IMPROVED METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES OF THE PRIMARY SEED GROWING OF FLAX IS AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF VARIETY CHANGING
The aim of the research was to assess and determine the efficiency of new methods of breeding and development of technologies for the further reproduction of improved flax seeds in the primary seed growing. The part of this aim was the substantiation of the necessity of application of the new methods for the accelerated spread of new varieties. The use of effective selection methods, based on the flax plant testing according to the terms of their blooming, the number of bolls per plant, the ratio of the technical length of the stem to its diameter, degree of tapering, the compactness of inflorescences, the weight of seeds eliminates time-consuming assessment of fiber content in the stem. It is proposed a method based on the use of flax seeds of a new variety, developed in the breeding process and laid down for storage for 4-5 years, which provides for the laying of the selection nursery during 3-4 years and carrying out in it less labor-intensive negative selection with the removal of atypical plants. The method of the reserve fund excludes the foundation of the nursery of plant selection during 3-4 years and allows to increase the production of original seeds 4-5 times. Highly effective methods of seed propagation of new flax varieties provide the use of narrow-row sowing methods with a row spacing of 7.5 and 6.25 cm and lower seeding rates. The increment in the yield of flax seeds at their use, compared with the wide-row (22.5 cm) method, was 0.20-0.36 t/ha. A lower seeding rate (4 million germinating seeds per hectare) ensured the maximum multiplication factor of the renewed flax seeds during the second and third years of seed production. The seeding rates of 6 and 8 million germinating seeds per hectare were the best for the fourth and the fifth years of seed growing, respectively. The developed accelerated system of primary seed production of flax allows increasing the volume of production of original seeds 4-5 times while reducing labour and fund costs and duration of variety changing by 3 years.