Status and Prospects of Vegetable Seed

Vegetable Production in Central Asia Status and Perspectives

Edited by Thomas J. Kalb and Ravza F. Mavlyanova AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is an international not-for-profit organization committed to ensuring the world’s food security through research, development, and training.

© 2005 AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan 741, ROC tel: +886-6-583-7801 fax: +886-6-583-0009 e-mail: [email protected] www: http://www.avrdc.org Kalb, T.J. and R.F. Mavlyanova (eds.). 2005. Vegetable production in Central Asia: status and perspectives. Proceedings of the workshop, 13–14 June 2003, Almaty, Kazakhstan. AVRDC publication number 05-618. AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center. Shanhua, Taiwan. 134 p. ISBN 92-9058-139-5 *For more information contact Dr. Thomas Kalb, Information and Training Officer, AVRDC at Editorial assistance: George Kuo, Larissa Geronina, and Alexei Morgounov Cover design: Chen Ming-che Photos: Thomas Lumpkin Map drawing: Liu Yung-chi and Chen Ming-che

Contents Foreword

iv

Regional map

v

Overview Vegetable Research and Development in Central Asia: A Guideline for Setting Priorities under Data Scarcity M. Ali, T.A. Lumpkin, and U. Farooq

1

Country Reports Kazakhstan Status and Prospects of Vegetable Growing in Kazakhstan S.B. Kenenbayev

27

Mechanization of Vegetable Production in Kazakhstan Z.K. Kuatbekov

36

The Status of Vegetable Production in Greenhouses in Kazakhstan G.S. Kusainova

39

Status and Prospects of Vegetable Seed Development in Kazakhstan B.M. Amirov

41

Results and Goals on the Improvement of Systems for Protection of Vegetable Crops from Pests and Diseases A.O. Sagitov

45

Adapting Vegetable Crops to the Extreme Conditions of Priaralye V.S. Tyan, S.O. Kosanov, and L.Y. Kogay

50

Intensive Technology for Successful Vegetable, Melon and Gourd Production in Kazakhstan M.S. Manakov

53

Melon and Gourd Farming in Kazakhstan: The Current Status and Outlook T.G. Gutsaluk

56

II

VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN CENTRAL ASIA

Collecting Vegetable Crops in the Department of Vegetable Growing at the Kazakh National Agrarian University S.N. Oleichenko and G.S. Kusainova

60

Gene Pool Formation and Creation of Melon Varieties U.A. Aymuchambetov and B.S. Tyan

62

Storage and Use of Vegetable and Gourd Germplasm in Kazakhstan V.N. Lukyanyets and E.V. Fedorenko

65

The Breeding of Cucumber in the Fields in Kazakhstan: The Current Status and Outlook L.V. Kabirova

69

Yield and Economic Performance of Cucumber Varieties Grown in Southern Kazakhstan G.L. Ligay, A.T. Makulbaev, and E.A. Abildabek

72

Future Directions in Tomato Breeding N.V. Kurganskaya and S.K. Dzhantasova

76

Status and Objectives of Onion Breeding in Kazakhstan O.S. Vodyanova

80

Kyrgyzstan The Status and Prospects of Vegetable Production in Kyrgyzstan Y.G. Levchenko and A. Abdivasiev

89

Carrot Seed Production in the High Mountain Zone of Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan 91 Y.G. Levchenko and A. Mambetov Maintaining Purity in Garlic Planting Stock K.E. Ergeshova and B.K. Tazhmatov

93

Tajikistan The Development of Vegetable and Potato Production in Tajikistan during its Transition toward an Open Marketing System T. Akhmedov Current Status of Onion Seed and Bulb Onion Production in Tajikistan D. Boboev and A. Dzhomoliddinov

99

104

CONTENTS

III

Turkmenistan The Status of Vegetable Production in Turkmenistan K. Mamedkulov, A. Aklyev, and O. Palivanmuradov

111

Uzbekistan Status, Problems and Development Perspectives of Potato, Vegetable and Melon Production in Uzbekistan H.C. Buriev, V.I. Zuev, and S.M. Medzhitov

117

The Status, Problems and Perspectives of Vegetable Production in Uzbekistan K.C. Buriev, L.A. Gafurova, V.I. Zuev and S.M. Meikhltov

129

Status, Problems and Prospects for the Production of Vegetables, Melons-Gourds and Potatoes in Uzbekistan A.M. Abbasov

135

Evaluation of Global Sources of Root Crops for Breeding and Cultivation in Uzbekistan R.F. Mavlyanova

138

Participants

147

IV


Foreword AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, is grateful for CIMMYT’s coordination of the international workshop, “Current Status and Perspectives of Vegetable Production in Central Asia.” Central Asia is undergoing dramatic changes. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, each of the republics was faced with the challenge of developing its own economy. After some serious difficulties, these countries are now emerging as market economies with reasonable rates of economic recovery and growth. This includes the vegetable sector, which has generally recovered to levels near those experienced during Soviet rule. Nevertheless, incomes of farmers remain very low; in fact, incomes in this region are lower than those found in many developing countries. Although poor economically, Central Asia has a rich bounty of natural resources. The region is the center of origin for many important vegetable crops, including onion, spinach, carrot and melons. Opportunities for germplasm collection and improvement are vast. Also, the region has impressive intellectual resources and their national agricultural research systems (NARS) are well established. Unfortunately, research and development (R&D) budgets are very low. National scientists have experienced a technology lag over the past decade and they need to become updated with new developments in agricultural science and information technology. Further complicating matters is the emergence of many new smallholdings from the break up of state-run collective farms. Fresh approaches are needed to serve this new clientele. With this as a background, AVRDC is pleased to begin targeted programs in the region. We have opened an office in Tashkent in collaboration with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Our aim is to work with the NARS to identify priority needs and then develop their skills through collaborative R&D programs. For now, we envision working with them to develop improved varieties, introduce modern crop management practices to farmers, preserve biodiversity, and increase information dissemination. In the future, the formation of a regional network is planned to develop synergies among the NARS and to generate new alliances among international research institutes and donor agencies.

Thomas A. Lumpkin Director General AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

CONTENTS

Map of Central Asia and surrounding area

V

OVERVIEW

1

Vegetable Research and Development in Central Asia: A Guideline for Setting Priorities under Data Scarcity M. Ali, T.A. Lumpkin, and U. Farooq AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, Shanhua, Taiwan

1 Introduction The Central Asia region is located between 39–48° N to 47–75° E, covering more than 4 million km2 of land, with a population of about 65 million. The six Central Asian countries studied for this report are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. About two-thirds of the total land in the region is occupied by just one country, Kazakhstan; nearly two-fifths of the region’s population resides in Uzbekistan and another one-fourth in Kazakhstan (Table 1). The region is a place of great social diversity as Mongolian, Russian, Turkish, Korean, European, Afghan and Iranian cultures blend together. The region as a whole has recently surprised many economic planners by generating one of the strongest rates of economic growth in the world. This was despite the initial difficulties in the transformation of these countries from centrally planned to marketoriented economies after gaining independence in 1991. The growth rate during 2002 reached a high of 7.6%, and is expected to stay at around 6% in coming years as market and structural reforms deepen (ADB 2003). Although increases in oil and gas exports Table 1. Socioeconomic status of Central Asia, by country Parameter

Unit

Azer. Kazak. Kyrgyz. Tajik. Turkm. Uzbek.Overall

Population (2000) 000 8,041 16,172 4,921 6,087 4,737 24,881 64,839 Pop’n growth (1995–2000)2 % 0.91 –0.53 1.53 1.18 2.39 1.78 26.40 Land area1 000 km2 87 2700 192 141 470 414 4,003 Population density in (1999)2 people/km2 93 6 26 43 10 60 16 Agriculture population (2000)1 % 27 20 26 34 33 28 26 Avail. of arable land (1999)2 ha/person 0.25 1.86 0.29 0.14 0.36 0.19 0.63 Area allocated to crops (1999)1 % arable land13.3 0.5 4.7 15.1 3.8 7.7 2.5 Area irrigated (1999)1 % cropland 73.4 7.8 74.7 83.6 106.2 88.3 28.5 Per capita GDP in 20013 US$ 650 1360 280 170 950 550 737 Growth in GDP during 20023 % 10.6 9.5 5.3 9.1 8.6 4.2 7.7 Agric. share in GDP (2002)3 % 15 9 50 na 25 30 20 Growth in agriculture GDP3 % 6.4 2.7 3.3 15.0 9.5 6.1 6.2 Incidence of poverty (2001)4 % 49 26 55 80 34 63 51 1

Sources: 1 FAO (2002, 1998, 1994); 2estimated from FAO data; 3ADB (2003); and 4The World Fact Book 2002 (2003).

2


are largely responsible for this high growth rate, the growth of the agriculture sector during 2002 was impressive as well at 6.2%. The region has several special characteristics. First, its climatic patterns limit most crop cultivation to only the cool-wet spring and hot-dry summer seasons. Second, population density as well as the proportion of the labor force engaged in agriculture is relatively low, implying a labor shortage for labor intensive agriculture in general and vegetable cultivation in particular. This underlies the importance of machinery in the agriculture sector. Third, per capita arable land is very small, suggesting a great pressure on land to meet the population’s food and fiber requirements. Fourth, only a small proportion of arable land is allocated to permanent crops and a large proportion goes to pastures and cereal crops, defining the food habits of the people in the region. Finally, a majority of crop area (except in Kazakhstan) is irrigated, which provides a great opportunity for the cultivation of vegetable crops. With the collapse of the old agricultural services system during the Soviet era, the new system, particularly in the vegetable sector has evolved its varietal development, seed supply, and extension programs. Such services formerly were centrally supplied through the commune heads in the Soviet era, but now these should be available to every farmer individually. However, infrastructure and institutions are needed to provide these services in the public and private sector. For the development of such institutions in an efficient manner, data are required at many disaggregated levels on such matters as crop production and marketing constraints, each at the eco-region level. However, institutions to collect such data were not established in Central Asia, as policy decisions were not made on the systematical analysis of data; rather they were based on discussions among commune leaders and their prejudices played a role in such decisions. Establishing data gathering institutions will require more resources and time. This study contemplates that policy planners can be consulted to get their informed views under the situation of missing data. Keeping in mind the number of vegetables involved, variation in their country-specific relative importance, and location-specific production problems, the resources available for vegetable research and development (R&D) are extremely meager and scattered in Central Asia. This clearly signifies the importance of a well-conceived prioritization strategy at all levels of research, development and policy planning. The present study is an attempt to address this issue with limited availability of data. Under this background, this study is designed to achieve the following goals for the vegetable sector in the region: 1) to review the past trend and present status; 2) to prioritize vegetable R&D activities; and 3) to suggest guidelines for future R&D. The data for this study were collected through a survey conducted with a pre-designed questionnaire from prominent researchers and policy planners in major Central Asian countries. The information sought in the questionnaire pertained to vegetable production over the past 10 years, including ecological factors and R&D priorities in their respective countries. It should be emphasized that the strategy adopted to gather

OVERVIEW

3

information here is only a second-best solution in the absence of data systematically collected through a first-hand survey based on well-defined sampling procedures. We explored secondary data as much as possible, and resorted to this option only when such data were missing. This report is organized in the following manner. The socioeconomic and physical environment in Central Asia is explained in the next section. This is followed by trends in the vegetable sector during the 1992–2001. Then the role of vegetables in the farming systems and the Central Asian diet is elaborated. With this information in the background, the distribution of vegetables in different agro-ecosystems as perceived by the respondent policy makers is explained. The next two sections are devoted to prioritize research issues and development tools for the vegetable sector. The last section concludes the paper with policy implications.

2 Physical and socioeconomic environment 2.1 Climate A range of climatic conditions, from arid deserts to polar mountains, are found in Central Asia (Table 2). Broadly, three seasons are observed: winter, spring, and summer. The temperature during winter is often below 0oC, and summer temperatures in some regions can go as high 40oC. The winter is dominated with heavy snowfalls, especially in the mountains. Most rains come during the spring, but these are generally scant, with less than 40 mm per month. The length of the winter and summer seasons vary across countries and regions within a country. For example, the northern part of Kazakhstan has long, chilly winters with mild summers, but Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have long, hot summers with mild and short winters. This variation in climate leads to crop diversity, especially in vegetable cultivation. For example, when temperatures are chilly in Kazakhstan, temperate vegetables can be grown in Uzbekistan at low cost, which can be traded to the cooler regions. Table 2. Climatic conditions in Central Asian countries Country

Climate

Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan

Dry, semi-arid steppe Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid Dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone Mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains Subtropical desert Mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east

Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

Source: The World Fact Book 2002.


4

On the other hand, when temperatures are very hot in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, tropical vegetables can be grown in Kazakhstan at low cost and can be traded to the hotter regions. The diversity in crop cultivation can also benefit from the variation in climate within a country. For example, when winter is extreme and long in northern Kazakhstan, it is relatively mild with more rains in the south (Figure 1). Therefore, temperate vegetables can be grown at low cost in the south and can be traded to the north during selected months in the spring and fall. On the other hand, the north is relatively more suitable for summer vegetables as it receives relatively more precipitation during this season. How-

Rainfall (mm) and temperature (°C)

Rainfall (mm) and temperature (°C)

50

Northern Kazakhstan

40 30 Rainfall

20

10

0 Jan

Feb

–10 –20

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Temperature

–30 90

Southern Kazakhstan

Rainfall

80 70 60 50

Temperature

40 30 20

10 0 –10

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Source: Country profile (Shorauly and Mahat 1998)

Figure 1. Average monthly rainfall and temperature in Kazakhstan

Nov

Dec

OVERVIEW

5

ever, the allocation of different vegetables in various regions based on their comparative advantages will require a strong transport and storage infrastructure, which is currently lacking in Central Asian countries. 2.2 Agricultural and political environments Wheat and cotton are the major crops grown in the region. Political rivalries among the Central Asian countries have led their governments to follow the path of food selfsufficiency (Baydildina et al. 2000). This has biased their agricultural systems toward cereal grain production, especially wheat. The input supplies, research, and technology dissemination all were geared toward wheat production. As a result, wheat production in Kazakhstan, a traditional wheat growing and exporting nation, suffered due to the loss of its traditional markets in Central Asian countries and other former Soviet Union states, while the production dramatically increased in wheat deficient countries, such as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This bias toward cereal crops has severely damaged the comparative advantage of various regions in producing high value horticulture crops, especially in those countries where wheat production was promoted despite its lack of comparative advantage. 2.3 Poverty and micronutrient deficiency The sudden collapse of the Soviet system increased the incidence of poverty in the region from 15% in 1992 to 66% in 2000 (Milanovic 1998). This poverty is not equally shared among all members of society. For example, an analysis of the Kyrgyz Republic’s poverty profile using household survey data has shown that poverty is more common in rural areas, in female-headed households, in households with large numbers of children, and for those with less education (Pomfret 1998). The increased incidence of poverty has negative ramifications on the consumption of high value crops. For example, in Kazakhstan, while average cereal consumption remained almost the same, per capita annual vegetable consumption decreased from 76 kg in 1990 to 55 kg in 1994 (Government of Kazakhstan 1995). Similarly in Turkmenistan, while the food budget share of cereals in diet increased from 26.4% in 1995 to 27.6% in 1997, the fruit and vegetable share decreased from 21.7% to 13.1% during the respective period. With increased poverty and reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables, micronutrient deficiencies may have become a problem in the region. For example, surveys by the National Institute of Nutrition in 1995 revealed that almost 50% of all women and up to 60% of pregnant women in Kazakhstan had at least some degree of anemia (Bauer et al. 1997). In Kyrgyzstan, while overall calorie consumption slightly increased, the consumption of iron decreased from 24 mg per day in 1993 to 19 mg per day in 1997. According to Babu and Reidhead (2000), the average protein intake of mothers in southern Kazakhstan is only 57% of the recommended level.

