Seed production of spring cereals at the Federal Agrarian Scientific Center of the North-East named after N.V. Rudnitsky

Abstract

Seed production of spring grain crops is the foundation of food security of a modern state. Together with breeding, seed production provides high quality products in the required volume. In the Kirov region, the main producers of original seeds are the Federal Agrarian Scientific Center of the NorthEast named after N.V. Rudnitsky (FASC of the North-East) and Vyatka State Agrotechnological University. FASC of the North-East was reorganized in 2017 to include the North-East Regional Agrarian Research Center, Falyonskaya Breeding Station, Nizhny Novgorod, Mari, Mordovian and Chuvash Agricultural Research Institutes. The FASC of the North-East in Kirov has been producing original seeds of spring grain crops since 1974 by the method of individual-family selection. Original seeds are sold annually to the farms of the Kirov region and other regions of the Russian Federation for use in the nurseries of propagation and super elite. The article analyzes the work of the seed production department for 2019–2021, displays the methodology of obtaining original seeds of spring cereals (oats, wheat, barley), describes the varieties most in demand in the Kirov region. The area of sowing original seeds of spring cereals in the experimental fields of the FASC of the North-East increased by 23.4% during the period under review, reaching 49 ha in 2021. Due to dry weather in 2021, the gross harvest of conditioned spring cereal seed remained at the same level as in 2019 at 60.9 tons. The revenue of the seed division of the FASC of the North-East from the sale of original seeds increased by 47.53% in 2021 compared to 2019 to reach 2.5 million rubles. Original seeds are usually sold to the enterprises that have their own seed production units: AO Agrofirma "Doronichi", APC "Plemzavod "Krasny Oktyabr", APC "Agricultural Artel "Krasnaya Talitsa", OOO "Zurinsky Agrocomplex", OOO "Preduralye". Thus, the Seed Production Department of the FASC of the North-East is an important link in ensuring food security in the region.