MOSCOW, 3 Oct. New varieties of potatoes and soybeans, optimally adapted to the conditions of Siberia, were developed by KrasGAU specialists. According to them, the introduction of new plants will make it possible to forget about crop loss due to frost and drought. This was reported by the press service of the REC «Yenisei Siberia».
Spring frosts and droughts are a common occurrence in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and a number of other Russian regions, experts reported. These factors, according to scientists, are the key problems of agribusiness in Siberia, as they can lead to the death of a significant part of the plants and a sharp drop in yield for the survivors.
Specialists from the Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University (Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University, member of the Yenisey Siberia Research Center) managed to create two varieties of potatoes and two varieties of soybeans adapted to the climate of Siberia.
All proposed varieties have a low germination rate , due to which they survive frosts and droughts underground, producing tops only when stable heat sets in, scientists explained. At the same time, new plants have high productivity and early maturity.
“Our potato varieties form marketable tubers before the onset of the summer heat, and they contain a set of nutrients and starch by the end of August. And our two new soybean varieties are the northernmost in the world,” said Alexander Kolomeytsev, Vice-Rector for Science of Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University. 
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The use of new varieties can make agricultural production in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and other regions with a sharply continental climate more sustainable and efficient, the creators are sure. Currently, some of the new products have already passed state varietal tests, scientists reported.
“We obtained new varieties using classical selection methods, testing and crossing about 200 varieties of potatoes and more than 180 varieties of soybeans in our nurseries,” noted Kolomeitsev.
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Now scientists are preparing to test and introduce an “ultra-early” soybean variety that is capable of producing two harvests per season in the southern regions of Russia, the university reported.
Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University is a member of the scientific and educational center » Yenisei Siberia». The activities of the REC, created on the basis of the Siberian Federal University on the initiative of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Khakassia and Tuva, are aimed at improving the environmental situation in Russia and decarbonizing industry. The REC includes nine universities, five research institutes and 14 industrial enterprises.
Research and educational centers are being created within the framework of the national project “Science and Universities” of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.