6


2.4 Declining support and investment in vegetables Public support for the agriculture sector in general, and for vegetables in particular, plummeted during the policy reforms started in 1991 after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. This decline in support particularly affected the development of new vegetable varieties, production and distribution of vegetable seed, extension services, input subsidies, and input supplies. Uncertainties in land ownership and the marketing system curtailed investment on land improvements and irrigation systems, which are critically required for vegetable cultivation. Moreover, lack of experience in private marketing led to dramatic increases in marketing margins and costs, and a reduction in the farmers’ share in the final value of a product. Although much of the railroad and road infrastructure from the Soviet era is still in reasonable working condition, reduced investment in their maintenance has probably deteriorated its quality. Kazakhstan has 11 million t of elevator and storage capacity, which appears to be in worse shape (Longmire and Moldashev 1999). Moreover, this infrastructure was built for the transportation of grain and is not suitable for fruit and vegetable storage. All these factors, in addition to the policy biased towards cereals, are detrimental to vegetable cultivation in the region.

3 Trends in the vegetable sector 3.1 Production The total area under all vegetables in Central Asia remained stagnant at about 399,000 ha during 1992–2000, although it first declined to the lowest level during 1993 but recovered in the subsequent years (Figure 2). The shock of policy reforms on vegetable area was not so great, except in Uzbekistan. The area of vegetables in Kazakhstan increased more than proportionately in other Central Asian countries as its share increased from 18.6% in 1992 to 25.7% in 2000 (Table 3). This may be because part of the abandoned wheat area was allocated to vegetables. The vegetable area in Kyrgyzstan almost doubled during 1992–2000, while it declined in Uzbekistan and remained almost stagnant in other Central Asian countries (with the exception of some yearly fluctuations). The increase in vegetable area in most Central Asian countries may be a survival strategy. As vegetables were not available in the public markets and a private marketing system was not established, farmers may have started producing vegetables in their home gardens to meet their daily vegetable requirements. In Central Asia, the average yield of vegetables has recovered from its decline of 1995–1999 (Figure 2). Although market reforms are far from complete, farmers have started adjusting to the new environment and the private sector has become active in vegetable production and marketing. Seed has started flowing from different regions within and across the republics. Moreover, farmers started learning themselves about vegetable production techniques, especially crop protection technologies. This helped to bring the average yield to the pre-reform levels in some countries, while some other

OVERVIEW

7

Area (million ha)

Area (million ha)

450 450

400 400

Growth in area = 1.31*

350 350

300 Production (000 t) Production (000 t)

8000 8 000 7500 7 500

Growth in production = 0.24NS

7000 7 000 6500 6 500 6000 6 000 5500

Yield (kg/ha) Yield (kg/ha)

20000 20 000

Growth in yield = –1.07* 19000 19 000 18000 18 000 17000 17 000 16000 1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

`998

1999

2000

Year Figure 2. Trends in area, production and yields of vegetables in Central Asia during 1992–2000

countries are still in the transition stage. The input-use intensity in agriculture in Kazakhstan (and for the same reasons in other Central Asia countries) has been dramatically reduced with the removal of the public sector input subsidies and other support (Longmire and Moldashev 1999). No empirical evidence exists to suggest how this affected vegetable cultivation, but our limited interaction with the policy makers in the region suggests negative ramifications on input use in vegetables. However, examining the trends, per ha yields of vegetables


8

Table 3. Area, production and yield of vegetables in Central Asian countries Year

Azerb.

Kazakh.

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

52.6 39.0 48.6 40.2 56.4 61.2 41.3 60.7 58.9

72.7 73.6 75.8 75.3 81.6 87.1 92.5 100.1 102.6

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

15.2 17.9 16.7 15.5 15.4 14.4 14.1 14.5 15.6

16.5 13.6 14.1 13.0 8.6 12.0 15.0 16.6 21.4

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

800 700 813 624 869 879 582 877 917

1,198 1,002 1,065 980 699 1,049 1,386 1,657 2,192

Kyrgyz.

Tajik.

Turkmen.

Uzbek.

Total

Area (000 ha)1 26.6 28.0 17.0 23.0 19.6 26.6 22.2 27.1 26.0 24.0 29.2 24.0 41.8 27.0 53.1 34.1 47.0 31.0

32.4 33.3 40.2 40.3 41.8 44.8 35.2 36.1 29.8

179.5 151.9 156.9 149.6 131.0 128.7 127.3 138.7 129.9

391.8 337.9 367.7 354.7 360.9 374.9 365.1 422.8 399.2

Yield (t/ha)2 15.2 24.2 17.9 21.7 16.7 22.4 15.5 23.5 15.5 25.9 14.4 26.5 14.1 13.6 14.5 12.5 15.6 15.8

15.2 17.9 16.7 15.5 15.4 14.3 14.1 14.4 15.6

23.6 23.0 23.8 21.5 23.2 22.6 22.6 23.1 23.8

20.0 19.5 19.6 18.1 17.4 17.4 17.2 17.6 19.8

Production (000 t)3 404 679 305 499 328 595 344 636 400 621 419 636 590 368 767 426 732 490

493 597 672 626 644 644 496 522 463

4,244 3,500 3,737 3,211 3,036 2,906 2,873 3,198 3,095

7,818 6,603 7,210 6,421 6,269 6,533 6,295 7,447 7,889

The area statistics for vegetables were provided by the national collaborators through a structured questionnaire in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. For other countries, this was estimated by dividing the FAO production statistics with the weighted average yield in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. 2 The vegetable yield in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan is the proxy of the weighted average yields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. 3 FAO (1994, 1998, 2002). 1

seem not seriously affected. It appears that some of the input intensity was unnecessarily supported by the public sector subsidies. Following the yield trend, total vegetable production also depicted the U-shape trend during 1992–2000 (Figure 2). It seems that due to a myriad of factors, such as a crisis in

OVERVIEW

9

wheat production in Kazakhstan and partial replacement of the public sector with the private sector marketing for inputs and outputs, the production during 2000 not only fully recovered from the shocks of policy reforms, but it surpassed the pre-policy reform level of 7.8 million t during 1992. However, vegetable yields and production might have reached even higher levels had there been no policy biased toward cereals. Most of the increase in vegetable production came from Kazakhstan, where it increased from 1.2 million t in 1992 to 2.2 million t in 2000 (Table 3). The contribution of Kazakhstan in total vegetable production of Central Asia increased from 15.3% to 27.8% in the respective period. Kyrgyzstan also experienced an impressive increase in vegetable production from 0.40 million t to 0.73 million t during 1992–2000. On the other hand, vegetable production in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan remained almost stagnant, and it declined in Uzbekistan from 4.2 million t to 3.1 million t during this period. 3.2 Per capita availability

Per capita availability (kg/annum)

The per capita annual availability of vegetables from domestic sources in Central Asia followed a reversal, but remained overall almost stagnant during 1992–2000 (Figure 3). It went down as low as 100 kg in 1998 from its level of 130 kg in 1992. During 2000, it stood at 122 kg. However, the distribution of per capita availability across countries has changed. The per capita vegetable availability from domestic sources increased in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, it declined in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while it remained almost stagnant in Azerbaijan (Table 4). Although no evidence is available, structural reforms of markets may have reduced vegetable consumption by poor families.

150 140 130 120 110

Growth in per capita availability = –0.78NS

100

90 80 1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

`998

1999

Year Figure 3. Trend in per capita availability of vegetables in Central Asia during 1992–2000

2000


10

Table 4. Per capita annual availability of vegetables (kg) in Central Asia during 1992 and 2000 Country

1992

2000

Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Total

107 71 93 123 126 197 131

114 136 149 80 98 124 122

Growth rate (%) 0.59 NS 9.79 * 9.79 * -5.58 * -4.34 * -5.23 * -0.78 NS

NS, * Nonsignificant and significant at the 5% level, respectively.

4 Role of vegetables in the farming systems and diet 4.1 Share in area The share of vegetable to cereal area is as high as 10% in Uzbekistan, but the average share in Central Asia is only 2.5% because of the low proportion in Kazakhstan. The share in Central Asia has nearly doubled from 1.5% in 1992 to about 2.9% in 1999 (Figure 4). This is because of the positive growth in vegetable area and overall decline in cereal area, especially in Kazakhstan. The share also increased in Kyrgyzstan from 4.6% in 1992 to 8.1% in 2000, while it decreased in Uzbekistan. In Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, it varied between 8–10% (Table 5). Although no data are available, the value of vegetables as a percentage of the value of cereal production must be much higher than the proportion of vegetable to cereal area, as vegetables are high value crops.

Percent share of vegetables to cereal area

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0 1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

`998

1999

2000

Year Figure 4. Percentage of vegetable to cereal area in Central Asia during 1992–2000

OVERVIEW

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Table 5. Percentage of vegetable to cereal area in Central Asia during 1992–2000, by country Year

Azerb.

Kazak.

Kyrgyz.

Tajik.

Turkmen.

Uzbek.

Total

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

8.41 5.55 7.76 6.67 8.86 9.85 7.02 11.34 9.14

0.32 0.33 0.37 0.40 0.48 0.56 0.81 0.92 0.84

4.61 2.67 3.57 3.93 4.29 4.74 6.79 8.64 8.11

10.11 8.16 10.12 10.67 9.96 9.53 6.84 9.00 8.18

10.14 7.82 6.59 10.05 10.86 11.70 5.91 6.39 4.41

14.95 12.66 10.26 9.09 8.58 8.88 7.26 8.35 9.72

1.54 1.34 1.52 1.60 1.76 1.98 2.38 2.88 2.51

4.2 Major vegetables produced

% of total vegetable area

Vegetable production in Central Asia has low diversity. Based on the individual vegetable area available in three countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), eggplant and onion alone cover about two-thirds of the total vegetable area. Other major vegetables grown in the region are carrots, cabbage, and cauliflower (Figure 5). 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Garlic

Turnip

Tomato

Pumpkin

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Carrot

Eggplant

Onion

0

Figure 5. Major vegetables grown in Central Asia during 2002

The root and bulb type is the main vegetable group, followed by fruit type, and then leafy and flower type. There was a slight increase in the root and bulb type of vegetables and a corresponding decline in the fruit type of vegetables during 1992–2002 (Table 6). Available data indicates strong justification for developing a vegetable network in the region. These countries generally grow the same vegetables (Table 7) and face similar constraints to production. In view of the limited human and financial resources dedicated to vegetable R&D in the region, it makes sense to collaborate in order to maximize impact.


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Table 6. Percent area of vegetable types grown in Central Asia during 2002 Percentage share Type of vegetable

1992

2002

Root and bulb Fruit Leafy and flower

50.8 35.8 13.4

52.2 34.0 13.8

Table 7. Major vegetables grown in selected Central Asian countries Country

Major vegetables (percentage share in total vegetable area)

Kazakhstan Cabbage (23.3), onion (19.1), eggplant (16.7), cauliflower (14.7), carrot (9.1), radish (9.3), sugar beet (6.1) Tajikistan Onion (40.0), eggplant (26.7), carrot (8.3), cabbage (7.7), cauliflower (5.7), pumpkin (3.7), tomato (2.0) Uzbekistan Eggplant (39), onion (19.9), carrot (11.0), cauliflower (7.2), cabbage (6.1)

4.3 Contribution to diet While access to the household consumption survey data conducted by various agencies in different countries of the region was unavailable, results reported elsewhere suggest that vegetables are an integral part of the Central Asian diet. For example, the contribution of vegetables and melons in the total diet was reported to be about 8% in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan (Baydildina et al. 2000).

5 Vegetable cultivation by agro-ecosystems As no data were available on the agro-ecosystem distribution of vegetables, respondent vegetable researchers in the Central Asian countries were asked about the percentage distribution of each vegetable type in different agro-ecosystems. The data was available only from three countries (Table 8). To estimate an overall distribution of all vegetables, the distribution of each crop was weighted by the proportion of production of the crop in comparison with the total vegetable production of all crops in each country. In terms of production ecology, vegetable cultivation in the Central Asian region is concentrated, about two-thirds or more of the produce is harvested in the hot-dry summer. Almost no vegetables are harvested during winter. This clearly underlies the serious seasonality problem in vegetable supplies in the region. To overcome the acute seasonality in vegetable supply, investments in R&D are required to promote vegetable cultivation during the winter. Another approach could be to promote inter- and intracountry trade from areas where winters are moderate and vegetable cultivation have a comparative advantage. Some crops, for example pumpkin, onion, eggplant, white gourd, tomato, and sweet

OVERVIEW

13

Table 8. Distribution of vegetables supplies by ecology in selected Central Asian countries

Vegetable

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Cool-wet Hot-dry Cool-wet Hot-dry Cool-wet Hot-dry spring summer spring summer spring summer

Bean, kidney Cabbage Cabbage, Chinese nonhead Carrot Cauliflower Corn, sweet Eggplant Garlic Gourd, bitter Gourd, white Onion Pepper, chili Pepper, sweet Potato Potato, sweet Pumpkin Radish Shallot Squash Tomato Turnip All vegetables

30 50 30 10 20 0 30 20 0 0 30 0 40 60 30 0 20.1

70 50 70 90 80 100 70 80 100 100 70 100 60 40 70 100 89.9

20 10 20 10 30 10 10 20 70 0 0 30 20 30 30.3

80 90 80 90 70 90 90 80 30 100 100 70 80 70 77.1

80 90 90 0 70 45.0

20 10 10 100 30 63.0

pepper are concentrated more in the hot-dry season than others. Oversupplies of these crops are likely during this season; therefore, market infrastructure and information should be developed to encourage the export of these crops to the other regions, especially in the tropics where these crops are difficult to grow during the hot season. On the other hand, some other crops, such as radish, carrot, cabbage, and shallot, can be grown in the cool-wet spring. More importantly, in some countries of Central Asia such as Uzbekistan, some crops have a larger share of their harvest concentrated in the cool-wet season than in others. The possibility of these crops to be grown in the winter should be explored. Moreover, trade of certain vegetables should be encouraged from the regions having comparative advantage to grow these crops in the cool-wet spring and winter. Home gardens account for 70–80% of vegetable production in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Tajikistan, vegetable cultivation is more evenly distributed among periurban, wheat-cotton, and home garden production systems, with home gardens accounting for 24% of production (Table 9).

14


Table 9. Distribution of vegetable supplies by production system in selected countries of Central Asia

Vegetable

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Peri- Wheat- Home Peri- Wheat- Home Peri- Wheat- Home urban cotton garden urban cotton garden urban cotton garden

Bean, fava Cabbage Cabbage, Ch. (head) Cabbage, Ch. (nonhead) Carrot Cauliflower Celery Corn, sweet Eggplant Garlic Gourd, bitter Gourd, white Lettuce Onion Pepper, chili Pepper, sweet Potato Potato, sweet Pumpkin Radish Spinach Squash Sugar beet Tomato Turnip All vegetables 22.3

6.0

71.8

60 50 50 50 30 20 60 60 30 60 40 20 40 50 -

0 10 20 10 50 0 0 0 50 0 30 70 50 30 -

40 40 30 40 -

60 50 35.3

0 30 40.4

40 20 24.2

20 80 40 40 20 40 30 10 10 20 -

0 15 0 10 20 20 0 0 10 10 10 10 0 20 0 10 5 20 10 0 10 10 10 10 9.5

0 15 0 0 10 10 0 0 20 10 0 10 0 20 0 10 10 30 0 0 10 60 10 0 10.2

100 70 100 90 70 70 100 100 70 80 90 80 100 60 100 80 85 50 90 100 80 30 80 90 80.2

In Uzbekistan, the main cultivation of almost all vegetables is concentrated in the home garden system, and leafy vegetables are entirely grown in home gardens. In Tajikistan, some vegetables such as leafy types, turnip, radish and carrot, are more concentrated in the peri-urban than other systems, while other vegetables such as pumpkin, eggplant, and sweet potato are concentrated in the wheat-cotton system. Garlic is mainly grown in home gardens.

