Winter soft wheat variety Ozerна is a fifth-generation variety developed through individual selection from a population of crosses between varieties Stal'eva and Shestopalovka. This variety belongs to the erythrospermum type and is characterized by a vegetation period of 265-275 days with a wintering period of about 20 days. Heading and ripening are early; the ear is large, cylindrical, 10-12 cm long, medium density, containing about 22 spikelets per 10 cm of stem. The stem is hollow, thick, and strong, plant height is 75-85 cm, habit semi-erect. Leaves are broad, green, lighter in autumn than in variety Shestopalovka. Awns are shorter than the ear, medium in coarseness and thickness, whitish at maturity.
Ozerна has a universal usage type with a clear inclination towards intensive cultivation. It shows enhanced resistance to lodging, allowing to maintain yields up to 10 tons per hectare without shattering or root sprouting of grains. Ozerна also demonstrates high resistance to soil and air drought, enhanced winter hardiness and frost resistance, as well as comprehensive resistance to all major diseases of winter wheat. Due to these qualities, the variety is suitable for various ecological conditions and cultivation technologies, including irrigation, although the optimal region for cultivation is the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine.
Grain of this variety is large, oval, with 1000-grain weight ranging from 45 to 55 grams, reddish in color with medium groove and weakly pubescent awn. Ozerна belongs to the group of strong wheats; grain contains about 15% protein and 30% gluten. Dough strength reaches 465 standard units, and bread volume from 100 grams of flour is 1150 cm3, ensuring high overall bread quality rating of 9 points. In variety trials over three years, the average yield of this variety was 82.7 c/ha, 4.3 c/ha higher than the standard variety Shestopalovka, with maximum yield reaching 109 c/ha.
