Representatives of the companies "ZavAgro", "VNIIMK", "Maysadur Siemens" and "Lidia" took part in the sowing, as well as the chief agronomist of the Novoselitsky district department of the Stavropol Rosselkhoztsentr I.A. Belova, the chief agronomist of the LLC OPT "Luch" S.V. Shein, the section agronomist O.N. Simakov and other employees of the seed farm.
Three methods were used for sowing: eight hybrids were sown using the traditional scheme, six using the express method, and the rest using the Clearfield method. For each hybrid, eight rows were allocated, 1.5 kilometers long and 70 cm wide. Before sowing, complex fertilizers based on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (ammonium phosphate) were added to the soil at a rate of 50 kg/ha, grade 12:52. Herbicides Mortira (for the traditional method) and Mantra (for the Clearfield method) are planned to be used for weed control.
Throughout the growing season, specialists from the Novoselitsky district department of the Stavropol branch of Rosselkhoztsentr will conduct phytosanitary monitoring and record the condition of the plants.
The head of the Stavropol branch of Rosselkhoztsentr, Olga Kuznetsova, announced that the collected data will be summarized and analyzed, and then presented to the region's agricultural producers at a seminar in autumn.
"We are confident that this experience will help vividly demonstrate the advantages and strengths of domestic hybrids and increase their share in the region's sowings. Import substitution of seed crops to ensure food security is a task set by the seed growers and farmers, endorsed by President V.V. Putin and the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia. Currently, the share of domestic seeds for seed crops is lower than desired, and in the coming years, we plan to rectify this situation," noted Olga Kuznetsova.
Anton Zavrazhnov, the head of the breeding and seed company "ZavAgro" (the company develops new genotypes of sunflowers and works on increasing the yield of hybrids and their disease resistance) added that the experimental field contains the hybrids Fortuna, Oil, and Keks. These varieties are characterized by their resistance to high temperatures and drought, which is especially important for the Stavropol region, and also have resistance to downy mildew and peronospora. In the sunflower oil of these hybrids, the oleic acid content exceeds 54%, and the yield in the Stavropol region exceeds 40 quintals per hectare.
"We have been engaged in breeding for over 15 years, with a focus on sunflowers, corn, sugar beet, and we also plan to develop rapeseed. We are mastering accelerated breeding and actively engage not only in breeding but also in the full cycle of cultivating seed crops. In particular, we plan to develop sunflower hybrids characterized by large fruits and high sugar content for the needs of the confectionery industry," emphasized Anton Zavrazhnov.
This year, demonstration trials will be carried out in 11 branches of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Rosselkhoztsentr", including the Stavropol region, Bryansk and Lipetsk regions, Samara and Voronezh regions, Rostov, Belgorod, Kursk, Ulyanovsk, as well as the Republic of Tatarstan and the Donetsk People's Republic.