6 Prioritization of research issues 6.1 Researchable issues Researchers were provided a list of R&D issues in the region, and they were requested to give a priority score for each issue in such a way that all scores would add up to 100

OVERVIEW

15

for a given commodity. The priority score for an issue for overall vegetables was estimated by multiplying the score in each column with the area share of each commodity in the total area of the country. These scores are presented in Table 10. The data from only two countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, were available, so priority discussion for the whole region should be carefully interpreted with this data constraint in mind. In Kazakhstan, overall infrastructure-related issues such as development of postharvest technology, efficient input supply system, and seed and seedling systems received the highest priority scores. This is followed by germplasm collection to improve the availability of material for varietal development. The development of cold- and heattolerant technologies and the training of trainers were next in priority. Research on salinity related technologies was not ranked highly perhaps because vegetables are not grown on saline soils. The research for varietal improvement of food quality was also not highly ranked in Kazakhstan. There were some variations in the R&D priorities across individual crops. For example, the development of seed and seedling systems was considered more important in pumpkin than other crops. Similarly, the development of

Table 10. Prioritization of research themes by vegetables in Central Asia Country/ Veg.

Varietal improv. PostCold Heat Salt Seed, Input Credit Germ. Crop Food Dis. harv. IPM tol. tol. mngt. sdling spply spply Traincoll. prod. qual. res. tech. tech. tech. tech. tech. syst. syst. syst. ing

Cabbage 13 Carrot 10 Cauliflower 9 Celery 13 Eggplant 12 Garlic 10 Gourd, bitter 10 Gourd, white 15 Onion 9 Pumpkin 15 Squash 10 Sugar beet 13 Tomato 15 Overall 11.2 Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Eggplant Garlic Onion Pumpkin Tomato Overall

7 5 3 5 5 7 5 5 5 5 5 8 7 5.4

20 40 10 30 10 30 10 25 10 30 10 20 0 30 10 30 10.3 26.5

3 3 0 5 4 0 2 5 1 5 3 3 8 2.4

Kazakhstan 4 13 9 9 2 15 4 5 7 8 5 13 5 8 5 5 6 13 5 13 3 17 3 9 3 15 0 15 5 10 0 15 4 14 3 5 5 10 5 5 2 15 5 5 4 13 5 5 0 10 0 15 4.6 12.5 5.3 9.0

9 8 5 5 5 9 5 5 10 10 10 8 10 7.7

0 12 12 3 15 12 5 9 13 5 10 10 0 10 10 0 15 10 0 10 13 0 10 15 4 13 15 5 10 10 5 20 10 5 10 10 0 10 10 2.3 11.5 12.2

5 8 13 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 8 10 8.9

4 10 10 15 7 7 12 5 7 5 5 8 5 7.0

Uzbekistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 3.2 3.0 2.0

10 20 0 5 10 10 20 0 7.5

10 10 20 5 15 10 5 10 30 10 15 10 20 5 10 8.4 11.0

0 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 1.1

5 0 15 5 5 10 10 10 6.9

0 10 5 5 5 15 10 15 0 0 0 10 10 0 10 15 6.4 12.0

5 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 1.7

16


post-harvest technology was considered far less important in celery and cauliflower than other crops perhaps because these crops are grown in the home garden or periurban production system near the consumption centers. In Uzbekistan, on the other hand, varietal improvement to increase productivity received highest priority. This is followed by the varietal improvement to enhance disease resistance, development of seed and seedling systems, and collection of germplasm to improve the availability of diverse material for the development of improved varieties. There was some variability in the ranking of these issues across crops. For example, varietal improvement to increase productivity was a higher priority for cabbage than for other crops, and breeding for disease resistance required much less attention for carrot, and no attention for pumpkin and garlic. 6.2 Agro-ecological dimensions of vegetable research The policy makers were requested to rank different agri-ecological regions in each researchable issue by assigning the priority score to each region in a way that the score adds up to 100 for each issue. The overall importance of the region was estimated by taking the weighted average of various issues in the region, where weights for each issue were taken from the last row in Table 9 for each country. The policy makers in the two Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, gave very high priority to various R&D issues in the peri-urban system. Over 60% of the score was awarded to research in the peri-urban system in these countries. However, relative importance of the wheat-cotton system and home garden system varies in the two countries. In Kazakhstan, the wheat-cotton system carried more than one-third of the weight, while home gardens were considered not important for R&D activities. In Tajikistan, on the other hand, home gardens carried about one-fourth of the score, while the wheat-cotton system was considered relatively less important. In Uzbekistan, the home garden system was considered most important for R&D activities, followed by the peri-urban system. The wheat-cotton system was given relatively less importance for such activities. These priorities for different production systems varied slightly over different issues in the three countries (Table 11). In terms of ecologies, researchers in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan do not feel any need and usefulness of R&D activities for vegetables during the winter, while Uzbekistan gave some score to promote vegetables in this season. The researchers in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan gave highest priority for the R&D activities for the hot-dry summer, while researchers in Uzbekistan preferred emphasis on the cool-wet spring (Table 12). The emphasis on different ecologies and cropping systems in different countries creates a scope for networking. Each country’s researchers can concentrate on the cropping system and ecology most suitable and rewarding to their situation, learn from other country researchers about the ecology less relevant to them, and contribute to other countries’ knowledge about ecologies with which they are less familiar.

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17

Table 11. Prioritization of vegetable R&D by production system in selected countries

R&D area

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Peri- Wheat- Home Peri- Wheat- Home Peri- Wheat- Home urban cotton garden urban cotton garden urban cotton garden

Germplasm collection 90 Varietal improvement for: Productivity 70 Quality 60 Disease resistance 70 Cold season technology 50 Heat, drought technology 50 IPM technology 80 Post-harvest technology 80 Salinity technology 40 Training 30 Seed & seedling systems 60 Input supply systems 70 Credit supply systems 50 Overall 62.2 1

0

10

60

0

40

40

20

40

15 30 30 50 50 20 20 60 70 40 30 50 35.6

15 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.2

60 60 100 50 40 50 70 60 61.11

0 0 0 0 60 0 30 40 14.41

40 40 0 50 0 50 0 0 24.41

40 40 40 50 40 30 20 30 30 30 30 50 37.1

15 20 10 0 20 40 70 40 20 20 30 25 23.1

45 40 50 50 40 30 10 30 50 50 40 25 39.8

Because no weight for each issue was available from Table 9, a simple average was taken over all the issues in a column to estimate the overall importance of the production system.

Table 12. Prioritization of vegetable R&D issues by ecology in selected countries

R& D area

Kazakhstan Fall- Cold Cool Hot- FallOver dry wet dry Overwintr wintr sprngsummrwintr

Germplasm collection 0 Varietal improvement for: Productivity 0 Quality 0 Disease resistance 0 Cold season technology 0 Heat, drought technology 0 IPM technology 0 Post-harvest technology 0 Salinity technology 0 Training 0 Seed & seedling systems 0 Input supply systems 0 Credit supply systems 0 Overall 0

10

30

60

30 40 30 30 30 40 10 30 60 60 30 10 30 20 50 15 25 60 20 30 50 0 40 60 50 20 30 50 20 30 10 40 50 30 30 40 30.7 28.3 41.0

Tajikistan Uzbekistan Cold Cool Hot- Fall- Cold Cool Hotdry wet dry Over dry wet dry wintr sprngsummrwinterwintr sprngsummr

0

0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10

90

10

20 80 10 20 80 10 30 70 70 - 100 10 20 80 10 30 70 15 50 30 70 20 40 60 15 15 50 50 20 27.8 75.0 16.4

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

70

20

60 30 80 10 70 30 30 0 40 50 70 20 75 10 40 10 60 20 70 15 70 15 60 20 61.9 21.7

Note: Because no weight for each issue was available from Table 9, a simple average was taken over all the issues in a column to estimate the overall importance of the ecology.


18

6.3 Safe vegetable technologies Improper use of pesticides in vegetable production creates serious human health problems for farmers and consumers as well as to the environment. The information on the use of pesticide on vegetables in Central Asia is scant, but policy planners in Kazakhstan believe that about 7.5% of the vegetables produced in their country contain excessive residues of pesticide. This use, they believe however, does not cause any harm to human health or the environment. Still, more research is needed to confirm their perceptions. The perceptions of policy planners about strategies needed to encourage safe vegetable cultivation were also gathered. Researchers in all the three countries, with a few exceptions of individual crops, gave first priority to promote production techniques such as protected cultivation, grafting and crop scheduling. Biological control and farmers’ training received relatively less priority, as they require complicated institutional arrangements (Table 13). Table 13. Pesticide saving strategies by crop in selected countries of Central Asia

Vegetable

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Biol. Prod’n Farmer Biol. Prod’n Farmer Biol. Prod’n Farmer control tech. training control tech. training control tech. training

Cabbage 10 Carrot 10 Cauliflower 15 Corn, sweet 10 Eggplant 20 Garlic 10 Gourd, bitter 20 Gourd, white 20 Horseradish Onion 15 Pepper, sweet Pumpkin 20 Radish Shallot Squash 20 Tomato Turnip Overall 14.3

60 70 50 70 50 60 50 50 60 50 50 57.2

30 20 35 20 30 30 30 30 25 30 30 28.6

40 30 40 40 40 50 30 60 50 50 60 36.3

40 50 10 40 0 0 50 0 30 0 0 40.2

20 20 50 20 60 50 20 40 20 50 40 23.5

20 25 20 20 10 30 30 20 20 21.9

70 50 60 60 70 50 50 65 60 58.7

10 25 20 20 20 20 20 15 20 19.4

7 Prioritization of development strategies Researchers were given options for strategies to develop the vegetable sector in their respective country, and asked to assign scores to each option in a way that the sum of the scores for all options is 100. Results of this analysis are discussed herein.

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19

7.1 Types of information In Central Asia, the extension system is almost non-existent. During the period when the region was part of the former Soviet Union, research results were disseminated through commune leaders. With the dismantling of the commune system and introduction of the private family farm system, researchers now have to reach individual farmers and convince them about the usefulness of their new technologies. Research organizations need to adapt to the new situation, and should develop or link with the departments to disseminate agriculture-related information for the welfare of the farmers. Once such departments are established, they should prioritize the types of information most effective and useful for the farmers. With the speed of change given the new realities in Central Asia, this stage may be in the near future. International organizations such as AVRDC can fill the extension gap in Central Asia by providing key information required to promote the vegetable sector. As resources of international organizations are limited, development efforts to generate such information should be prioritized. For this purpose the researchers in the region was asked about such key information, and results are reported in Table 14. Table 14. Prioritizing information types to be generated for improving the vegetable sector in selected Central Asian countries Information type

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan (Importance in percentage)

Improved varieties and their yield potential in alternative systems Information about seed source Variety specific information about planting time Crop specific information about alternative production technologies Crop specific information about major diseases and their control Crop specific information about major insects and their control Information on salinity management practices

10

10

40

15 5 25

40 10 0

20 5 5

20

20

15

15

20

10

10

0

5

Researchers in Kazakhstan gave high priority to information related to crop production practices followed by information related to vegetable diseases and their control. In Tajikistan, policy planners think that information about the source of seed supply for different varieties in various crops will be most useful to develop the vegetable sector in their country. In Uzbekistan, information about improved varieties and their yield potential in alternative production systems will be most useful for farmers.

20


7.2 Technology transfer Researchers in Central Asia were of the opinion that on-farm training of new technologies for vegetable growers is the most effective means of technology transfer (Table 15). The underlying reason for the option is that training farmers on their fields with practical demonstrations can help a large number of these new entrants to manage the sophisticated technical and economic environment in the vegetable sector. However, for the successful implementation of these technology-transfer options, the researchers themselves need to be efficient crop managers. Table 15. Preferences among technology-transfer packages in selected countries Information packaging


On-farm training of production technologies Demonstration plots Guide sheets Decision making computer tools

50.0 15.0 30.0 5.0

50.0 12.5 12.5 25.0

50.0 20.0 20.0 10.0

7.3 Strengthening the research capacity of national agricultural systems As regards to the priorities for improving R&D capacity in Central Asia, the respondent researchers from the three countries give their highest priority to germplasm exchange (Table 16). This implies that greater access of breeders to a wider range of germplasm for the development of advanced vegetable lines is crucial. The respondents also agreed that varietal testing and collaborative research trials were key priorities. Such trials not only provide access to elite lines for a large number of national scientists, but also improves their skill of advancing plant material and developing new varieties. Respondents also agreed that information exchange is of high priority. Table 16. Prioritizing areas for improving research and development capacity in selected Central Asian countries Information packaging


Germplasm exchange Varietal testing trials Collaborative adaptive research trials Demonstration of improved material and technology Information exchange Short-term training of the trainers Long-term degree training of the trainers Formal training of the farmers

20 18 17 10 15 5 5 10

32 17 17 0 17 17 0 0

25 18 17 15 15 3 0 7

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21

7.4 Involving the private sector From the experience in other developing regions, such as Southeast Asia, it can be concluded that the participation of the private sector and non-governmental organizations play a pivotal role in vegetable R&D activities. The three Central Asian countries supported an increased role of the private sector in the development of the vegetable sector in their respective countries, which is a good sign for generating competition and easing burdens on the national budget. However, there seems to be no consensus on the nature of such collaboration, as some countries wanted to allow the private sector free access on the breeding materials and technologies developed by the national and international centers, while others wanted to limit such access.

8 Summary and conclusions Vegetables are an important component of the cropping system and diet in Central Asia. Its share goes as high as 10% (Uzbekistan) in the cropping system and 8% (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) in the diet. With its favorable climate and available irrigated lands, the expansion of vegetable cultivation in the region has great potential. However, there are many challenges facing policy makers and vegetable growers: • Supplies are extremely seasonal in the region, as it is very costly to grow vegetables during the extreme winter. • The relatively poor farm-to-market infrastructure, absence of a well-defined market network, and primitive post-harvest handling technologies all make it extremely costly to connect local producers with consumers both in domestic and international markets. • Farmers cannot afford to make large-scale investments on vegetable cultivation and the purchasing power of domestic consumers is limited. • The labor supply is limited for vegetable cultivation. • The government’s main goal in agriculture is self-sufficiency in grain, which has created a bias toward grain production and against high value vegetable crops. The vegetable sector in most Central Asian countries seems to have recovered from the shocks of policy reforms, which aimed to convert the centrally planned economies to market-oriented economies. This is despite a minimal public sector investment on varietal development, seed production, and extension services in vegetable production and marketing. Although vegetable production has rebounded to its pre-reform level, it is much lower than its potential level. The available irrigated land and favorable environment during summer and spring can produce far more vegetables than currently are being produced in Central Asia. Mild, dry summers provide an opportunity to exploit the increasing demand for safe vegetables, as infestations of diseases and insects under such

22


an environment is low. Moreover, the export potential of vegetables produced in the favorable environment with minimum chemical use remains untapped. To identify the constraints limiting production in a sector, it requires comprehensive data at disaggregated levels; however, the institutions that are needed to collect and synthesize such data in Central Asia are lacking. To overcome this problem, key policy makers were surveyed on their opinions regarding vegetable production and priorities for R&D in the sector. From the survey of the respondent policy makers, it is clear that vegetable supplies face serious seasonal fluctuations. Vegetable cultivation is mostly concentrated during the spring and hot summer, but few vegetables are available during the winter season, which is quite long in some countries. The high annual per capita availability of vegetables in Central Asia hides these seasonal fluctuations, and seasonal shortages may create serious health consequences. Therefore, appropriate vegetable production and marketing technologies for winter are urgently required to overcome seasonality in vegetable supplies. The suitable crops and technologies for winter need to be identified and tested for this purpose. Another approach could be to encourage vegetable production where winters are mild, and link supplies from such regions to the regions where winter production is costly. To adopt such approaches, however, infrastructure, especially transport and storage, needs to be improved. Moreover, Central Asian governments have to remove their biases towards cereal self-sufficiency, and adopt competitive agricultural policies. The export potential to highincome markets of pesticide-free vegetables produced during spring and summer should be exploited. According to the estimates provided by the key policy makers in the vegetable sector, vegetable cultivation in Central Asia is concentrated on a few root, bulb and fruittype vegetables, such as onion and eggplant. These vegetables have low levels of micronutrients, which are lacking in the diets of much of the region’s inhabitants. Therefore, there is a need to increase the biodiversity in vegetable cultivation, particularly by introducing leafy vegetables, which generally are much higher in micronutrient content. The policy makers of different countries placed their priorities toward different R&D issues. Moreover, the agro-ecological dimension of these issues also varies in the region. With limited resources devoted to agriculture R&D, this creates a justification for networking. One country can specialize on certain issues for certain agro-ecologies in the region, and allow other countries to address other issues and other agro-ecologies on others. Then they can share the information across issues and agro-ecologies. The experience of AVRDC in developing such networking in vegetables can be helpful. The respondent policy makers were of the opinion that germplasm exchange is the most important tool to improve the capacity of their national research systems in vegetables. On-farm training of farmers was considered an important development tool to improve the vegetable sector in the region. The collaboration between the private sector

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and public organization for the development of vegetables was considered important, although its mode remains undefined.

