"An intensive berry garden is being established in the Tomsk region on 22 hectares."

In October, the enterprise plans to lay down new berry plots. This autumn, about 50 thousand seedlings of aronia, currant, and sea buckthorn will be planted on an area of 22 hectares. The seedlings were delivered to the Tomsk region from the State Unitary Enterprise "Bakcharskoye," as well as from the Altai Republic and the Barnaul Research Institute of Siberia named after M.A. Lisavenko. Some of them were bred using the microclonal multiplication method at the "Darvin" enterprise in Tomsk.

Advanced technologies tailored to Siberian conditions are used in the creation of the orchard. A precise GPS positioning system is used for site marking. Row sizes must precisely match the characteristics of mechanized berry harvesting equipment. Geodetic work is then carried out, and specialists enter the field. All seedlings are planted in rows under agro fabric.

Currently, preparations are underway in the fields to set up the drip irrigation system for the winter season. The total length of this system is 216 kilometers of drip pipes placed on the surface, and about 20 kilometers of underground pipelines. The uniqueness of this system lies in its full automation, allowing it to be maintained by just one specialist. During the summer, he monitored the water supply to the fields and fertilized the plants through fertigation.

As noted by the Executive Director of LLC "Northern Garden" Viktor Karpov, this year the temperature was very high, so no less than 500 liters of water were provided daily. Currently, water from the pipelines has been drained, the mechanisms dismantled, and the artificial reservoir prepared for winter storage.

In 2024, the intensive orchard yielded a harvest of 20 tons of berries. The harvest of honeysuckle was carried out using the mechanized Wemerczuk combine, purchased with 80% state support.

It should be noted that the first 20 hectares of the orchard were established in 2019, and in the following years, the area gradually expanded. Currently, the total area of the intensive honeysuckle orchard is 100 hectares.

"Next year, the honeysuckle bushes planted in 2021 will begin to bear fruit. Therefore, we plan to harvest 60 tons of berries," noted Viktor Karpov.

This year, the farm used shock freezing technology for berries directly in the field for the first time, installing a freezer chamber. This reduced the time between harvesting and freezing berries from ten hours to one hour.

"Fast freezing positively affects the quality of the berries. Refrigeration equipment produced by the Russian company "Sibholod" from Novosibirsk was purchased with 80% state support, reducing the overall costs. Thus, this season, we continued to optimize the berry processing technology," noted Viktor Karpov.

In the Tomsk region, horticulture and berry growing are priority sectors receiving support under the state program "Development of Agriculture, Raw Materials, and Food in the Tomsk Region."

Source and photo: Information and Public Relations Department of the Agricultural Center of the Tomsk Region.

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