Taira

Taira is winter soft wheat, belonging to the erythrospermum variety, which was released in 2018 for the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Ukraine. The variety is characterized by medium-early heading and ripening, with a vegetation period of 270–275 days. Plants reach a height of 75–85 cm with an erect habit, hollow and strong stems, and spikes 8–10 cm long containing about 27 dense florets. Grains are large, oval-shaped, red-colored, with a 1000-grain weight of 45–50 grams, ensuring high flour and bread quality. Taira is distinguished by high resistance to soil and air drought, heat tolerance, winter hardiness, as well as resistance to lodging, shattering, and root rot. It also possesses comprehensive resistance to major diseases, including powdery mildew, septoria, fusarium of the head, pyrenophorosis, brown and yellow rust, and cercosporosis. Due to these qualities, the variety outperforms many others, including Shestopalkovka and Titon, particularly under extreme conditions and on less fertile soils. Taira belongs to the strong wheat group and is a quality improver for low-quality grain. Grain protein content reaches 16.5%, gluten content — 33%, providing flour strength in the range of 380–670 arbitrary units and bread volume from 100 grams of flour around 1270 cm³, with an overall bread quality rating of 9 points. The average yield of the variety is 69.1 centners per hectare, significantly higher than its parent varieties, with a potential yield of 11–15 tons per hectare. Sowing rate is 4.5–5 million germinating seeds per hectare (180–200 kg), depending on soil moisture availability.