Literature cited ADB (Asian Development Bank). 2003. Asian development outlook. Tokyo: ADB. Economics and Research Department. Babu, S. and W. Reidhead. 2000. Poverty, food security, and nutrition in Central Asia: a case study of Kyrgyz Republic, Food Policy 25:647–660. Bauer, A., D. Green, and K. Kuehnast. 1997. Women and gender relations: the Kyrgyz Republic in transition. Asian Development Bank. Manila, Philippines. Baydildina, A., A. Akshinbay, M. Bayetova, L. Mkrytichyan, A. Heliepesova, and D. Ataev. 2000. Agricultural policy reforms and food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Food Policy 25:733–747. FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations). 1994. FAO yearbook. Rome: FAO. FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations). 1998. FAO yearbook. Rome: FAO. FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations). 2002. FAO yearbook. Rome: FAO. Government of Kazakhstan. 1995. Statistical yearbook of Kazakhstan 1994. Almaty: GOSKOMSTAT (in Russian). Longmire, J. and A. Moldashev. 1999. Changing competitiveness of the wheat Sector of Kazakhstan and sources of future productivity growth. Economic Working Paper 9906. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. Mexico D.F. Milanovic, B. 1998. Income, inequality and poverty during the transition from planned to market economy. World Bank. Washington, D.C. Pomfret, R. 1998. The transition from a market economy, poverty, and sustainable development in Central Asia. CIES Seminar Paper 98-08, Center for International Economic Studies. Adelaide, Australia. Shorauly, K. and L. Mahat. 1993. Kazakhstan annual country profile, Almaty: AYNA Ltd. World Fact Book 2002. 2003. Country profile (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/fields/2046.html). Updated March 2003. Central Intelligence Agency. Washington, D.C.

Country Reports Kazakhstan

COUNTRY REPORTS: KAZAKHSTAN

27

Status and Prospects of Vegetable Growing in Kazakhstan S.B. Kenenbayev Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

An objective of the economic policies of Kazakhstan is restoring the republic’s capacity to nourish its population. Supplying its people with a year-round supply of food is a difficult task, especially with regard to vegetables and other seasonal foods, but Kazakhstan, with its abundance of land resources and a variety of climatic zones, has the capacity to satisfy not only its own basic food needs but to export food products as well. The consumption of vegetables per capita in a year, in accordance with scientifically proved norms, should reach 146 kg. Two million tons of vegetables are required to be grown in the republic to meet this requirement, but currently only 67% of this amount is being produced (Figure 1).

Vegetable consumption (kg/ person/ year)

Soil management is an important factor. Vegetable cultivation may remove many nutrients from soil, which may or may not be replenished through fertilization. When the large state-run vegetable farms were disbanded, their practice of using grassland rotations ceased. Since that time, soil quality has generally deteriorated under the newly created small-scale farms. After the nation’s agrochemical services were abolished, the inspection of soils was no longer carried out. Farm managers are no longer able to pay researchers for drawing agrochemical cartograms of their vegetable fields. Therefore, it is very difficult to assess a farm’s land resources and to establish recommendations for improving soil fertility. (146 kg recommended)

150 120 90 60 30 0

1995

1999

2000

2010

Year Figure 1. Consumption of vegetable per capita (kg/ year) and forecast for prospect

28


The sustainability and safety of our food production is also important. The application of unreasonably high doses of fertilizers (especially some sources of nitrogen) and the repeated use of pesticides has resulted in harmful residues of toxic chemicals found in or on our vegetables and potatoes. Positive growth of the agricultural industry was achieved in 1999, the first time during the years of reform. Gains in total production were mainly achieved due to a 20% increase in the volume of vegetables, melons and gourds, in which yields increased from 114 to 135 t/ha. Vegetable production continues to rise, although not enough to meet the needs of our population. To increase vegetable yields even further, we need to use high-yielding varieties that possess outstanding food quality as well as genetic resistance to diseases and insect pests. Major vegetables in Kazakhstan include white cabbage, onion, tomato and cucumber; minor vegetables include carrot, beet, and leafy greens. Marrow, eggplant and pepper are mostly imported from other regions. Among vegetables, white cabbage occupies first place, both in terms of sowing area and total production (Table 1). Cabbage is grown on 20,000–25,000 ha throughout the republic and its production level of 500,000 t satisfies the need of the population (an insignificant amount of early cabbage is imported from other Central Asia republics). Production and storage technologies for cabbage are well established in all regions of the republic. Sixteen varieties of white cabbage, including three early, four mid-season, and nine mid-late to late ripening varieties (five of which have excellent storage quality) are released in Kazakhstan up to now. Seventeen F1 hybrids, mainly from Dutch companies, have been introduced. Approximately 479,100 t of onions were grown on 22,800 ha in 2003 (Table 1). Nine varieties have been released for production: ‘Karatalskii’, ‘Octyabrskii’, ‘Strigunovskii mestnii’, ‘Bessonovskii’, ‘Tamara’, ‘Mereke’, ‘Tabys’, ‘Arai’, and ‘Igilik’. The dietary needs of onion consumption per capita are 15–20 kg. With our population of 15 million persons, 225,000–300,000 t of onion are needed for domestic use. Kazakhstan has traditionally exported onion, especially to the northern and central regions of Russia. It is possible to export 150,000–250,000 t presently. Tomato occupies 15–17% of the vegetable production area in Kazakhstan. Approximately 15,000–18,000 ha are grown with a total yield of 250,000–280,000 t annually (Table 1). These yields amount to 15–18 kg per capita, lower than the recommended amount of 28–30 kg per capita. Tomato production is concentrated in southern and southeast regions. The lack of tomato, especially fresh market tomato, is constantly felt in northern, western, east and central regions. Production of fresh market tomato in Kazakhstan is limited to 2.5–3.5 months due to weather constraints. Greenhouse production has nearly ceased due to high fuel costs. Scientific research and the practice of vegetable growers abroad show that it is quite possible to supply the population with fresh tomato for 6–8 months per year using all

Total harvest (000 t)

2021.0

542.0

20.5 18.0 26.0 18.0 25.0 20.0 16.5 35.0 18.0 13.9 12.0 23.5 21.0 27.9 22.6

15.0 15.0 30.0 13.0 21.5 18.5 16.0 19.0 18.0 15.0 10.0 23.1 18.0 17.5 20.0

351.7

0.8 0.6 3.8 0.4 1.5 3.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 1.3 0.7 0.3 0.9 2.4 17.5

10.0 12.0 26.0 12.0 16.0 24.0 10.0 14.5 9.0 13.0 10.0 16.0 22.5 22.0 21.0 479.1

0.2 0.3 3.8 0.3 1.8 3.7 0.5 0.6 0.1 1.4 0.0 0.3 1.1 8.7 22.80

11.0 12.0 17.0 11.0 18.5 16.5 12.0 20.0 14.8 12.0 10.0 17.5 15.0 16.0 15.6 243.8

1.0 0.6 2.9 0.6 1.2 2.7 0.4 0.7 0.4 1.3 0.1 0.5 0.6 2.9 15.6

11.0 16.4 18.0 15.5 13.8 12.9 9.6 16.2 10.0 13.5 14.0 12.4 12.0 14.2 407.1

1.6 0.5 7.3 0.2 3.5 5.2 0.8 0.6 0.6 1.7 0.8 0.7 5.3 28.7

Akmolin Aktyubin Almatin Atyrau East-Kazakhstan Zhambyl West-Kazakhstan Karagandin Kostanai Kzyl-Ordyn Mangistau Pavlodar North-Kazakhstan South-Kazakhstan Kazakhstan

1.6 0.7 5.3 0.6 3.5 3.2 0.8 1.0 1.4 1. 6 0.1 0.6 2.2 1.5 24.0

5.1 2.8 23.0 2.0 11.5 19.0 3.0 3.5 3.0 7.0 0.7 2.5 5.0 22.7 110.8

Province 13.5 14.0 23.0 13.0 19.0 17.0 13.0 22.5 16.0 13.9 10.1 19.0 21.0 17.0 18.2

Total Cabbage Tomato Onion Cucumber Other Area Yield Area Yield Area Yield Area Yield Area Yield Area Yield (000 ha) (t/ha) (000 ha) (t/ha) (000 ha) (t/ha) (000 ha) (t/ha) (000 ha) (t/ha) (000 ha) (t/ha)

Table 1. Production areas and yields of major vegetable crops grown in provinces of Kazakhstan, 2003

COUNTRY REPORTS: KAZAKHSTAN 29

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available technologies. The availability of fresh market tomato may be increased through the production of varieties with extended storage quality in southern regions of the country and then storing and transporting the produce throughout the republic. Varieties ‘Plamya’ and ‘Samaladay’ (created at the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming) can be stored for 1.5–2.0 months and are suitable for shipping. Cold storage facilities may also extend the shelf life of harvested tomato, but no major facilities are available at this time. Nineteen varieties of tomato for open field (four early varieties, eight mid-early, four mid-season, and three mid to late ripening varieties) have been released in Kazakhstan. Breeding work regarding tomato is conducted only at the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. Seven varieties have been created, five of which have been released for production. Among the varieties is ‘Flame’, which has very firm fruits suitable for long-term storage and long-distance transportation. Cucumber is grown on 10–12% of the republic’s overall vegetable production area. Cucumber breeding involves selecting local varieties, obtaining seed from mixed pollinations at the collection nursery, estimating resistance to diseases, and searching for sources of resistance to mildew. Eleven open-pollinated and F1 hybrid varieties, including ‘Krepysh F1’, ‘Medeu’ and ‘Shilde’ developed by the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming, are grown in the open field in Kazakhstan. A total of 7,000 ha of six garden carrot varieties and 6,000 ha of four red beet varieties are produced annually. Varietal improvement activities are conducted at the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. This institute has the original material of ‘Shantane 2461’ carrot and ‘Bordo 237’ red beet. Watermelons, melons and gourds occupy about 30,000 ha, with approximately equal shares of watermelons and melons. Eleven varieties of watermelons and three varieties of melons are grown. Increased attention has been given in recent years to the selection of pumpkin varieties— ‘Aphrodita’ and ‘Karina’ of the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming have passed evaluation tests and are released for production now. Pumpkin varieties ‘Mozoleevskaya 10’, ‘Dunganskaya 6’, ‘Mantnaya’, ‘Kustovaya 6’ have been grown for years. Taking into account the locality of varieties used and their low yields, it is urgently needed to develop improved varieties. It is necessary to renew the selection of garlic and to begin long-term programs for the improvement of such vegetables as white cabbage, carrot and pepper. Varieties of many vegetables with wide adaptability, high productivity, good quality and storability, and resistance to major diseases are needed. Noteworthy needs include the following:

• ultra early ripening tomato; • early ripening tomato for processing;


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• large-sized, multi-purpose varieties of tomato with concentrated maturity in the early to mid-season, with high solids contents as well as good storing and shipping qualities;

• tomatoes suited for sheltered production; • heat-resistant cabbage varieties, especially for mid to late season harvesting, that is suited for pickling and long-term storage;

• cucumber (including gherkin) and lettuce varieties with high productivity and resistance against diseases and environmental stresses;

• melon and watermelon varieties of various maturities with high productivity, eating quality, and value-added properties; and

• improved varieties of table root crops (beet, carrot and radish). Looking to the future, these and other priorities can be met more rapidly and efficiently through the use of molecular tools in breeding. The availability and diversity of genetic resources are also key factors for success. The greater the availability and diversity of resources, the higher the probability of creating superior varieties. Related to this is the vital task of collecting, evaluating, managing, and utilizing the republic’s wide diversity of vegetable and melon types. The collection and management of genetic resources is an important activity of the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. We have collected 5,200 samples of 104 species and varieties. There are 1,200 selected and local varieties under long-term storage. A total of 3,050 samples represent selected hybrids and other accessions, which are used as the initial material for breeding works, and 1,030 samples are available in the working collection for evaluation and reproduction. A total of 220 vegetatively propagated samples are maintained. Approximately 3,900 samples have been characterized, 2,200 of which are entered into catalogues. Germplasm evaluation and regeneration activities are conducted regularly. Research activities on seed storage methods are ongoing. The success of agricultural production for any crop is dependent on the provision of quality seed. It is estimated that 550–600 t of vegetable-melon seed is required every year in Kazakhstan (Table 2). Approximately 3,000 ha of seed production is required to meet this need, 620 ha of which is under vegetative propagation. In response, we need to produce more seeds of available varieties, create and disseminate new varieties, and restore older varieties which were lost. There is no formal seed selection done for many varieties grown in Kazakhstan today, and peasants often sow their fields using seed materials of poor quality. The seeds, sold at the local markets, usually come from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan; the seeds from two latter countries often represent poor quality material generated without selection. Studies show that 10–60% of such seeds obtained in such manner deviate from the original variety.

