Comparative analysis of oil flax varieties according to economically valuable traits in the Steppe zone of Ukraine

English. Interest in oil flax has been growing in recent decades. Linseed oil is a fast-drying oiland it is traditionally used in the production of linoleum, paints and coatings. Due to their contentof essential polyunsaturated acids and vitamins, the growing use of flax seeds and oils in foodand medicine has significantly increased the volume of its cultivation in different countries. Thisarticle presents the main research results for 2018−2020 of a large group of varieties of oil flaxof Zaporizhzhia breeding for economically valuable traits. The purpose of research is to establishthe genotypes that form the highest yields and oil content in arid conditions of the Steppe zone ofUkraine. It was found that the most productive year was 2020 due to more favorable temperaturesand even distribution of precipitation during the growing season of oil flax. It was found that theyield of oil flax had a high correlation coefficient with weather conditions (r = 0.67) especiallyfrom precipitation in May-June (r = 0.60). A detailed study of the correlation between yield andhabit traits and the main economically valuable traits revealed a close direct correlation betweenoil flax yield and seed weight per 1 plant (r = 0.99), yield and number of lateral stems per plant(r = 0.93), yield and number of bolls and seeds per 1 plant (r = 0.77), yield and weight of 1,000seeds (r = 0.73), yield and duration of the growing season (r = 0.65). According to the results ofthree-year research, the highest yield was obtained from the variety Vodohrai 1.79 t ha-1. Thehighest oil content and oil yield per hectare were formed by varieties Vodohrai 50.1% and0.80 t ha-1, Zolotystyi 49.7% and 0.76 t ha-1, Aisberh 48.3% and 0.72 t ha-1.

English. Received: April 24th, 2022 ; Accepted: July 8th, 2022 ; Published: July 28th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected]