Russia's Miratorg to invest 1 bln in project to develop potato breeding

MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Miratorg, one of Russia's leading agricultural holdings, will invest about 1 billion rubles in a project to develop potato breeding.

"Production will be interregional and assumes the presence of material and technical bases, primarily in the Kaliningrad and Bryansk regions. Miratorg breeders will grow seed potatoes from test tubes to stages which are ready for sale for their seeds," the press release said. "In Kaliningrad region, the project includes an energy-saving greenhouse complex and a center for the microclonal propagation of plants, which includes a laboratory for phytosanitary control, making it possible to produce seed material free from infection. The presence of a greenhouse complex and land plots with a total area of 982 hectares makes it possible to create a full cycle of production of potatoes of various categories."

Miratorg has isolated field sites for replicating potato seed reproductions in different soil and climatic zones, including the Kaliningrad, Bryansk, Tula and Oryol regions. To store the harvest, a specialized warehouse is equipped with a controlled microclimate and addressable container storage.

The press release also said that the Miratorg project received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture as a selected complex scientific and technical project. The result of its implementation will be the inclusion of new table-ready and industrial potato varieties in the Russian state register.