1

Includes waternelons, melons and gourds

0.5 3.0 15.0 4.5 5.0 3.0 7.0 2.0 40.0

0.30 0.40 0.60 0.20 0.05 1.55

Cabbage Tomato Cucumber Onion Carrot Beet Melons1 Other Total

0.01 0.30 0.80 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.30 0.10 1.78

16.0 12.0 10.0 11.0 7.0 6.0 30.0 15.0 107.0

Vegetable

0.20 0.30 0.30 0.10 0.10 1.0

Crop Superelite prod’n Veget. Seed Harvest Veget. (000 ha) (ha) (ha) (kg) (ha) 0.05 1.0 2.0 0.10 0.10 0.03 2.0 0.5 5.78

Elite Seed (ha) 10 30 100 35 16 15 130 15 351

6.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.5 12.5

2 0.420 15 0.800 20 2.1 5 1.8 3 0.700 1.0 0.900 40 4.5 5 0.6 91 11.820

280 150 100 60 15 605

112 400 420 300 200 100 1300 150 2982

-

First reproduction Second reproduction Harvest Veget. Seed Harvest Veget. Seed Harvest (kg) (ha) (ha) (kg) (ha) (ha) (kg)

Table 2. Annual requirements for crop production, vegetative and seed propagation, and seed harvest of selected seed types for major vegetables grown in Kazakhstan, 2002–2005

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More than 400 variety samples of about 40 species of vegetables and melons from foreign countries were recently evaluated at our Institute. A number of varieties were highly rated for their economically valuable attributes; some of these have come into the State register of selection achievements and are admitted for use in the republic in accordance with results of the State’s variety-testing. But the overwhelming majority of the foreign variety samples are inferior to varieties already released for production in Kazakhstan or the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Many varieties produced by foreign seed companies do poorly and have been rejected by local farmers. Seed production without inspection and quality control is not acceptable. With so many small farms, concerns have been raised that seed of cross-pollinated varieties may be grown without adequate isolation; this matter must be addressed. The bioclimatic potential of Kazakhstan may allow for the organization of seed production farms for vegetables, melons and gourds that satisfy the needs of domestic farmers as well as foreign markets. The modernization of our systems for seed production is urgent. The formation of quality breeding stock materials and the production of superelite and elite seeds are required. Achieving this requires a well-organized and state-supported network for quality seed production. There should be a complete integration of science with seed production immediately. The creation of incorporated businesses for breeding, selecting, producing and marketing seed is needed. Such businesses can predict consumer trends, establish feasible plans for the creation of new varieties, and use modern scientific techniques to produce what the market demands. Taking into account the substantial growth of the share of vegetable production within the private sector, it is necessary to pay greater attention to the increase of varieties and the assortment of practices recommended for vegetable cultivation in gardens and smallscale farms. The Institute is developing improved technologies that sustain natural resources while obtaining high yields of high quality crops and seeds. Short-duration crop rotations are being developed for vegetable cooperatives and farms in which fertilization and pest management practices are evaluated. Seed production practices are also being developed. The scientists of the Institute are maximizing the impacts of their research through an intensification of extension activities. The need is great—within the next three years, it is estimated that it will be necessary to increase tomato production by 1,200 ha, cucumber by 1,000 ha, and onion by 1,000 ha. In connection with the deficiency of cabbage seed, especially heat-resistant varieties, the Institute has been conducting research since 2002 to identify superior types within local materials. Activities for propagating and disseminating new varieties of tomato, cucumber, onion, table root crops, and other vegetables will be extended. A total of 242 varieties, including tomato (38 varieties), cucumber (37) white cabbage (33), melon and onion (11 each), watermelon (10), sweet pepper and garden radish (9 each),


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garlic and table beet (6 each), cauliflower (5), lettuce, fennel, marrow and pumpkin (4 each), as well as other miscellaneous types were admitted for use in Kazakhstan during 2000. The share of the varieties selected within Kazakhstan is 28 varieties, 25 of which are varieties created by the Institute. The Institute has the initial seed material of: ‘Oktiabrskii’, ‘Mereke’, ‘Tabys’, ‘Arai’ and ‘Igilik’ onion; ‘Plamya’, ‘Meruert’, ‘Samalday’, ‘Luchezarnyi’and ‘Narttay’ tomato, ‘Krepysh F1’, ‘Medeu’ and ‘Shilde’ cucumber; ‘Iliiskaya’, ‘Alena’, ‘Taisia’ and ‘Altynochka’ melon; ‘Mejdurechenskii’ watermelon; ‘Dunganskii 12/6’ garden radish; ‘Mozolevskaya’, ‘Karina’ and ‘Aphrodita’ pumpkin; ‘Kainarskii’ and ‘Vodolei’ onion-shallot; ‘Zailiiskii’ and ‘Arman’ garlic; and ‘Kaskelenskii’ fennel. Fifteen varieties of vegetables and melons selected by the Institute are under trial. These include: ‘Azat’ cucumber; ‘Avgustin’ and ‘Vodolei’ onion; ‘Zarya Vostoka’ tomato; ‘Akmaral’, ‘Sharyn’, ‘Kaynarka’ and ‘Maiskaya’ melon; and ‘Medok’, ‘Stoksik’, ‘Krasnosemyannik’ and ‘Karagalinets’ watermelon. In the future, it is necessary to fulfill the following measures for improvement of the vegetable-melon breeding and seed production system in Kazakhstan:

• contact former seed production farms and document their current activities; • develop a list of seed production farms, keeping in mind requirements of spatial isolation and unique soil-climatic characteristics available for seed production;

• organize an association of enterprises that wish to be engaged in seed production at the regional and national level, for example, on the basis of the former association “Sortsemovosh”;

• organize seed production facilities and equipment for cleaning, separating and treating seeds;

• modernize seed production activities for all released varieties; • concentrate on producing elite and super-elite seeds of foreign varieties recommended by domestic research establishments, experimental stations and experimental-industrial enterprises;

• assign responsibilities for producing super-elite and elite seed of varieties to all of their originators irrespective of their location;

• organize a selection-seed-breeding center for Kazakhstan at the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming and give the center responsibility for managing vegetable-melon seed production;

• accelerate the creation and dissemination of our own varieties;


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• involve farms created from former seed-growing enterprises, and utilize their experience and equipment for producing seeds;

• improve state-run organizations related to soil conservation and seed quality assurance;

• review and republish normative documentation (rules, instructions and methods), regulating seed production in view of the developing market attitudes and with reference to the local features of the republic; and

• reorient scientific directions of the republic for creating vegetable-melon varieties for intensive production taking into account soil, climatic, economic and other relevant factors.

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Mechanization of Vegetable Production in Kazakhstan Z.K. Kuatbekov Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Advances in science and technology have introduced new trends for vegetable farming in Kazakhstan. Increased levels of mechanization have markedly reduced the manual labor expenditures in vegetable farming. The increase of mechanization is maximizing yields and improving the quality of products to consumers. Mechanization also enhances the efficiency of labor, thereby reducing overall production costs. Also, the physical burdens of farm laborers have been significantly reduced. Currently the levels of mechanization in vegetable farming in the republic account for 50–60% of all planting operations, 20–30% of pre-harvest crop maintenance, and 20–25% of harvesting. The amount of labor required in vegetable production may exceed 120 man-hours per hectare, making it difficult for a farm family to manage production by itself. The emerging situation has prompted the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming of Kazakhstan to undertake significant efforts aimed at designing technologies of vegetable production, which will maximize yields while reducing labor expenditures. The Institute’s researchers have bred new varieties fit for mechanized harvesting, corrected the times of sowing and harvesting, developed new production technologies, improved irrigation and mineral fertilization practices, improved weed management practices, and have experimented with new machinery and their working parts. For example the development of improved tomato production practices requires the integration of variety selection, crop production practices, plant protection, ecological management, and organization of labor. The task of our breeders is to create high-yielding varieties suited for once-over mechanized harvesting. Other agricultural researchers are focusing on developing methods of growing seedlings, applying fertilizers and irrigation water, and developing plant beds. Through related research, the harvesting of tomato by the SKT-2 combine and other agricultural machines has been developed. The development of technology for vegetable crops cultivation and its introduction into farmers’ fields includes the following stages: a) research and design; b) testing of individual parts and devices; c) designing of models; d) testing of models under operational conditions; and e) introduction of mechanized technology to farmers. Following such a pattern, Institute staff and the Machinery Checking Testing Station specialists have designed and introduced to farms the industrial technologies for carrot and late-season cabbage cultivation. For the cultivation and harvesting of carrot, both


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industrially manufactured machinery and machinery that was re-equipped by our specialists were employed. For soil preparation, recommended practices include deep plowing, surface tillage, and leveling. Two initial inter-cultivations are performed using finishing cultivators KFO5,4 with 6 to 9 cm and 8 to 10 cm depths of cultivation. The subsequent inter-cultivations are performed with KTS-4 red beet cultivators. The use of herbicides eliminates up to 90% of weeds. During the vegetative period, 5 to 8 irrigations are performed using DDN-70 sprinklers. Harvesting can be performed using tuber harvester EM-11. The harvested carrot is conditioned using sorting lines PSK-6 and LSK-20. These mechanized technologies of carrot production can lead to yields of 3.1 t/ha, which are much higher than the yields of 2.4 t/ha obtained through the use of conventional non-mechanized technologies. After the sowing/planting of a crop, mechanized operations can cultivate the soil surface, thin plants and control weeds, as well as apply herbicides, mineral fertilizers, and irrigation water. In the case of cultivating seedbeds of vegetable crops, rotary cultivators or grubs MVN-2,8 are used. The KPN-4,2, KON-4,2, and KRN-5,6 cultivators and chisel cultivators FPU-4,2, FPN-2,8, and KF-4,2 are widely used in vegetable growing for cultivation, fertilizing, and building up soil around plants. The harrow BSO-4 is employed for cleaning of carrot, red beet and onion beds. The mechanical weeding in rows of transplanted varieties is performed by PAU-6 and PAU-4 weeders. The sprinklers KI-5 “Raduga”, DDA-100 MA and in some occasions DKSh “Volzhanka” are widely used for irrigation. The disease and insect pest control and weeding operations are performed by beam-type sprayers ON-400, POU, OVT-1.0A and OPVSh-1500-01 and also dusters such as OshU50. Harvesting is one of most labor-consuming procedures in vegetable growing, accounting for 55–70% of total costs. Such high costs arise initially from poor mechanization of harvesting procedures connected with repeated harvesting. For cabbage, the employment of a POCh-2 platform saves labor costs by a factor of 2 to 2.5 times compared to manual harvesting. For harvesting of mid-season and late-season cabbage, the body modification of POCh-2 platform, vegetable harvesting conveyer TN-12, or MSK-1 combines are employed. The MSK-1 combine is recommended for harvesting cabbage since it provides the harvested heads with an attractive and marketable appearance. The platform harvesters POU-2 and TTP-12 as well as vegetable harvesting conveyers are widely used for those varieties which vary in ripening time and require repeated harvesting. The SKT-2 combine, PT-3.5 trailer, PVSV-0,5 loader (equipped with KON0,5 container-dumper), and SPT-15 grading station are industrially manufactured for once-over tomato harvesting. In specialized farms, the line harvesting of root and bulb crops is widely used. For carrots, the procedure includes digging the roots using EM-11 (MMT-1), loading of

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roots onto trucks, processing the roots using grading-cleaning station PSK-6, and then loading into containers. The PML-6 digger is used for harvesting of onion. For postharvesting processing the pre-cleaning line PML-6 is manufactured consisting of collecting hopper PB-15A, screen cleaner STL-6, three selecting tables PSL-6, station LPS-6, roller cleaner OVL-6, grading SAS-7, four hopper-diggers PB-15A, and conveyers STH-30. The industrial technology and all abovementioned factors allow for lower costs of production and higher quality of products to consumers.


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The Status of Vegetable Production in Greenhouses in Kazakhstan G.S. Kusainova Kazakh National Agrarian University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The traditional diet of Kazakhstan includes high consumption levels of meat, fat, sugar, and canned foods. These foods provide energy, but are poor in vitamins and other micronutrients needed for good health. Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamins and minerals in human diets. Thus, increasing vegetable production in greenhouses can help people eat a healthier diet year-round. Greenhouses are used in winter for the production of off-season vegetable crops and for the production of vegetable transplants for summer crop production. Until the 1990s, Kazakhstan had more than 20 large greenhouses and operations were expanding. Most large greenhouses were built near cities and industrial centers during the 1970s to 1990s. In this period greenhouses replaced almost all hotbeds on farms. Then in the 1990s, the Soviet Union disintegrated and an economic crisis began. Tomato and cucumber are the main winter greenhouse crops in Kazakhstan. Average yields for these crops are 6–8 and 8–15 kg/m2, respectively. Reasons for such low yields are poor climate control within greenhouses, inferior varieties, low quality seedlings, improper plant densities, poor soil fertility, and inadequate disease and insect pest management. As a result, early and total yields and production efficiencies are reduced. Many greenhouses have ceased operation due to economic difficulties. Looking at vegetable production under protective shelters overall, it is clear that the importance of winter and spring greenhouses is declining in comparison to less costly hotbed and heated soil production practices. Due to high costs for energy, the percentage of protected shelter production grown in winter greenhouses declined from 64.2% in 1993 to 29.2% in 2000. Due to the high costs of polyethylene film, a similar tendency was found in spring greenhouses, with overall protective shelter production in spring greenhouses declining from 32.4% to 2.3% over the same time period (Table 1). Hotbed production gained in importance in the early 1990s, but then became almost negligible in 2000. In contrast, the percentage of protected crops grown in heated soils rose from 1.0% in 1993 to 67.9% in 2000. In Almaty, the area under winter greenhouses increased and occupied 64.6%, 82.7% and 99.4% of protective shelter cultivation areas during 1993, 1995 and 2000, respectively. In 2000, the heated soil production was concentrated in the Karaganda region, where it occupied an area of 770,000 m2 and in Akmola region where it occupied 6,300 m2. By 2000, winter greenhouses in Atyray and Mangystay regions each had 6 ha of hydroponic production. A total of 24 ha of winter greenhouse production were in

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Table 1. Protective cultivation of vegetables in Kazakhstan 1993 (000 m2) Winter greenhouses Spring greenhouses Hotbeds Heated soil Total

2 072 1 045 77 34 3 228

(%) 64.2 32.4 2.4 1.0 100.0

1995 (000 m2) 1 916 528 605 22 3 073

(%) 62.4 17.2 19.7 0.7 100.0

2000 (000 m2) 333 331 26 790 7 023 776 300 11 434 444

(%) 29.2 2.3 0.6 67.9 100.0

Kokchetav (today Akmola), 23 ha in East Kazakhstan, and lesser areas of winter greenhouse production were in Zhambyl, West Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions. High energy prices and irregular supplies of electricity and fuel have led to heating problems in greenhouses, the remedy of which will require major investment. The liquidation and privatization of collective and state farms worsened the situation further because in many cases the greenhouses were not given to specialists, but rather to people who only have a vague idea of agricultural and especially vegetable production. Because of economic difficulties (especially high energy prices), remaining enterprises had to work during the winter-spring season. These practices caused irrational and partial functioning of winter greenhouses in many situations. The subsequent decline in greenhouse production area has led to a reduction in gross output of vegetables in the republic as a whole. Nowadays, off-season vegetable production is focused in Almaty and Karaganda regions. Poor sales of greenhouse products remain a major problem. For example in Almaty, the peak harvest from greenhouses occurs when the city’s markets are full of cheaper production from the fields of other Central Asian republics. This situation reduces the profitability of vegetable production in greenhouses. In search of profitable markets, Almaty’s vegetable growers are exporting their winter greenhouse products to Russia, and in particular, to Siberia and Altay. As a result, the local population does not benefit from increased consumption of vitamin-rich vegetables. Some greenhouses are changing their operations to the production of flowers or other crops. Nevertheless, there are still large greenhouses today that produce tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper and spring onion. In spite of difficulties, off-season vegetables are still grown in greenhouses and we are working to improve greenhouse production area and yields. In the future, more attention should be directed toward the creation of modern greenhouses near large cities, especially in such a metropolis as Almaty. Existing greenhouses should be supplied with new technologies to save fuel resources and maximize the efficiency of production.


