New promising varieties and hybrids of potato are being tested today at the Federal Research Center "All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources named after N.I. Vavilova ”(VIR).
At the same time, government officials and experts are discussing food security and, in connection with this, the prospects for the development of potato growing in the Leningrad, Novgorod, Vologda regions and other regions of the North-West.
“Field Day 2018: Ecological and geographical testing of new promising varieties and hybrids of potato” is the official name of this event organized on the territory of the Pushkin and Pavlovsk VIR laboratories in Pushkin.
The test participants were shown experimental sites where numerous varieties of potatoes grow - the so-called field potato collections, related to the wild-growing and cultivated tuberous species Solanum L (nightshade).
“The meaning of this event is to show what VIR is doing in terms of scientific research, to communicate with practitioners, for example, from the Leningrad Research Institute of Agriculture Belogorka, working in the Gatchinsky District, or the Visor company from Kirishi, to understand what colleagues from other regions are doing - said Alexey Zavarzin, deputy director of VIR, grandson and son of famous biologists.
- It is necessary to determine what are the interests of manufacturers in the Leningrad region and other regions of the North-West, and the ultimate goal is to engage manufacturers in direct interaction. That is, we expect not only to inform VIR about the activity, but also to find points of contact between theory and practice. ” According to him, breeding work is important, both from the point of view of preserving the purity of the collection, and from the position of a domestic producer that is set up for food safety.
“The employees of the institute are engaged in this work at the call of the heart, they have a sore soul for a unique collection of selective potato varieties,” Zavarzin explains. “Today VIR has a large scientific human resources - 1200 people work in 12 branches in Russia.”
Within the framework of Field Day 2018, a round table was held devoted to the state, problems and prospects of potato growing in the 2018st century, the importance of potato genetic resources for the development of traditional and modern breeding trends, relevant breeding research trends in the North-West region of the Russian Federation, and cooperation in fundamental and applied research for the improvement and innovative development of selection and seed production of potatoes in Russia. Field Day 2017 was organized with the support of the subprogram “Development of selection and seed production of potatoes in the Russian Federation” of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Agriculture for 2025–XNUMX.
Source: https://www.nsss-russia.ru/