Territory: 83 km2.
Population: 1 791 916 people, of which 64,04% are city residents.
Geographical position: The Leningrad Region is located on the territory of the East European Plain. It borders in the north with the Republic of Karelia, in the east - with the Vologda region, in the southeast - with the Novgorod region, in the south - with the Pskov region, in the west - with Estonia and in the north-west - with Finland. From the west, the territory of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Finland.
Climate: Atlantic-continental. Marine air masses are responsible for mild winters with frequent thaws and moderately warm summers. The average January temperature is -11 °, the average July temperature is + 17 °. The coldest weather is typical for the eastern regions, the warmest for the southwestern ones. The amount of precipitation per year is 600-800 mm, with the largest amount falling on the hills, and the least - in the coastal lowlands. Precipitation prevails in summer and autumn. In winter, precipitation falls as snow, permanent snow cover appears in the second half of November and disappears in the second half of April. The total number of days with precipitation is about 290 on average.
Relief: mostly flat with absolute heights of 50-150 meters above sea level. But the territory of the Karelian Isthmus is characterized by a rugged relief with a large number of lakes. The highest point is Mount Kivisurya, 203 meters high.
Soils: mainly podzolic, poor in humus and characterized by significant acidity. At the same time, on loams, in low places with an increased accumulation of moisture, highly podzolic soils with a thick upper layer are formed. On sandy loams and sands, which do not retain moisture well, weakly podzolic soils are found in pine forests. Where herbaceous vegetation predominates, - in forest clearings, in rare mixed or deciduous forests - sod-podzolic soils. The main soil-forming rocks are clays, loams, sands and peat.
Agricultural land: 617,6 thousand hectares, of which arable land - 360 thousand hectares.
The Leningrad Region, in accordance with its geographical position, is located in the zone of risky farming. The territory is characterized by difficult weather conditions (frequent temperature drops, heavy rainfall) and relatively poor soils. All this complicates the development of table potato production. On the other hand, it is the northern climate that makes the region favorable for seed growing: today, mainly seed potatoes are grown in the Leningrad Region.
According to 2017 data, in the Leningrad Region about 50 agricultural enterprises and peasant farms are engaged in potato production on an area of 4,7 thousand ha.
More than 40 varieties of potatoes are cultivated in the region, of which at least 37% are domestic (on average in the Russian Federation - 25%), 28% of this number are Russian varieties created by breeders of the Leningrad Region.
In the region, 16 thousand tons of potato seeds are used for planting annually, including 6 thousand tons of domestic and 10 thousand tons of foreign selection. From seeds of foreign selection:
- 0,5 thousand tons (5%) of foreign production proper;
- 9,5 thousand tons (95%) produced independently by the enterprises of the region (technologies for growing foreign potato varieties have been mastered and the rights of originators have been obtained)
The Leningrad Region is one of ten constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are identified by the Government of the Russian Federation as pilot for the implementation of the Comprehensive Target Program of the Russian Federation "Scientific support for the creation of a domestic sowing fund, plant protection products for the production of competitive agricultural products by Russian producers, as well as for the creation of production technologies (cultivation) and storage of such products for 2016."
The feasibility of developing potato seed production in the Leningrad Region is justified by the following factors:
- favorable climatic conditions for this type of activity (low background of pests and diseases caused by winds from the Baltic Sea in summer, soil freezing to the depth of the arable layer in winter);
- the availability of research institutions;
- many years of experience in the production of seed potatoes by agricultural enterprises in the region.
GRADE
Breeders of the Leningrad Region are actively working to create new Russian varieties of potatoes. According to Nadim Hajiyev, head of the breeding and seed production department of the Leningrad Research Institute of Agriculture "Belogorka", domestic varieties are not only not inferior to foreign ones, but in many respects (for example, in terms of yield, environmental friendliness) and surpass import offers. Among the latest achievements of breeders, Nadim Hajiyev noted a very early variety Charoite (the first digging is possible on the 45th day after germination. The yield is from 60 t / ha and above, a high level of plasticity - shows good results in both dry and wet years) and the mid-season variety Gusar (yield from 60 t / ha and more, marketability 95%, resistance to cancer, golden potato nematode, viral diseases). Charoite is included in the State Register of the Russian Federation for the North-West Region in 2014, Gusar - in the State Register of the Russian Federation for the North-West and Volga-Vyatka Regions in 2017.
Now scientists of the Leningrad Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture are preparing to release three new red-handed varieties.
SEED BREEDING
At the professional level, eight farms are engaged in seed production of potatoes in the region, which are certified in the Rosselkhoztsentr voluntary certification system and entered into the unified register of seed-growing farms of the Russian Federation.
In three of the eight certified seed farms, primary potato seed production was organized by the meristem method (ZAO Oktyabrskoye, ZAO PZ Prinevskoye and OOO Slavyanka M).
