The impact of contrasting conditions of water availability on the size of the upper internodes in wheat varieties was studied under the conditions of the Orenburg steppe zone. It was noted, that less drought-resistant varieties formed a short upper internodes. We conducted a mathematical analysis of the relationship of productivity and length of ear-carrying internodes of spring soft wheat varieties of different ecological groups. It was established, that we can observe a gradual increase of grain productivity with increasing the length of the upper internodes in the studied range. As a result, the following varities were selected for inclusion into the hybridization: Logachevka, Tulaykovskaya steppe, Tulaykovskaya 1, Tulaykovskaya Belozernaya, Prokhorovka and Uchitel. They have the optimal settings for the presented feature. Using the selected varieties as parental forms can enhance the efficiency of wheat breeding programs for resistance to drought in the forest-steppe zone of the Southern Urals.