Galatea is a new variety of winter wheat for the Central Region of the Russian Federation

The purpose of the research is to evaluate a new variety of winter soft wheat Galatea according to the economically valuable traits and properties. The Galatea variety is characterized by high winter hardiness (97 %), lodging resistance (4.5 points) and yield (7.3-9.8 t/ha). The main criterion of the advantage is the improvement of the quality characteristics of the grain ‒ the variation of the gluten content is 32-36 % (compared to the standard - 28-36 %), the protein content in the grain is 12-13 %, the overall assessment of flour quality is 0.7 points higher than the standard variety Angelina. Baking qualities are good, it belongs to valuable wheat varieties. When studied in the competitive variety testing (2015-2021), the minimum yield level was on average 9.9-55.5 % higher for the Galatea variety and the maximum yield level exceeded the indicators of the compared winter wheat varieties by 20.0-23.6 %. The genetic flexibility of the varieties under study has shown that the new Galatea variety with the coefficient of 6.78 is the most productive. The calculation of economic efficiency based on the market value of the product, production costs and yield has shown that when growing the new Galatea variety, the largest conditional net income of 58780 rubles/ha had been obtained, the level of profitability was 18.0 % higher compared to the Angeline standard variety and 34.0 % higher than the most popular variety in the region, Moskovskaya 39. As part of the import substitution program aimed at improving food security, the introduction of a new Galatea variety into production should significantly increase and stabilize the gross grain harvest in the Central Region of Russia. The new variety has been included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation since 2021. Recommended for use in the Central (3) Region.