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Status and Prospects of Vegetable Seed Development in Kazakhstan B.M. Amirov Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The global trends of agriculture show that vegetable production is steadily increasing. Over the past 10 to 12 years, vegetable production worldwide has increased by more than 40%; this has led to an increase in per capita production from 89 to 110 kg per year in spite of population growth from 5.2 to 6.2 billion people. In Kazakhstan, per capita production of vegetables rose from 68 to 120 kg per year during 1990 to 2001. Vegetable production rose during this period from 1.14 to 1.78 million t and the vegetable production area was 1.5 times higher. Average vegetable yields rose from 15.4 t/ha to 16.6 t/ha from 1990 to 2001. Today most of the vegetable production is done within the private sector. In spite of increases in sowing area and production volume of vegetables in Kazakhstan, there is a lack of seeds. In our republic, each year the seed requirements for vegetable and melon crops is 80–100 t and more than half of this seed is supplied from abroad. To solve this problem it is necessary to have an improved system of seed production that is based on the release of new open-pollinated (OP) and hybrid varieties with improved traits (higher yields, greater resistance to stresses and pests, and improved food quality). This development could increase production by 30–40%. The present breeding strategy of vegetable crops is the development of varieties which are adapted to local farmer conditions, resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses, environmentally safe, flavorful, marketable and storable. Varieties must be uniform and have specific qualities, for example, cabbage heads should weigh about 1–2 kg, carrots should be uniform and not overgrown, and beets should be 120–200 g in weight. In Kazakhstan more than 240 varieties of vegetable and melon crops, including 200 varieties for open field production, have been officially registered for use. But seed production of many varieties of major vegetable crops (cabbage, tomato, cucumber, pepper, and eggplant) are produced only in small amounts, and sometimes no seed is produced for varieties of minor vegetable crops or traditional varieties. A lack of resources and technologies to support national research programs in genetic improvement and seedling production have caused local farmers to turn to varieties of foreign origin. Many business firms and private tradesmen are engaged in marketing foreign varieties. However, many of these foreign varieties are not adapted to local soil and climate conditions and are susceptible to many diseases. The use of foreign seeds can create outbreaks of diseases, for example, bacterial diseases on cabbage, root rot on

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root vegetables, and downy mildew on cucumber—some of these diseases were not known before in the region. Although many foreign varieties perform poorly, others are in high demand due to their adaptability, uniformity, and high yield qualities. Looking ahead, if breeding research in Kazakhstan is limited to only 4–6 species of vegetables, it is expected that fewer vegetables of locally developed varieties and more of foreign varieties will be sold in our vegetable markets. The Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming has recently evaluated more than 400 samples of about 40 species of vegetables and melons. Some of these foreign varieties rated highly, and according to the results of State-run testing, half were added to the State register of breeding achievement and accepted for use in Kazakhstan. But many varieties were inferior to locally developed varieties; this finding is reinforced by the poor sales of many foreign varieties in Kazakhstan. Seed production of foreign varieties sold in markets of Kazakhstan are likely to come from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan; seeds of the latter two countries are of low quality and may have impurity levels of 10–60%. Now in Kazakhstan there is major deficiency of heat-resistant cabbage varieties that mature in the mid to late season and can be used for pickling and long-term storage. We also need large-fruited, multi-purpose tomato varieties that mature in the early to midseason, have high solids content, and ship and store well. Disease-resistant and multipurpose cucumber varieties are needed. Also, the demand for seeds of root vegetables (for example, beet, carrot, garden radish, and black radish) are increasing lately. In response to these and other deficiencies, we need to produce more seeds of available varieties, create and disseminate new varieties, and restore older varieties which were lost due to lack of communication among governments or breeders during the last 10–12 years. Seed quality cannot be maintained without seed inspection systems. Some farmers grow food crops near seed crops and there is a danger of seed crops losing their genetic purity. The distribution of seed producers and the proper isolation of varieties grown for seed warrant consideration. Most farmers today who wish to produce vegetable seed require simple, small-scale and affordable equipment. At the present time, vegetable yields are low in Kazakhstan and seed production is laborious. It is important to create technologies that can help farmers to mechanize their operations, reduce costs of labor, increase yields, and increase efficiencies of production. The bioclimatic diversity of Kazakhstan allows it to produce the vegetable and melon seed required by all of its farmers as well as offer opportunities for exportation of seeds. The greatest need that must be addressed is the establishment of an organized system that allows the country to grow its own seeds for its main vegetable crops. This involves the creation of breeding stock, generating quality seed, and then producing it on a commercial scale. This problem cannot be solved without governmental support.


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The complete integration of science and seed production enterprises must take place immediately. The creation of incorporated businesses for breeding, producing and marketing seed is needed. Such seed companies will be able to accurately predict consumer trends, establish plans for the creation of new varieties, and use scientific techniques to produce quality seeds. Taking into consideration the rising importance of the private sector in vegetable production, it is necessary to increase the diversity of varieties and crops that are recommended for growing in gardens and small-scale farms. Scientists from the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming are making efforts to maximize the impacts of their work. Specific targets reflecting the rising need of vegetable and melon seed production have been planned. Within the next few years it is will be necessary to increase the crop production area of tomato by 1,300 ha, cucumber by 1,500 ha, and onion by 1,000 ha. The Institute is working to reestablish and improve the breeding stocks used for varieties of regional countries’ breeding programs as well as local varieties of ancient origin. Breeding stocks of table carrot, table beet, leafy greens, melon and vegetable legume crops, decorative and some medicine plants have been improved. In connection with the deficit of cabbage seeds, especially heat-resistance varieties, the Institute began in 2002 to study its available breeding materials and identify suitable materials for local growing conditions. Projects related to the regeneration and production of new varieties of tomato, cucumber, onion, table root vegetables have also been intensified. In the Institute, the regeneration of newly released varieties is being conducted. These varieties include: ‘Samaladay’, ‘Narttay’ and ‘Luchezarnii’ tomato; ‘Medeu’ and ‘Azat’ cucumber; ‘Karina’ and ‘Aphrodita’ pumpkin; and ‘Mereke’, ‘Tabys’, ‘Igilik’ and ‘Arai’ onion. Today the genebank of Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming includes a total of more than 5000 samples from 110 species of vegetable and melon crops. The seeds of most important samples are stored hermetically under refrigerated conditions. Investigations have shown us that this storage method allows us to maintain the viability of seeds in storage a long time. Each variety developed in our Institute is resistant to environmental stresses, diseases and insect pests, as well as possess high quality and high yielding capacity. To improve the status of seed production in Kazakhstan, we consider the following measures to be necessary:

• Define tasks of vegetable and melon crop seed production, restoration and development.

• Define, introduce and act in accordance with the official law of Kazakhstan Re-


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public, “About Seed-Growing”, the normative-law positions and instructions establishing the order of work conduct on the production, storage, treatment, transportation and use of vegetable and melon crops seeds as well as the organization and conducting of variety and seed control, import and export of seeds, and approbation of seed production;

• Create a network of elite and super-elite seed producing farms with mandatory licensing of their work on the seed production. To accomplish this, it is necessary to contact seed producing farms of the past, where expertise already exists.

• Create associations of seed producers, and in particular, elite and super-elite seed producers, interested in the production of vegetable and melon crop seeds.

• Establish lists of crops and varieties, and then identify and recommend seed producers taking into consideration their soil-climatic conditions and economic capabilities. This would be done in all stages of breeding from the formation of base seed stocks to commercial production of quality seeds.

• Organize government support for quality seed production, including acquisition of special equipments through leasing arrangements.

• Introduce a system of pretesting imported seeds and maintaining strict control of their quality. The Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming is the republic’s scientific center for the production of potatoes, vegetables and melons. The Institute requires a complete renewal and overhaul of its facilities, which are extremely unfit for operations. Modern laboratories, production and storage rooms, tractors, and agricultural implements are needed. Modern and small-scale machines for sowing, treating, thrashing, separating and cleaning seed materials are needed for breeding and seed production activities.


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Results and Goals on the Improvement of Systems for Protection of Vegetable Crops from Pests and Diseases A.O. Sagitov Institute for Plant Protection, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Vegetable and potato farming are important sectors of our agricultural economy. The republic’s annual demands in vegetables and potatoes amount to approximately 2.0 million and 2.6 million t, respectively. To produce such amounts, it is important to control crop pests and diseases, which may incur crop losses of 50% or more. With the goal of developing improved systems for protecting crops both in greenhouses and in open fields, we conducted studies from 1996 to 2000 on the specific composition and biological characteristics of major vegetable pests. Due to our republic’s harsh climate, protective shelters are required for providing fresh vegetables to consumers year-round. Over 70 species of insects and ticks attack vegetable crops. In greenhouses, mites (Tetranychidae family), greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum), cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) and green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) are especially harmful. When reproduced in mass, these pests may incur up to 80% losses on vegetable crops. Strict regulations on food quality and safety have limited the use of pesticides in greenhouses. Hence integrated pest management (IPM) practices based on aggregate use of agrotechnical, varietal selection, and biological measures are becoming of primary importance. In recent years new pests of greenhouse vegetable crops have emerged, including the leaf mining fly, tobacco thrip, and rust tomato tick. With an aim toward the development of science-based systems of pest control (including biological methods), we have conducted comprehensive studies on evaluating the biology, population, and harmfulness of these pests. The leaf mining fly, Liriomyza soloni, incurs devastating damage to vegetable crops grown under protective shelters. The pests, L. bryonia, L. trifolii and L. huidobrensis, quarantined in our republic, are also of economic importance. In the greenhouses of Almaty district, the leaf mining fly affects every crop cultivated in greenhouses, including tomato, pepper, eggplant and lettuce crops. In the winter-spring crop rotation, the pest occurs in the 8 to 10-leaf stage of tomato. The female adult lays her eggs in sites that were pierced while feeding. The emerging larva gnaws holes (mines) in the leaf parenchyma. All stages of larva are passed within the mines in the leaf, and upon coming into third stage larva, make a hole in the end of the mine to withdraw from the leaf, and then fall upon the ground, and pupate. The life cycle of the pest takes 12 to 37 days.


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The tobacco thrip, Thrips tabaci, is a dangerous pest of vegetable crops (especially cucumber) grown in greenhouses. On cucumber crops, damage often begins at the 7 to 9-leaf stage of development during the winter-spring rotation. In greenhouses its reproduction may proceed through parthenogenesis. It was determined that a thrip’s imago life, egg-laying spans, and daily rate of reproduction depend on temperature as well as the crop it is feeding on. The rust tick, Aculus lycoperici, is very harmful to 28 species of the Solanaceae family, which include tomato, potato, eggplant, pepper, ground cherry and black nightshade. The rust tick occurs in the reproductive phase of the crop during the winter-spring crop rotation. In cucumber, the initial symptoms of infection are round, brownish spots on leaves and stems located 7 to 10 cm above the ground, which eventually spread up the plant. Infected leaves become necrotic, then dry and fall, thereby dramatically reducing yields. The harmfulness of the leaf mining fly is presented in the Table 1. Yields can be reduced from 7.4% to 55.1% depending on the month of infection. In our search of natural enemies of leaf mining fly and tobacco thrip, we have studied beneficial insects found in greenhouses in the fruit and vegetable growing area of Almaty. On vegetable crops we identified Anthocoris bugs, Deacorius, Coccinellidae, golden-eyed flies, and predator thrips. Two new species of parasites of leaf mining fly, Dacnuza and Diglophus, were also found. Table 1. Harmfulness of leaf mining fly on tomato plants, by month Month

Treatment

May

Populated Unpopulated Populated Unpopulated Populated Unpopulated

June July

Leaves/plant mined (%)

Mines/ leaf

Yield/ plant (g)

10 0 17 0 29 0

8.2 0 21.8 0 43.4 0

1222 1320 1160 1512 754 1680

Yield loss (%) 7.4 23.2 55.1

Consequently we have conducted laboratory studies of the Diglophus’ activity against the host, and based on our findings we have developed a laboratory technique for reproduction of the endoparasite in mass. The field trial in greenhouse of Diglophus included two releases: 1) one Diglophus against five leaf mining flies; and 2) one Diglophus against ten leaf mining flies. We proved it is possible to use the parasite for biological control on those pests—the colonization of parasite in greenhouse showed high biological efficiency (74.1–85.6%). Diglophus is proposed for control of leaf mining fly on tomato crops in greenhouses. This biological method has been developed first in Kazakhstan and is proposed for use in other countries of the region. The utilization of biological pest control methods in greenhouses may facilitate crop


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production without chemical pesticides; however, the activity of bio-agents decline when temperatures rise to 40–43°C and humidity falls to 30%, as is a case at the end of winterspring and spring-summer crop rotation in some years. This is the reason behind the dramatic increase in pests in such years. Such pest outbreaks can only be managed with pesticides. Out of the wide variety of chemicals tested for this purpose only, Pegas, Confidor, and purified Celtan are effective (95.0–98.8% control), and Confidor is especially long lasting. As a result of extensive studies, the Institute determined that tomato is affected mainly with early spot (Macrosporium solani), late blight (Phytophthora infestans), bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria) and Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. lycopersici); cucumber is mainly affected with powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum and Sphaerotheca fuliginea) and downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis). Severe diseases of onion include downy mildew (Peronospora destructor), Botrytis rot (Botrytis allii) and blue mold rot (Penicillum sp.). These studies also revealed some previously non-recorded diseases, including early spot and powdery mildew in tomato, powdery mildew and downy mildew in greenhouse cucumber, and Fusarium bulb rot (Fusarium proliferatum) and Stemphylium leaf blight and stalk rot (Stemphylium vesicarium) in onion. The most widely practiced and ecologically safe method of preventing plant diseases is the cultivation of disease-resistant varieties; therefore, we conducted studies to assess varieties against natural and artificial infection conditions. Under natural conditions, only 21 varieties of 242 foreign and native varieties were found relatively resistant to diseases. For cucumber, Russian varieties ‘Contact’ and ‘Svezhest’ showed steady resistance to both downy mildew and powdery mildew, while ‘Urozhayniy-86’ and ‘Universal-1495 F1’ showed high levels of resistance against downy mildew and ‘Nadezhniy’ and ‘Jubileyii’ showed high levels of resistance to powdery mildew. Selections for high productivity and disease resistance have been carried out within ‘Medeu’ and ‘Krepysh F1’. Studies under artificial conditions under protective shelter cultivation showed that ‘Estafeta’ cucumber was particularly resistant to powdery mildew, whereas only ‘Tartilla’ and ‘Verlioka’ showed even partial resistance to Alternaria leaf spot (Alternaria alternata f. sp. cucurbitae) and Phytophthora root rot (Phytophthora spp.). We also have assessed the resistance of onion varieties to fungal diseases and found all varieties are affected by Botrytis rot and ‘Karatalskiy’ was affected by purple blotch (Alternaria porri), whereas ‘Mereke’ and ‘Igilik’ varieties were found as relatively resistant to these diseases in the field. The analysis of harvested onion crops during storage has showed that ‘Mereke’ and ‘Igilik’ varieties are less affected with diseases. Studies were conducted on controlling root rot in greenhouse crop though the use of various chemicals and techniques. For cucumber, the highest yield was attained by using a treatment of Trihodermin (yield of 20.5 kg/m2), followed by a steam treatment of 100 atm. of pressure (19.4 kg/m2), followed by Basomid (18.3 kg/m2), the standard

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Vidat treatment (18.1 kg/m2), and finally the non-treatment control (17.6 kg/m2). Likewise for tomato, yields peaked with Trihodermin (15.1 kg/m2), followed by steaming (14.7 kg/m2), Basomid (14.3 kg/m2), Vidat (13.9 kg/m2) and the control (12.9 kg/m2). In open field production, presowing vegetable seeds with disinfectant Vitavax 200 FF (0.03 l/ha) and plant-extracted component Agat 25 (10.00 l/ha) as well as thermal treatment + impregnation with microelements failed to produce a noticeable effect on disease development; however they produced stimulating effects on the development of plants and hence on the timing of the occurrence of disease symptoms. The assessment of efficiency of fungicides against tomato diseases found that in greenhouses the scheme: Ridomil MC 72SP + copper chlorine oxide 90SP (mixed application rates of 2.5 kg/ha and 1.2 kg/ha, respectively) is particularly effective against late blight and early spot. In open field production, superior results were attained using Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha). For specific diseases, Ridomil Gold 68SP (2.5 kg/ha) provided the best protection against bacterial spot (86.2–87.9% control), and Daconil 75SP (2.0 kg/ha) was superior for controlling late blight (97.1% control) and bacterial spot (80.2% control). Fungicides Topas 10 a.i. (active ingredient) applied at 0.75 l/ha and Bayleton 25 a.i. (0.75 l/ha) were very effective protecting greenhouse cucumber crops from powdery mildew. In open field cucumber production, the maximal protection against downy mildew (81.5–88.8% control) was achieved through a treatment with Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha) and Aliette 80SP (2 kg/ha). The trials of Ridomil MC 72SP against onion downy mildew conducted in Shengelinski showed it to be an effective fungicide. Recommended measures to control cucumber diseases (downy mildew and powdery mildew) include two treatments per crop with either Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha), Arcerid 60SP (2 kg/ha), or Aliette 80SP (2 kg/ha). The protection of tomato crops against Alternaria, bacterial spot and Phytophthora is provided through one or two treatments with fungicides Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha), Ridomil Gold 68SP (2.5 kg/ha) or Daconil 75SP (2 kg/ha) during the crop’s vegetative stage. Against pseudo powdery mildew of onion, one or two treatments with Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha) is recommended. In research on potato, the development and spread of fungal leaf spot and late blight on potato plants are dependent on weather conditions. The signs of early spot first occur during the phase of massed budding, while those of early blight (Alternaria solani) in early blossoming, after which the diseases progresses. Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is common mainly in the mountainous area of southeastern Kazakhstan. The pathogenicities of early blight and early spot (Macrosporium solani) depend on the degree of their occurrence, which ranged from 2.0–7.2%, while the pathogenicity of late blight ranged from 26.8–53.2% at severe infection levels. The pathogenic agents of early blight and early spot survive on the remains of affected vegetable tops for a long time. The vegetable tops remaining in fields during the winter are the primary source of infection.


