The Use of Preferential Conditions of Kostroma Region for the Production of Seed Potatoes

Abstract

The research was carried out in 1990-2020 in order to analyze the state and level of potato growing sub-sector development in the Russian Federation and in Kostroma region with further identification of priority areas for improving its efficiency for the production of high-quality seed potatoes. Over the past three decades, the potato industry of the country has undergone serious changes. During the period from 1990 to 2020, the area of potato planting in the Russian Federation decreased by 1935.4 thousand hectares, or by 62%, the gross harvest decreased by 11240.8 thousand tons, or by 36.4%.In 2020 the level of self-sufficiency in potatoes, defined as the ratio of products produced in the country to its domestic consumption, amounted to 89.2%, which is lower than the indicator established by the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation by 5.8 percentage points. In Russia, leading agricultural organizations have appeared, working on innovative technologies of world standards and reaching record yields of 45...50 t/ ha. However, the average potato yield in the country remains one of the lowest in Europe – at the level of 17 t/ha. A significant factor in obtaining high potato yields is the use of high-quality seed material of the best varieties. Potato seed production is effective only in optimal soil and climatic conditions with the use of reliable methods of accelerated reproduction of virus-free material and prevention of re-infection with diseases. This problem is successfully solved by organizing special protected areas with favorable climatic and phytosanitary conditions for growing healthy seed potatoes. The Kostroma region, subject to the effective use of its geographical location, favorable soil, climatic and phytosanitary conditions, can take a leading position in the production of high-quality potato seeds.