Southern Research and Production Biotechnological Center (Kherson City) of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine

Scientific and Production Southern Biotechnological Center (Kherson City) was created in 1991. Its structure is composed of scientific departments, laboratories of microbiology, virology and clone microreproduction of plants in the in vitro culture, accelerated plant propagation block and research and experimental farm on the territory of the Low-Dnieper Sands.

The main task of the center is sanitation and accelerated reproduction of agriculturally zoned and prospective varieties and clones of grape vines, fruit and berry crops, and strawberry through the in vitro culture for formation of mother plates of high selection and sanitary categories which are not available in Ukraine and in the CIS countries. Growing planting stock free from bacterial cancer, viral and other diseases through the in vitro culture is the only way today to fight systemic and chronic diseases since there are no system effect preparations which are not toxic for plants. The possibility of import and proliferation of phytopathogenic and quarantine objects during the plant introduction is excluded.

This is the first scientific and production center in the viticulture and horticulture in Ukraine and the CIS countries which has an all-year-round production and operates with improved planting stock having no analogues in this country. It is a connecting link between research institutions, basic and nursery farms. The terms of introduction of new varieties and clones of grape vines and fruit crops are decreased from 25 years and over to 1-2 years.

The principally new industrial biotechnology of production of domestic planting stock developed in the Center has a complete cycle from the plant sanitation, their clonal microteproduction in the in vitro culture, growing super-super-elite seedlings to the formation of mother plates of high selection and sanitary categories according to the classical scheme keeping to quarantine measures. All these processes have their know-hows.

The center has an adequate scientific and technical base which goes in line with the level of the scientific and technical progress. The reproduction rate of super-super-elite plants in the in vitro culture is 1: 50000 and that of super-elite is 1 : 100000 - 1 : 800000. This is quite enough to achieve any levels in production of improved planting stock.

The Center has designed a program of introducing new technologies in the seedling business in Ukraine which are competitive and correspond to the level of the world standards. The productivity of the crops formed by the improved planting stock increases by several times without additional investments. This allows to receive competitive and ecologically clean products for nutrition and raw materials for the processing industry.