The Zhayvir variety of winter soft wheat is a high-yielding, medium-early, and short-stemmed variety, resistant to lodging, shattering, and seed germination in the ear. It exhibits high resistance to various fungal diseases, including brown and stem rust, septoria, and root rots, as well as high cold, drought, and heat tolerance. Zhayvir is recommended for cultivation in the steppe zone of Ukraine, as well as in the North Caucasus region and the Republic of Crimea, confirming its adaptability to different climatic conditions.
The variety is characterized by high yield, reaching 9.5 tons per hectare, and belongs to the high-intensity type of steppe ecology. The vegetation period is 282–290 days. The seeding rate is 4.5–5.5 million germinating seeds per hectare. The grain of this variety belongs to the strong wheat group with excellent baking qualities: crude protein content ranges from 12.5% to 14%, gluten content from 27.5% to 33.6%, and flour strength reaches 320–420 a.e. The flour yield is about 73%, and the overall bread quality rating reaches 5 points.
A notable feature of the variety is its extended post-harvest dormancy period, which should be considered when determining seed viability. The variety is prone to cross-pollination, which may cause minor variability in plant height. Zhayvir was developed by the Selection-Genetic Institute of the National Center for Seed Production and Variety Testing of NAAN of Ukraine and registered in 2010 as promising for dissemination in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the country.
