems in which it is grown. In some years crops were damaged dramatically. Unfortunately, despite many scientists’ long-term efforts there is no significant practical progress in solving this problem. This situation requires a search for new or improvement of existing concepts as for the frost, winter resistance of winter crops. The system of monitoring and fore- casting of wintering of plants needs to be improved. The study of methods of environmental assessment of frost and winter resistance of winter crops in the conditions of steppe and woodlands showed that organic combination of created provocative temperature with field soils contribute to the effective assessment and selections of plants whose generation can be the source of material to create new frost, winter resistant varieties. In terms of climate change and the economic crisis introduction of assessment methods will make it possible to improve the environmental performance of selection significantly.