MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) – Over 2.5 million hectares are planted to Belarusian crop varieties abroad, Anatoly Skirukha, the head of the crop rotation laboratory at the Research Center for Arable Farming of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), as he took part in a roundtable in BelTA's press center.
“Our research center works in the field of crop breeding. In the past five years, we submitted 165 varieties of grain, leguminous, oilseed, and fodder crops for testing, 130 of which were added to the state register of varieties. More than 220 crop varieties produced by our research center are cultivated in Belarus. The area planted to them makes up 80% of cultivated land. Our varieties of spring wheat, rapeseed, lupine, and buckwheat account for 90-95% of the area under these crops. Over 2.5 million hectares abroad are planted to our varieties,” Anatoly Skirukha said.
According to him, the main goal of Belarusian crop breeding is to produce varieties that are potentially high yielding, adaptable, and resistant to diseases and pests. In some countries, crop breeding and seed production help increase crop yield by 30-50%, which, coupled with growing agricultural output, guarantees high return on investment, Anatoly Skirukha pointed out.
Belarus has also improved the structure of cultivated land in line with the recommendations of the NASB research center, he added. This year, 2.35 million hectares will be allocated for spring planting. Plans are in place to plant 271,300 hectares to grain maize, 838,000 hectares to silage, 31,000 to buckwheat, 7,500 hectares to millet, and 34,100 hectares to spring rapeseed.
