A new variety of potatoes, as part of the work on import substitution, was bred by specialists from the Irkutsk State Agrarian University. A.A. Yezhevsky, according to the official portal of the Irkutsk region.
The university conducts research work to create new high-yielding varieties of potatoes that are resistant to diseases and adapted to the conditions of the region.
The new variety was named Babr. It is mid-season, table appointment. The average yield of marketable products is estimated at 234 q/ha. This is higher than the standard by 36 c/ha. The possible maximum yield will be 387 c/ha.
The variety is resistant to golden potato nematode, moderately resistant to late blight. This season, the new potato variety will pass the tests required for registration.
“Today we have to quickly mobilize all resources for import substitution, mainly in the agro-industrial complex, and scientific organizations should be the center for the development of new domestic technologies for their implementation,” Governor Igor Kobzev emphasized.
Since 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture of the region has been implementing a new support measure in the form of grants for the implementation of research and development work on scientific and technical support for the development of agriculture. As part of supporting scientific activities at the expense of the regional budget, in 2021 and 2022, nine grants were provided for a total of 16,2 million rubles. Of these, 7,6 million are grant funds this year.
— This year, in order to successfully carry out spring field work and provide the population of the region with potatoes, agricultural producers of the region have prepared 15,29 thousand tons of seed potatoes for planting. In addition, for variety renewal and variety change, 102 tons of elite potatoes and 40 tons of elite potatoes from abroad were contracted and paid for for delivery from other regions of Russia, - said Ilya Sumarokov, Minister of Agriculture of the Irkutsk Region.
According to the results of the harvesting campaign in 2021, the average potato yield in all categories of farms amounted to 148,2 c/ha, which is 1,6% higher than last year. At the same time, the yield in agricultural organizations is 189,7 centners per hectare, and in peasant (farm) farms 176,2 centners per hectare.