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Potato crops differ in their resistance to fungal spots. The potato resistance to late blight, early blight and early spot is related to biological characteristics of crops and less dependent on crop rotation schemes. Basing on extensive studies, the Institute has developed the system for protecting potato crops against late blight, Alternaria, and early spot. During potato planting one or two treatments with fungicides are proposed for control on Alternaria, early spot, and late blight. The first prophylactic treatment should be done in the early budding stage, followed with a second treatment 15 to 20 days later. Recommended fungicides are Ridomil MC 72SP (2.5 kg/ha), Ridomil Gold MC 68SP (2.5 kg/ha) or Brestanid 50% a.i. applied at 0.4 l/ha. As we mentioned above, vegetable and potato farming are major sectors of the agricultural economy of Kazakhstan. The successful development of these sectors determines greatly the well being of the Kazakh population. As a result of multi-year studies the Institute of Plant Protection has made new findings on the presence and control of diseases in these crops. Protective measures have been developed which take into consideration both biological and economic factors. Nonetheless the research projects of our Institute dedicated to the development of crop protection systems for vegetable and potato crops were halted in recent years. Meanwhile changes and simplification of techniques in cultivation of vegetable and potato crops in the private sector (on small acreages) undoubtedly will impact upon the biological characteristics of pathogens as well as the need for modified control measures. Keeping in mind that vegetables are often consumed fresh, the new assortment of chemical pesticides in the market calls for the development of science-based techniques to guarantee safe supplies of vegetables year-round.

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Adapting Vegetable Crops to the Extreme Conditions of Priaralye V.S. Tyan Priaral Research Institute of Agroecology and Agriculture, Kzylorda, Kazakhstan S.O. Kosanov and L.Y. Kogay Kzylorda State University named after Korkyt-Ata, Kzylorda, Kazakhstan

Kzylorda province is located on the south of the republic along the Syrdary River. Along its western border are the northern and eastern shores of the Aral Sea. The climate of Kzylorda province is sharply continental, marked by hot and dry summers and cold winters with an unstable blanket of snow. The annual temperatures of the area during the past century show a gradual warming trend. Results of research conducted by weather stations of Kzylorda province during 2001–2002 indicate that climatic changes are being caused by lowering levels of the Aral Sea. As salt and dust particles from dried seabeds enter the atmosphere, they cause essential changes in the moisture of the region. The soil-vegetation characteristics in much of the Kzylorda province are similar to those of a desert. Due to the dry climate, the soils have limitations for crop production, including high salinity levels at depths of 10–15 cm in riverside soils and 20–150 cm in desert soils. The salinization is chloride-sulfate with predominance of sulfuric salts of sodium, magnesium and calcium. The soils of the southern oasis are least salted, soils in the central oasis are slightly more salted, and soils in the northern oasis are most salted. All the soils of the region are rich with potassium, contain average to below average amounts of phosphorus, and have low levels of nitrogen. The percentage of humus varies from 0.5 to 4%, seldom reaching 6%. The Syrdary River, the second largest river in Central Asia, flows within Kzylorda province. The Syrdary contributes much of the region’s water resources. The reduction in the river’s flow during summer decreases the water available for economic activities, especially agriculture and it degrades the region’s natural environment. The continuing drying of the Aral Sea is aggravating the ecological crisis in Kazakhstani Priaralye and is causing a negative impact on the health of the region’s population. In these conditions it is necessary to promote proper human nutrition, which is the basis for human health and longevity. Vegetables are very important foods, contributing an abundance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to diets. Vegetables have good gustatory qualities, contribute to more effective digestion and assimilation of food, increase working efficiency, and improve the people’s state of health. Therefore, a major


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task facing the farmers in the region is to provide the local population with adequate access to vegetables. In compliance with long-standing guidelines of the Nutrition Institute Academy of Medical Sciences of the former Soviet Union, the recommended average level of vegetable consumption should be 126–190 kg/person/year. With a population size of 600,000, the region needs to produce 90,000 to 100,000 t of vegetables annually. Within the period 2000–2002 vegetable crops in the region were cultivated on 6,689 ha. The average vegetable yield was 10.68 t/ha; yields for individual crops included 12.03 t/ha for vegetable marrow, 11.58 t/ha for table carrot, 10.68 t/ha for cucumber, and 9.68 t/ha for bulb onion. A total of 71,465 t were produced. In order to solve the inadequate production of vegetables in the region, both yields and areas of production need to increase. One way for successful realization of this plan is to use fields currently in rice crop rotations, because it is impossible to cultivate vegetables on new lands every year while our country is shifting to open markets. In this view, arable but degraded lands formerly grown in rice, but now out of production due to salinization, are of keen interest. At the present time, such soils account for 20,000 ha in the region. Starting in 2001, we conducted research on vegetable crop production practices that would adapt to the extreme conditions of these soils. One of the initial stages of research was to identify salt-tolerant vegetables by growing their seeds in saline solutions using different concentrations of NaCl: 0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0% and 1.25%. Tap water was used as the control treatment in this research. The following vegetable families and crops were studied: nightshade family – tomato, pungent and sweet pepper, and eggplant; legume family – common bush haricot, mali and soybean; parsley family – carrot, dill and coriander; mustard family – Chinese radish, white cabbage and leaf Chinese cabbage; and goosefoot family – table beet. The results of the research showed that the most salt-stable seeds were from the nightshade and mustard families (Table 1). The performance of carrot was also impressive. Field experiments of vegetable crops were carried out in the old arable rice soils of the Karatyubinskaya experimental farm of the Agroecology and Agriculture Priaralsk Research Institute, located in the central economic zone of the region. Vegetables were grown on raised beds formed 700 cm wide and 350 to 500 cm high. Irrigation furrows, 500 to 600 cm wide, ran along sides of the beds. We found that several vegetables could become quickly established and produce good yields in these soils, which have been abandoned for many years. The yield of pumpkin ranged from 26.75–31.71 t/ha and the yield of custard marrow was 1.02 t/ha. Ordinary bush haricot produced 1.15 t/ha—this leguminous crop can be a valuable source of protein in diets and can restore soil fertility, which is very important to these soils that are prone to degradation. Among vegetables grown in the region of Priaralye, the most demanded by consumers are carrot, white cabbage and tomato. The yield and quality of these crops depend in many respects on balanced mineral nutrition. On soils which have gone out of agricul-

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Table 1. Germination of vegetable crops in concentrations of saline solutions Family/ Crop Nightshade Tomato Sweet pepper Chili pepper Eggplant Legume Common bush haricot Mali Soybean Parsley Carrot Dill Coriander Mustard Chinese radish White cabbage Radish Leaf Chinese cabbage

Water

Concentration of NaCl solution, % 0.5 0.75 1.0

1.25

74.8 72.9 61.2 58.7

50.1 39.9 49.2 39.6

38.0 22.2 27.7 21.8

21.1 14.6 13.8 4.3

7.7 13.2 8.0 2.8

64.0 69.0 70.6

11.0 24.0 3.6

10.0 23.3 3.0

7.0 21.3 2.0

6.1 20.3 2.0

69.7 62.0 67.1

53.9 19.0 36.0

45.4 16.0 36.0

43.7 31.4

15.8 31.3

64.3 60.2 70.5 72.8

49.0 52.2 66.4 17.7

48.5 50.8 50.8 15.4

43.6 42.8 46.6 13.6

22.1 41.8 38.5 9.6

tural crop production due to degradation and salt accumulation, fertility issues take on special significance. Initial studies found that applications of nitrogen fertilizer can increase carrot yields by 13.2%, white cabbage yields by 30.6%, and tomato yields by 5.8 t/ha compared to non-fertilized crops. The use of N fertilizers up to 120 and 150 kg/ha can increase productivity of these crops by a factor of 1.5 compared to non-fertilized crops. In an evaluation of phosphorus fertilization, a comparison of 90N–120P–45K to 90N–0P–45K indicated that the addition of phosphorus will increase yields of tomato but not yields of carrot or cabbage. The plowing of 2 t/ha of rice straw in a soil later supplemented with a mineral fertilizer did not significantly increase yields. The yields of crops grown with 60 t/ha of animal manure were similar to yields of crops grown with 90N–90P–45K kg/ha. The highest yields were produced using a combination of 60 t/ha of animal manure and 20N–90P–45K kg/ha. Looking ahead, producing an adequate supply of both vegetable crops and vegetable seeds at the local level for the population of Priaralye remains problematic. It will be necessary to organize a regional office of the State Commission to assist in the evaluation of both local and foreign varieties to support vegetable production in Priaralye.


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Intensive Technology for Successful Vegetable, Melon and Gourd Production in Kazakhstan M.S. Manakov Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Strategies to increase agricultural production in Kazakhstan have been determined through programs which support the economical and social development of the country. Agricultural production in Kazakhstan has improved over the last three years, especially this year when record harvests were obtained. In this connection the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan declared in his annual message to the people that the coming three years will be the years of village (aul) revival and he designated related tasks for the executive bodies. In the document, “State agricultural food program of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2003–2005”, he stressed the necessity to provide food security based on forming effective and competitive systems within the agro-industrial complex. Agricultural development programs will be supported to increase agricultural production. In recent years, major structural changes occurred in the agricultural sector, a new class of farmers was formed, and privately manufactured agricultural products significantly increased. The output of nonstate agri-organizations within the entire structure is currently 96.4% (including 36.4% small- and mid-sized enterprises, 14.8% peasant farms, and 42.6% subsidiary individual farms). Production levels for vegetable crops are significantly increasing. Levels had declined from 1,084,000 t in 1985 to 775,000 t in 1996, but have since rose to 1,859,000 in 2003. Gains have been made steadily both in terms of production area and yield. In 1996, 79,600 ha of vegetables were grown with an average yield of only 9.2 t/ha. In 2001, 107,700 ha were cultivated with an average yield of 16.6 t/ha, and in 2003, 110,000 ha of vegetables were grown with an average yield of 16.9 t/ha. The program elaborated by the scientists of the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming for 2001–2003, allows self-sufficiency of vegetables in most of the regions, supplemented with needed exchanges or importing of products from the southern provinces. Vegetable production in Mangistau, Atyrau and Western Kazakhstan provinces are currently insufficient. In contrast, production levels exceed consumer demand in the Almaty, South-Kazakhstan and Zhambyl provinces, resulting in this region’s capacity to export 71–100,000 t of vegetables (particularly onion, garlic and melongourd crops) to the northern provinces of Kazakhstan annually. Soil and climate conditions of the republic allow the cultivation of an assortment of vegetables. It is possible to produce enough vegetables for national self-sufficiency if farmers select crop varieties with different ripening times and utilize recommended cultivation technologies. Major vegetable crops are cabbage (31% of all vegetable

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production), tomato (23%), onion (22%), cucumbers (7.5%), and carrot (7%). According to a concept developed by the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, this ratio has to be changed. The shares of cabbage and onion should be reduced to 28.9% and 12.5%, respectively, while the shares of cucumber and other warm-season crops need to rise. The resource base of the processing industry must be improved as well. The widespread adoption of “intensive” technologies will be the most effective way to increase yields while keeping production costs low (intensive technologies are defined as those technologies developed on the basis of modern scientific principles, yielding at least 1.5 times higher yields than traditional production technologies). Recommended seed treatments and sowing rates can achieve targeted stand densities. Seed calibration is of great importance when preparing seed for sowing. The use of treated seed leads to improved field germination, rapid seedling establishment, and uniform development of plants. The seeds are treated in a 5% salt solution. This method is used for seed of dill, carrot, parsley, cucumber, tomato, and eggplant. Many vegetable and gourd seed positively respond to heating. Heating with 50–60°C for 5–6 hours increases seed vigor, germination rates, and seedling establishment. This procedure also stimulates female flower formation for cucumber and pumpkin. The treatment of tomato seed with microelements (1% solution of manganese acid-potassium and 0.05% solution of boric acid) during 20–30 minutes promotes seed vigor. Success in vegetable and gourd crop production in many respects is determined by the seed. First of all, seed of only released varieties should be sown for all crops. The Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming has created high yielding varieties that are suitable for all regions of the republic. The potential yields of tomato varieties such as ‘Novichock’, ‘Plamya’, ‘Luchzarnyi’, ‘Narttay’, ’Samaladay’ and ‘Fakel’ are 50.0–60.0 t/ha; potential yields of cucumbers ‘Madeu’, ‘Parad’, ‘Dekan’, ‘Concurent’ and ‘Phenics’ are 30.0–35.0 t/ha; for cabbage, potential yields of ‘Kharkovskaya Zimnyaya’, ‘Belosnezhka, Salva’, ‘Bo5’ and ‘Sudya’ are 50.0–60.0 t/ha; onion varieties ‘Mereke’, ‘Tabys’, ‘Aray’, ‘Igilick’ can yield 45.0–50.0 t/ha; and the improved varieties ‘Arman’ garlic, ‘Taisiya’ melon, and ‘Askhana’ and ‘Aphrodita’ pumpkins will greatly exceed standard varieties in yield and quality. In recent years due to improper land use and losses of agrotechnology, rotation systems of vegetable crops have ceased. Insufficient use of mineral and organic fertilizers (only 2.6 kg/ha and 6.0 t/ha on average, respectively) have led to a 30% reduction in humus, from 3.0–3.2% to 1.9–2.0%, in soils. The high costs of fertilizers reduce their use by farmers. Technologies for the cultivation of major vegetable crops have been developed in Kazakhstan by the Institute’s researchers and disseminated to farmers. The Institute has proposed many new technologies, including the use of short-term rotations, straw as a source of organic fertilizer, chemical herbicides to replace manual weeding, seed treatments, and the use of perforated film to promote early ripening.