These farms are equipped with meristem laboratories. The total production volume is 259 thousand pieces. microplants and 1,95 million pcs. minitubers per year, the output of the super-super-elite is 1,8 thousand tons per year. The annual production of microplants in the region is 33% (from 776,8 thousand units) and minitubers - 19% (from 10478,8 thousand units) - the first and second place in terms of production in Russia.
In addition, on the farms: Vsevolozhskaya selection station LLC, Semenovodstvo LLC, Federal State Budget Scientific Institution Menki branch of the API, the primary seed production of potatoes is organized by the clone method. The total production of super-super-elites in these farms is 0,56 thousand tons per year.
The total volume of super-super-elite, produced in the region in two ways, averaged 2,4 thousand tons over three years. The combination of two methods of primary seed production allows maintaining the potential of varietal and sowing qualities of potato seeds at a high level.
Leningrad Region, taking into account the existing potential, can double the production of seed potatoes in the presence of increased demand for this product in other regions of the Russian Federation, thereby replacing the import of seed potatoes from the EU countries.
Today, about 8 thousand tons of seed potatoes are sold annually in the region, including 6 thousand tons are supplied outside the region - to 33 regions of the Russian Federation, from the Arkhangelsk region to the Republic of Dagestan from north to south and from the Kaliningrad region to Sakhalin from the west to the East.
The existing regional scheme for seed production of potatoes is based on obtaining the source material mainly in meristem laboratories. At the same time, a practice has been worked out when within the framework of a single farm all three links of seed production are combined: obtaining source material, original and elite seed production. In parallel, clonal selection is carried out in the field, and the collection of microplants is regularly updated by introducing the best field clones into the test culture.
In 2017, the regional enterprises laid for winter storage of 21,6 thousand tons of seed potatoes - 119% to the level of 2016 and 210% to the need for spring sowing (10,2 thousand tons).
SEED QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM
In the Leningrad Region, a control system has been created at all stages of potato seed production. The quality of microplants is checked by the most accurate PCR method, at the DNA level. At the stage of the source material (microplants) and the original seeds, the ELISA is performed. In the field, all the necessary technology elements are rigorously implemented, and Grimme's well-proven machine sets are used for planting, care, harvesting potatoes and laying them for storage.
DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS
In order to avoid dependence on the use of potato varieties of foreign selection, the region’s policy in the development of potato seed production is aimed at creating new domestic potato varieties with better consumer properties for industrial production, creating good conditions for their primary seed production, as well as ensuring their introduction into production.
In order to implement the plan of scientific and technical support for the development of agriculture in the region, a Coordination Council was created in the Government of the Leningrad Region.
In 2016, a concept (plan) of scientific and technical support for the development of potato growing in the Leningrad Region was developed. This plan does not provide for the creation of a new selection and seed-growing center in the region. The development of potato growing will be carried out taking into account the existing scientific potential and the potential of agricultural producers engaged in primary and elite seed farming.
The participants in the Potato Development Program in the Leningrad Region are:
- All-Russian Institute for Plant Protection (in order to work out the task of using pesticides and agrochemicals of biological origin in potato growing);
- Pushkin branch of the All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources named after N.I. Vavilova (on the basis of which an ecological and geographical test of new domestic potato varieties will be conducted);
- Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Leningrad Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture" Belogorka "(in order to work out the task of creating new competitive varieties of crops);
- Vsevolozhskaya selection station LLC (the potato varieties of the station are well known and are in great demand, for example, the Nevsky variety takes the second place in the rating of potato varieties in the Russian Federation).
- seed farms: CJSC Oktyabrskoe, CJSC PZ Prinevskoye, LLC Slavyanka M, LLC Seed Production, Federal State Budget Scientific Institution Menkovsky branch of the API (for the purpose of reproduction, industrial testing and introduction of promising domestic varieties into production).
In order to implement the planned measures for the development of potato growing in the Leningrad region, trilateral agreements will be envisaged between the Government of the region, agricultural scientific institutions and agricultural producers.
Starting from 2017, funds of the regional budget in the amount of 10 million rubles are provided for in the priority area for the development of potato growing. per year for reimbursement to agricultural producers in the form of grants for the following activities:
- acquisition of equipment for the development of seed production of potatoes,
- introduction of domestic potato varieties into production,
- the acquisition of promising laboratory equipment to improve the quality control of produced seed potatoes and the production of minicubers under controlled conditions.
In addition, the Committee informs that the Leningrad Region annually (in 2016 and subsequent years in the amount of 63 million rubles) allocates funds from the regional budget to reimburse costs to agricultural producers engaged in potato growing for the purchase of equipment under the subprogram “Technical and technological modernization innovative development of the state program.
The material was prepared by the press service of the Committee on the agro-industrial and fishery complex of the Leningrad region