Michurinsk State Agrarian University, together with Zolotaya Niva LLC, is actively working on the direct implementation of an integrated scientific and technical project (KNTP) "Development of innovative technologies for the production of elite seed potatoes of promising varieties of domestic breeding in the Tambov region" within the subprogram "Development of breeding and seed production potatoes in the Russian Federation "of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Agriculture for 2017 - 2025.
In 2018, with the support of the head of the administration of the Tambov region Alexander Nikitin, this project took part in the competition of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia for grants in the form of subsidies from the federal budget for the implementation of KSTP in the agricultural sector and became one of the winners.
“Today there are a large number of varieties of domestic selection potatoes with high commercial and economic-biological characteristics that have not been widely used in industrial potato growing due to the lack of innovative technologies for the production of seed material in Russia, including modern methods of biotechnology, biophysics and agronomy, allowing make fuller use of the genetic resource of a particular variety- says the head of the scientific center for biotechnology and breeding Roman Papikhin. - The advanced technology of our university, based on original methods and approaches, will make it possible to fully reveal the genetic potential of the existing assortment of potatoes and thereby ensure real competitiveness to foreign varieties ”.
As part of the project, seven thousand revitalized virus-free microplants of three varieties of potatoes - Gulliver, Zhukovsky early, Meteor - were grown in the only agricultural farm in the Tambov region, multiplied in vitro in the laboratory of potato selection and seed production. An assessment of the varietal characteristics of plants, the coefficient of reproduction, the strength of growth, the efficiency of rhizogenesis, tuberization and their adaptation to natural environmental conditions was carried out.
In the third decade of April this year, microplants were planted in pots in a tunnel-type greenhouse to produce mini-tubers. The grown seed material complies with the international standard GOST 33996-2016 and has successfully passed the test for the absence of phytopathogenic infection.
Until 2023, university scientists have to develop guidelines for laser and ultrasonic irradiation of potatoes in vitro and technology for accelerated reproduction, obtaining the first field generation and elite seed material.
According to the results of the experiment, optimal varieties for production in the conditions of the Tambov region will be determined.
The rector of the Michurinsky GAU Vadim Babushkin noted: “Leading agricultural enterprises are interested in our research and achievements in the field of selection and seed production of potatoes, and we hope for the prospect of further implementation of the obtained healthy planting material and its distribution throughout the region”.
Source: http://mcx.ru/