Plant Production Institute named after V. Ja. Jurjev NAAN

The Plant Production Institute named after V. Ya. Yur'yev is a many-sided scientific institution of the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It is one of the oldest scientific-research institutions in Ukraine which was set up as far back as 1908.

During the period of its existence the most important achievements were attained, such as the establishment of the home selection and seed growing of agricultural crops, the organization of the studies on radiation breeding of plants, the elaboration of breeding procedures and methods for estimation of economic properties of cultivars, the first Ukrainian textbooks on breeding and genetics for agronomy colleges, numerous monographs, scientific schools and directions.

The Institute has become a subcoordinator on the breeding problems of spring wheat, millet, winter rye, peas and triticale in Ukraine, as well as, the Centre for Scientific Provision of agroindustrial production in Kharkiv Oblast.

At PPI UAAS there has been opened an Agrotrade "Ukrainian Genetic Company", associations for "Producers of Brewer's Barley", "Producers of seeds of the first reproduction", "Producers of ecologically safe produce".
The organizing meeting is being prepared in order to establish the asociations: "Soya", "Hard wheat" etc.

In 1992 within the Institute there was established the Centre for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine which at present coordinates scientific-research works at 32 institutions of Ukraine on the problem of compiling and maintaining the National Gene Bank of Ukraine for its utilization in breeding of highly-productive cultivars and hybrids of agricultural crops.

The collection of the National Centre for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine comprises 17 field crops numbering 24500 samples, there has been made their identification, morphological description, there have been studied and distinguished some sources and donors of economic traits. The best samples were transferred to the other scientific-research and breeding institutions of Ukraine.

At present the scientists of the institute are working out and deepening the researches on the following directions as:
- the development of genetical, physiological and immunological aspects of the theory and the technology of adaptive selection;
- the creation of new cultivars and hybrids of grain crops, grain legumes, cereal and oil crops, adapted at most to ecological conditions and modern cultivation technologies;
- the collection, the studies and the maintenance of the world plant gene pool;
- the improvement of seed growing methods and the development of the systems for a rapid introduction of the new cultivars and hybrids into production;
- the development of the new growing technologies and the improvement of the existing ones for cultivation of the agricultural crops.

For the whole period of the Institute's existence there were developed and regionized more than 200 cultivars and hybrids of agricultural crops.

97 cultivars and hybrids has entered the Plant Variety List of Ukraine in 2004, 18 ones - the Russian Federation List. Every year 5,2 thous. tons of elite and original seeds of regionized cultivars and hybrids of agricultural crops, 40 t of parental forms of sunflower and 500 t of maize parental forms are grown and sold.

Among the most promising scientific innovations are: sunflower hybrids: Siver, Enei, Kyi, Krasen, Kovcheg, Boris; winter bread wheat cultivars: Kharus, Vasylina, Astet, Spalakh; millet cultivars: Slobozhanske and Kharkivske 31; winter rye - Khasto, Kharkivske 98, Pervistok; peas - Kharvus - 1, Kharvus - 2; spring bread wheat - Kharkivska 30; spring durum wheat - Kharkivska 41, Kharkivska 43; barley - Kryshtal, Vytyaz, Bazis; winter triticale - Ladne, Garne, AD-52.

A biologized technology for cultivation of field crops along with application of green manure and micropreparations under fallow-grain-tilled crop rotation.

Complex optimization of pea integrated protection and mineral nutrition system.
Optimization of chemical treatment of winter wheat savings depending on their weedyness.
Development of resource-saving technologies of implementation of cereal and oil crops.

As for the fundamental researches there have been studied a genetical organization and a systemic control of the complex characters; there have been worked out the algorithms and the projects for the applied program packets. There has been made a biochemical passport system and an assessment of genetical and breeding value of original materials with molecular-genetical markers.

Relative to seed growing and seed investigation there was developed a shortened scheme on seed high reproduction production and some methods and techniques of its yield capacity's increase. There were elaborated the requirements for a seed national standard, the prognosis for the development of seed growing of grain crops in Ukraine for the period by 2010, organizational-economical principles and activities of the seed producing farms for different zones of Ukraine.

Following the researches carried out in plant production there were developed and mastered several zonal, nature-protective and resource-saving technologies for cultivation of major grain and forage crops.

The Institute's trained personnel and its material-technical base permit to carry out all the studies at a high scientific level. The Institute comprises 26 research subdivisions where there are 128 scientists, among them are 9 doctors and 66 candidates of sciences. Training personnel takes place through a post-graduate course and a thesis presentation for a scientific degree. At the Institute there also functions a specialized academic council on conferring scientific degrees of doctors and candidates.

The experimental-production base of the Institute includes 4 experimental farms, which are in Kharkiv Region (Elitne, Chervona Khvylya, Chervoniy Zhovten, Komsomolets) and the Ustymivska Experimental Station for plant breeding, located in Poltava Region. A total land area of this experimental-production base is 29,2 thous. ha, including 27,2 thous. ha of agricultural use out of which 24,7 thous. ha are under cultivation.

The Plant Genetic Resources' Centre coordinates scientific-research activities of 32 institutions of Ukraine as to the management of the National Bank for plant genetic resources of Ukraine, maintain friendly relations with the International Institute of Genetic Resources (Italy), the Gene Bank in Holland, the Gene Banks of 11 countries of the world, CIMMYT (Mexico) and its subdivision in Turkey, the Eastern Experimental Centre for grain and oil crops:
- Pea breeding department with the Innes Centre (Great Britain).
- Winter rye breeding department with EUCARPIA Northern Committee.
- Millet breeding department with the Chinese Agricultural Academy of Sciences of the Chanci Province.
- Sunflower breeding department with the Oregon State University (USA), the Iova State University (USA), the Plant Breeding Institute in Novi Sad (Yugoslavia), Pioneer company (USA), RUSTICA firm (France).
- Plant Protection department with Uniroyal Chemicals (USA).
- There have been established scientific relations with the Belgorodskaya Agricultural Academy and BelSRAI (Russia).
- Genetics department with the European Academy for grain legumes (France), the Institute of Genetics and Cytology of RAS (Russia), the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of BAS (Byelorussia), the Ukrainian Engineering Academy and 6 scientific-research institutes of Ukraine.
- The Scientific Provision Centre of AIC in Kharkiv Region coordinates scientific activities of 16 regional scientific institutions and collaborates with 27 regional centres of Ukraine.