Scientists of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences together with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Heilongjiang Province (Harbin, China) plan to develop new high-yielding varieties of potatoes and perennial leguminous plants for growing in sharply continental climates within five years. This was announced on Wednesday by TASS by the head of the Research Institute of Agriculture of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikita Zezin.
“We are working with the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, we carry out joint breeding for the crops of forage legumes - alfalfa and potatoes. Our goal is to develop joint varieties so that they are suitable for both the Chinese north and our Ural region, ”the agency's source said.
According to Zezin, the research work will take about five years. “The alfalfa variety will be winter hardy, and the potato variety will be highly productive and immune to disease. Now we are conducting environmental tests, selecting the most practical forms that will take root in China and the Urals, ”he added.
As explained by TASS, Deputy Chairman of the Ural Branch of RAS Viktor Rudenko, scientific work in the field of agriculture has been carried out by the parties for several years.
“Our agricultural institutes work in China, there are good prospects for agriculture, especially taking into account the established Association for Scientific and Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation and China (ANTSRK). Now it includes 156 Chinese and 46 Russian organizations, the next meeting is planned to be held in November next year, ”he said.
The document on the creation of ANTSRK was signed in 2018 on the sidelines of the Innoprom international industrial exhibition in Yekaterinburg.