The marketable potato production pipeline was devised to include cultivars of the early-season group Meteor harvested on the 70th day after planting, Red Scarlett, Feloks - on the 80th day, medium-early-season varieties Ryabinushka, Radonezhsky, Sante - on the 90th day, and the medium-season variety Lugovskoy - on the 100th day. Scientists argue that the cultivation of varieties differing in ripening and bulking rates will help supply fresh produce to the regional market earlier. Another effect will be the establishment of an efficient sales system to increase potato sales and reduce the costs.

With a view to subsequent use in the regional crop cultivation process, the scientists performed agroecological testing of 20 zone-adjusted and introduced potato cultivars. As a result, the cultivars featuring both high yields and ecological plasticity were commended: Latona, Udacha, Impala, Fresco, Radonezhsky and Red Scarlett.

The exploratory research is carried out in the laboratory and in the field. Sterile laminar flow boxes are used for microclonal propagation of infection-free plants on a balanced medium including macro- and micronutrients, vitamins, growth regulators, carbohydrates. In May, the plants from test tubes are transferred to the greenhouse to grow minitubers, which are planted out in the field in the following year.

Previously, the scientists described the effectiveness of plant improvement selection in minituber production. The results of this study were published in the journal “Vestnik of the Russian Agricultural Science”. After two years of the study, the improving selection based on visual diagnosis resulted in the Red Scarlett, Latona, and Impala cultivars yielding more productive vegetative progenies facilitating efficient original potato seed production.

Cultivars respond differently to edaphic conditions and fluctuations in meteorological factors during the growing season. If these factors are taken into account, the first harvest of early potato cultivars can be obtained as early as in the 20th of July.

– Potatoes can be harvested earlier if the crops are additionally sheltered with a covering material. The best results in the early-season group were demonstrated by the Latona cultivar, which is characterized by high plasticity. After growing for 90 days, it produced a yield of about 30 tons per hectare, – told Principal Researcher of the Vilga Agrotechnology Laboratory of KarRC RAS Department for Multidisciplinary Research Lyubov Evstratova to the Vesti – Karelia TV program crew.