Potato seeds imported from Russia were presented at the breeding station in Gyumri, at the Field Day 2022 exhibition, reports information portal Sputnik Armenia.
In partnership with the Russian company Fat-Agro, the Gyumri station tests potato seeds. 18 varieties have already been tested, 12 more are being tested this year, 6 of them are submitted for state registration.
“We have been cooperating with the Gyumri breeding station for the third year already. The Armenian partners are satisfied with the results, and we will continue to produce new high-quality seeds,” said Zaur Marzoev, director of Fat-Agro.
He noted that the enterprise is located in North Ossetia and has high-altitude areas for seed cultivation, similar in climatic conditions to the Shirak plateau and other mountainous regions of Armenia.
Breeding new varieties will help increase yields and insure Armenia against the shortage of potatoes that the republic has experienced this year, Marzoev added.
“The goal of cooperation with Russian partners is to increase the food security of our republic,” said in an interview with Sputnik Armenia director of the breeding station David Martirosyan.
In Soviet times, the station had experimental plots throughout the republic, but with the collapse of the USSR, they were privatized, and the station was left with only a plot of 320 hectares near Gyumri. To fully provide seeds for potatoes and cereals, sown areas of 11-12 thousand hectares are needed.