Yellow watermelon, sweet corn. What other new products are Kobrin variety testers testing?

Topic news The third Sunday of November is the Day of Agricultural and Processing Industry Workers in Belarus. These people grow bread and vegetables, look after livestock, process MILK and MEAT so that there is a variety of products on the shelves of our stores. About 50 thousand people work in these industries in the Brest Region. The region makes a significant contribution to food security. The Brest Region occupies a leading position in terms of milk production, average daily weight gain of pigs and cattle . 75% of dairy products produced in the region are exported , 40% of meat products. BELTA correspondents visited the Kobrin Variety Testing Station ahead of the holiday. Experienced agronomists told us what happens before farmers start growing new varieties in Belarusian fields.
Elena Shishko heads the department for testing vegetable and fruit and berry crops for economic usefulness. She has been in the profession since 1991. "I love the land and working with plants. I became an agronomist, came to the Kobrin district - I was sent here to work. And so I stayed here. Our work has not changed much during this time, but there are many more crops: Belarusian and foreign selection. At first, we had certain grain crops, then vegetable crops appeared, in 2007 we laid out a garden. We grow pears, APPLE trees, peaches, cherries , berries," the woman said.
Specialists evaluate varieties for yield, quality, uniformity, distinctiveness, stability. They do not ignore many aspects. They test grain and forage crops, potatoes , vegetables, greens, fruits and berries . The variety is such that, for example, you can make a color picture from salad varieties in a bed.

As soon as there is demand on the market, variety testers immediately get to work. One of the breeding companies expressed a desire to grow an oily gymnosperm pumpkin of the "Pablo" variety. it can be used to produce pumpkin oil and pumpkin chips. The workers of the Kobrin variety testing station have received their first harvest this year. The results are encouraging. According to experts, 52 tons can be obtained from 1 ha. One Pablo fruit contains up to 600 g of seeds. The seeds are currently being tested for oil content in the laboratory. If the tests are successful, this will be one of the ways to replace imports.
A short break in the work of agronomists occurs only in winter, for a month and a half. In February, they receive seeds, sow them in March, and look after the seedlings in a greenhouse. Later, it is the turn of the seeds, which are planted in open ground. The scheme is familiar to everyone who is even slightly involved in gardening. At the same time, variety testers strictly adhere to the norms for caring for plants, there should be no deviations. When the time comes, they harvest, receive seeds, taste the products - this is an obligatory part of scientific work.

"For example, for someone a tomato variety may be sour, for someone - sweet, for someone - sweet and sour. Each person's receptors work differently. Five people taste, and only then is an average rating calculated. Sometimes there are 30 varieties in work, once you try them - you can't look at them anymore," Elena Shishko joked.
Among other things, the station tested the yellow watermelon of the "Champagne" variety this year. "It's very interesting, we all really liked it: sweet, tasty. It's not on farms yet. We'll have it in testing for three years, only after that will agricultural enterprises and farmers be able to use it in production. We're happy with the first results: it's a good, promising variety. I think they'll work with it," the specialist noted. They're also testing varieties of sweet corn. "It's for canning. Very tasty, sweet, just awesome," Elena Shishko's colleagues in the department added. By the way, harvesting is only half the battle. Agronomists record the process of growing plants in photos, process a wealth of information, and make reports. To draw a conclusion on a particular variety, they need to get three harvests .
"We are part of the Belarusian field crop variety testing system and interact with all breeding centers in RUSSIA, Europe and Asia. Before going into production, field crop varieties undergo testing on small plots. We are on guard for the protection of food security. According to the law, all new varieties imported into the country and intended for sowing undergo variety testing," explained Mikhail Ignatovets, DIRECTOR of the Kobrin variety testing station.

Agriculture is facing challenges due to climate change. Belarus has been experiencing longer droughts. Agricultural producers are looking for answers to a number of questions: what to grow? What will give a good harvest and profit? Variety testers come to the rescue. The Kobrin variety testing station is currently working on drought-resistant forage crops such as wheatgrass and sorghum. It is possible that in the future they will be grown in Belarusian fields.

"Breeders try to develop new varieties to introduce the crop into production. For example, 20 years ago, alfalfa was not a common forage crop, but now several of its types are grown. Both Belarusian and foreign varieties are used. They produce a decent harvest and can withstand our winter conditions," Mikhail Ignatovets gave an example.
Variety testing is carried out by people who are truly passionate about this business. Such is Evgeny Kuriga, HEAD of the department for testing varieties of agricultural plants for economic usefulness. He wanted to be an agronomist since childhood. "Our department deals with all grain crops that grow in Belarus: rye, triticale, wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, sorghum, flax, lupine, annual and perennial grasses," he listed. "I have been working for 30 years, and I like it. It is interesting because we experiment, conduct tests, try different methods and methods of cultivation."
In the field, variety testers use small-sized equipment. Crops are grown in small plots, seeders, grain harvesters and forage harvesters are adjusted to their size. "We have 15-20 varieties, up to 30 varieties, in our experiments. We test them for three years and select the best ones in terms of yield, susceptibility to diseases and pests. If a variety shows itself on the positive side, it is included in the state register. After that, it can go into production - for cultivation in agricultural enterprises, farms," ​​summed up Evgeny Kuriga.
Alevtina CHERNOVOLOVA,
Photo by Violetta YUZHAKOVA, BELTA
and the Kobrin variety testing station.