GENETIC-CONTROL OF GROWTH HABIT IN COMMON WHEAT CULTIVARS FROM KAZAKHSTAN

Results of studying 28 spring varieties and breeding samples of common wheat are presented. In most samples analyzed, spring habit is contro lled by two dominant genes Vm, one of which is Vrnl. Vrnl is combined with Vrn2 in cultivars from northern Kazakhstan and with Vrn3 in culti vars from southern Kazakhstan. Trigenic control is found in two cultiv ars, Umit and Arai, which are now being tested by the State Committee. Genotype frequencies of the Vrn genes in Kazakhstan wheats studied ar e compared with those in the neighboring region of western Siberia and with those in the entire former USSR. The prospects of using dominant alleles of the Vrn genes for breeding in different zones of Kazakhsta n are discussed.