A bank of healthy varieties of seed potatoes will be opened in Salekhard by employees of the FRC of Potato named after A. G. Lorkh. With its help, scientists expect to develop new frost-resistant varieties for cultivation in the fields of the district and develop seed potato growing. About this in an interview with a correspondent of the publication "Yamal-Media" told in the laboratory of selection of potatoes and vegetable crops of the Research Institute of Agriculture of the Northern Trans-Urals.
The place for creating the bank was not chosen by chance: in Yamal there is no main potato pest - the virus-carrying aphid, and the Colorado potato beetle does not survive in the Far North. Potatoes in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug grow up healthy and intact. A long polar day allows you to get a good harvest.
The first bank of healthy varieties of seed potatoes was created in 2007 by the A. G. Lorkh Institute in the Arkhangelsk region, the second - in 2015 in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.
Scientists will plant 15 varieties in open ground, and another 60 in greenhouses.
The development of domestic seed potato production is a very important component of Russia's food security, especially in the context of sanctions. The Ministry of Education and Science expects to completely replace the import of planting material by 2025.