Scientists from the Ural Federal Agrarian Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Scientific Center for Biological Systems and Agricultural Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the Federal Potato Research Center named after A.G. Lorch, have developed a potato variety called Sapphire. Its distinctive feature is its high content of anthocyanins, strong antioxidants that have a beneficial effect on the human body.
Sapphire was created by crossing the high-yielding Roko and the Bora Valley purple potato. Work on its creation took more than 10 years, because the original forms were crossed in the laboratory of the A.G. Lorch All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Chemistry back in 2009. Since 2011, various tests of the variety have been carried out, including an environmental one, organized in the Orenburg region.
This variety is of medium ripening, has smooth oval tubers with dark purple flesh, weighing 100-150 grams. It belongs to the culinary type BC and has excellent taste. Sapphire is suitable for baking, making purees, chips and fries, for first courses and salads.
The new variety shows high yield: up to 50 tons per hectare, or 10-14 tubers per bush. It stores well and is resistant to potato blight, golden nematode, scab, etc.
Senior researcher at the UrFAN Research Center, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tamara Dergileva, explained that Sapphire can be grown in the Urals, central Russia and Siberia. Today it is undergoing state variety testing, after which it will be included in the register of breeding achievements of the Russian Federation. Potatoes will appear on sale in approximately 2-3 years.
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