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It is recommended to use a 3–6 crop rotation of cereals with vegetables during short periods (e.g., 1 cereal + 2 vegetable crops) as well as grass and vegetable rotations (1 cereal + 2 grass + 3 vegetable crops). Applications of manure (40 t/ha) + straw (2 t/ha) + 20N–60P–60K are recommended. The use of long-standing grasses and siderite (iron carbonate) are also recommended in rotational schemes. It has been determined that three years of alfalfa growing will increase humus content by 0.20–0.23%, decrease soil density to 1.10–1.24 g/cm, raise the content of water stable aggregates to 45–50%, and improve the air/water soil regime. To improve soil structure and fertility as well as to reduce weed problems, it is necessary to apply one short-term rotation crop, adding crushed straw after grain threshing in combination with organic fertilizer and a minimal amount of mineral fertilizers including siderate. The rotation crop should be plowed deeply (30–32 cm for vegetables and 20–25 cm for cereals). The depth of overwinter plowing is very important. Studies have shown that vegetable yields may be 18.5 t/ha after a shallow plowing depth of 10–12 cm, 17.5 t/ha after plowing at a depth of 18–20 cm, 18.5 t/ha at 24–25 cm, and 19.5 t/ha at 27–30 cm. A favorable crop preceding the harvested crop in the rotation promotes yield by 12–36%. Deepening the depth of plowing to 27–30 cm will decrease weeding requirements. Irrigation of vegetable crops is another key component of intensive technology. To attain a yield of 50.0–60.0 t/ha for late season cabbage, 9–13 overhead irrigations are currently required. The use of overhead irrigation increases the required number of irrigations and reduces water use efficiency compared to furrow irrigation. The Institute has prepared recommendations concerning improved irrigation practices. Vegetable growers of the republic have to arrange for mechanized irrigation and then use water according to required norms and time in order to achieve targeted yields. A well-organized system of plant protection against pests, diseases and weeds is one of the main tasks in cereal farming. But pests and diseases often damage vegetables, too. So each rotation should be accompanied with a program of control measures including preventive and curative practices to minimize this damage. Our Institute has developed recommendations on agrotechnical and chemical measures of weed control in the fields for the most popular vegetable crops. Pre- and post-emergent herbicide application strategies have been developed. Recommended herbicides include Stomp, Totril, Fusilade and Pantera for onion; Sencor and Treflan for tomato; Treflan, Semeron, and Butizan-400C for cabbage; Stomp, Racer, and Hezagard for carrot; Pyramin, Betanal, and Fusilade for table beet; and Sencor, Racer, Stomp, Frontier and Hezagard for potato. The application of intensive technology requires starting with a plan that includes the integration and management of modern agricultural practices and machinery for cultivation and harvesting, and then documenting total expenses per ton of production.

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Melon and Gourd Farming in Kazakhstan: The Current Status and Outlook T.G. Gutsaluk Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Melons and gourds are cultivated in nearly all of Kazakhstan’s provinces; in 2002 their total production area was 48,500 ha. Watermelons were grown as cash crops primarily in the provinces of Southern-Kazakhstan (13,000 ha), Zhambyl (5,000 ha), Atyrau (6,000 ha) and Almaty (4,000 ha), while other melons were grown as cash crops primarily in the province of Kyzylorda (7,000 ha). These provinces account for 72% of total acreage allotted for melons and gourds in Kazakhstan and for 80% of their production. Melons and gourds are cultivated for both local consumption and export abroad. Currently the methods used in melon and gourd production lag behind modern practices. Also, there has been a marked decrease in sowing area, gross production levels, and consumption rates. Kazakhstan possesses vast natural resources for increasing production levels of melons and gourds for both domestic and international consumption. The rational use of our natural resources and the redirection of farms toward melon and gourd production could lead to a marked increase in harvest levels, to speak nothing of increasing farm profits and fruit quality. In 2002, most production was located in the southern provinces (Southern-Kazakhstan and Zhambyl). An abundance of warm sunny days, a long frost-free growing season, and the light textured soils of the region allow for cultivation of early to late-ripening varieties for autumn-to-winter storage as well as for transporting to other districts and abroad. The Atyrau province, which has favorable soils and climatic conditions for melon production, is seen as a promising location for highly profitable agriculture in the future. The province’s advantageous location near rail and water transportation allows for large-scale exporting to industrially developed areas. In this connection there are plenty of reasons for upgrading the melon and gourd farming operations in the area. Attention should be directed toward selection of crops with various ripening times with primary emphasis on increasing the share of early ripening melons produced via the use of transplants. Asia Minor, Middle Asia, some districts of Trans-Caucasian, and the province of Kyzylorda in Kazakhstan are among the centers of genetic diversity for melons. Currently in Kazakhstan there are 11 publicly released varieties of melons of two subspecies: Middle Asian (6 varieties) and European (5 varieties). The Middle Asian subspecies is represented by varieties ‘Kara-Gulyabi’, ‘Kalaysan’


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(local variety of Kyzylorda), ‘Ich-Kzyl-1895’, ‘Ich Kzyl Krupnoplodnaya’ (bred in the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry), and also ‘Kokcha-588’ and ‘Altyn-tepe’ (varieties of the Uzbek Research Institute of Vegetable, Melon Crops and Potato). These varieties have distinct, locally specific qualities and include mainly midseason and late ripening types. Regarding early ripening varieties, ‘Khandalyak’ and ‘Angeleki’ are grown but lack productivity and transportability; thus they are used only for local consumption. The European subspecies are represented by ‘Kolkhoznitsa-749/753’ and early ripening varieties bred by the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming: ‘Iliyskaya’, ‘Taisia’, ‘Altynochka’ and ‘Alena’ (the variety bred jointly with the Ili State Variety Trial (site plots)). ‘Kapchagaiskaya’, a midseason type, is being cultivated in southern Kazakhstan areas (released in Kyrgyzstan in 1987). Currently two early to midseason ripening varieties, ‘Shyrin’ and ‘Mayskaya’, are being tested at the State Variety Trial. The melon varieties of the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming comply with standards of market production in terms of desirable maturity, fruit quality, productivity, and transportability. These varieties rate especially high for fruit quality and transportability compared to other early ripening varieties. As market demand for melons increases, Kazakhstan possesses a number of advantages over other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, especially those in Middle Asia. The market potential of high quality, early ripening types can be further enhanced through the use of transplants and cultivation under plastic films. With regard to watermelon, its major varieties are more widely distributed in the country compared to those of melon, but its assortment is narrow in terms of ripening times. It should be noted that most varieties were released decades ago (1940 to 1955). Seed production of these varieties is poor, their genetic purity has declined, and their overall quality has diminished. In 2002 there were 12 watermelon varieties publicly released for Kazakhstan. Most widespread (in four to five districts) are ‘Melitopolskii142’, ‘Kniazhin’, ‘Rosa’, ‘Stoxa 647/649’, ‘Astrakhanskii’, ‘Sinchevskii’ and ‘Mezhdurechenskii’. Other varieties, including ‘Granit’, ‘Mramornii’, ‘Ogonyek’, ‘Yarilo’ and ‘Krasnosemyannik’, are released in one or two districts. The Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming developed ‘Mezhdurechenskii’ and ‘Oktyabrenok’ (also released in Ukraine). In 2003, ‘Krasnosemyannik’ was proposed for release. Currently ‘Kargalinets’ and two re-bred varieties of ‘Semipalatinsk’—‘Stocksik’ and ‘Medok’—are on trial in the State Variety Trial. There are only a few areas in the world where late ripening melons of excellent quality can be grown. They include the Khoresm province of Uzbekistan, the Chardzhou province of Turkmenistan, and the Kyzylorda province of Kazakhstan. The soil and climate of Kyzylorda province are ideal for production, and melons from the district have enjoyed high consumer demand worldwide. In 2002, melons and gourds were grown on 7,000 ha in the district; of this, 96% was in autumn and winter melon varieties, 3% in

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summer melons and 1% in early melons. Most Kyzylorda melon varieties have midseason to late maturities. A rather wide assortment of varieties is cultivated there, including ‘Kara-Ameri’ (‘Amri’), ‘Kara-Kaun’, ‘Tarlama’, ‘Kara-Gulyabi’, ‘Koybash’, ‘Umyrvaki’, ‘Kyzyl-Uruk’ and ‘Kalaysan’; however, due to poor seed production methods these varieties have lost their qualities and have been withdrawn from public release. In recent years only two local late ripening varieties, ‘Gulyabi-Kara’ and ‘Kalaysan’, were selected for release. As for early ripening varieties, ‘Alyena’ and ‘Altynochka’ have been released in the district. In light of the Kzylorda province’s favorable growing conditions, it would be reasonable to increase the share of total acreage allotted for melons and gourds. This matter is especially urgent during the nation’s current transition from closed to open markets. Every effort should be taken to revive the district’s famous melon industry to support economic development in the region. There is a serious problem in maintaining the genetic purity of varieties chosen for cultivation. Obsolete seed production practices and lack of organizational infrastructure have contributed to the degradation of local varieties. Seeds are often multiplied using poor quality or immature late ripening fruits, leading to reduced quality in future generations. Improving seed production systems should be a priority for reviving the Kyzylorda melons’ old glory. The production of super elite and elite seeds is critical. Seeds should only be collected from the highest quality fruits. To maximize the utilization of melons used in seed production, the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, through an initiative of the Institute of Botanic of the Kazakh Academy of Science during the Soviet times, developed technologies to link the industry with melon juice production. The Almaty and Sayram Integrated Tinned Fruit Factories and the Ministry of Food Industry participated in the project. Technologies for melon juice production, including the blending of melon juice with other fruit juices, were designed; however, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the subsequent drastic decrease in bulk seed production, and a lack of interest, this project has been suspended. In recent years the Priaralskiy Research Institute of Agro-ecology and Agriculture has worked to restore the local melon varieties of Kyzylorda. The desire to revive this industry has led to the establishment of the Melons and Gourds Farming Department at the Institute. Studies are conducted on producing high quality seeds and relaunching the project on melon juice production. The district’s location near rail transportation is favorable for export production of melons and juices. Improved post-harvest handling of late ripening fruits is another important factor if we are to provide our population with high quality fruits in autumn and winter. The southeast is one of the areas of cash farming of melons and gourds of Kazakhstan. In this region, the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming conducts large-scale studies on breeding and seed production of melon and watermelon in the Ili district. The purpose of this research is to produce melons and watermelons with traits


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that include various times of ripening, high fruit quality, good shipping quality, and resistance to diseases. For breeding studies, the rich gene pool of the All Union Institute of Plant Industry named after N. Vavilov (VIR) has been evaluated and its original material widely used. For many years regular research trips have been conducted for collection and subsequent studying of local specimens of melons and watermelons collected in areas of their cultivation in Kazakhstan. The Institute is developing new varieties of promising types and conserving germplasm of types that are currently not in demand. So far 2211 accessions of melons and 433 accessions of watermelons have been placed into the genebank. The breeding studies on melon are aimed mainly at enhancing early ripening types since the majority of varieties of this group are self-pollinating. We have been forced to slash breeding studies on types of the mid and especially the mid to late ripening group since those are mainly cross-pollinated and too difficult to manage under our experimental conditions. The production of high quality seeds is essential. In this regard the main task of researchers should be to increase seed multiplication and then introduce improve varieties throughout Kazakhstan, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and farther abroad. The Seed Production Department of the Institute was previously responsible for this task, but now breeders are responsible. There are many new varieties and it is important that scientists strictly maintain the purity of varieties through proper isolation of lines. However, this task is rather difficult to conduct along with breeding studies on the limited area and inadequate organizational framework and economic resources of the Institute. The Ministry of Agriculture and all its branches need to establish a more permanent and better equipped facility for seed production and testing. This will help us to more rapidly develop and introduce new varieties, maintain the purity of these varieties, and ensure the availability and quality of their seed to farmers. The Institute has a rich stock of breeding material of watermelon and melon. Current studies are promising and can lead to fulfilling local needs as well as expanding sales far beyond the boundaries of our country. Assistance is urgently needed to accelerate research on melons and gourds and we are hopeful for a positive solution of this problem.

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Collecting Vegetable Crops in the Department of Vegetable Growing at the Kazakh National Agrarian University S.N. Oleichenko and G.S. Kusainova Kazakh National Agrarian University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Work on developing improved varieties has been conducted for many centuries throughout the world. The breeding methods of the past allowed for the creation of a vast number of indigenous varieties, which now provide for a diverse array of phenotypic expression for many crops. These indigenous varieties are the genetic sources of valuable traits used in breeding programs today. For the last ten years the number of species and varieties of vegetable crops has decreased and yields have also decreased. Species and varieties introduced by the private sector from both near and distant countries are not fit to our local climatic and soil conditions. As a consequence, these species and varieties are very susceptible to damage by the pests and diseases that affect vegetable production in the republic. In this connection it is wise to expedite the collection, conservation, and evaluation of our valuable species and varieties for breeding. Urgent measures should be taken in Kazakhstan to revive a genetic base of vegetable crops. At present our collection can be increased thanks to the expansion of private farming and the introduction of varieties from Central Asia, Caucasus Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and distant countries. The world experience shows that successful breeding programs are accompanied with the creation of local, regional and national collections. Kazakhstan has the collection of introduced and local varieties of cucumber and other vegetables formed and studied at the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming with the purpose to use them in breeding. A vegetable collection nursery founded in 1960 in the experimental station of the Kazakh Agricultural Institute is the largest in Kazakhstan. Its founder was the Head of the Institute’s Vegetable Department, the honored agronomist G.T. Kaplina. This nursery is a useful place for conducting student trainings and conducting research on vegetable production. There are more than 30 species of vegetable crops kept here. Some of the species are unique. Researchers of the Institute cultivate about 80 varieties of traditional vegetables including white cabbage, tomato, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, radish, garden radish, carrot, table beet, napiform onion, as well as 2–3 varieties each of rare onion species. Among root vegetables there are 2–3 varieties each of turnip, parsley, parsnip, celery, vegetable pea, daikon, garlic, lettuce, spinach, dill, beans, marrow, custard marrow, and various members of the cabbage family (red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, and broccoli) grown here. The nursery contains rare species of herbs, including tarragon, black mint,


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savory, fennel, basil, lovage, cucumber grass, lemon balm, hyssop, mairan, gumbo, caraway, and coriander. Among perennial crops there are asparagus, horseradish, sorrel, rhubarb, artichoke, crambe, and stachys displayed here. Due to development of the food processing industry and the expansion of national canteens and restaurants, the demand for such nontraditional plants has sharply increased. At present these vegetables are imported from abroad and sometimes their costs are high. At the same time these plants can be profitably produced in Kazakhstan. In order to broaden its genetic resource base, the Department of Vegetable Growing is introducing its most valuable varieties and species of annual, biennial and perennial vegetable plants from different regions of Kazakhstan and abroad. Its staff is evaluating pre-sowing seed treatments, the effects of biostimulants upon plant growth and development, methods of seedling production, regimes of irrigation and fertilization, and methods of post-harvest storage. They also are determining optimal rates and timings for application of herbicides, control measures against pests and weeds, and agrotechnologies for vegetable cultivation. The Department has developed recommended production practices for various vegetables in Kazakhstan taking in account soil and climate conditions. When collaborators grow vegetable crops in the collection nursery, they make phenological observations and yield accounts. They determine each crop’s biochemical and food value (dry matter, pectin, pH, carotene, vitamin C, sugar, calcium) and measure for the presence of heavy metals (copper, lead and zinc) and nitrates. Therefore, the described material shows that a lot of regional vegetable collections are created in the world with the purpose to solve the full complex of scientific and practical tasks. It is very important to save and maintain vegetable genetic resources because of the constant necessity in renewing varieties. It is also due to the threat of losing popular varieties, which are part of the cultural legacy of each nation. Central Asia, and Kazakhstan in particular, are rich sources of vegetable germplasm. A focused study which collects and introduces rare vegetable plants growing under specific climatic conditions can facilitate the development of varieties for commercial production and consumer use. The collection of valuable vegetable species and varieties is the basis of practical genetic improvement, but this type of multifunctional collecting has not occurred in Kazakhstan yet. It is planned to develop two main thrusts for expanding our vegetable crops collection. The first thrust focuses on collecting popular varieties that originated from Central Asia. The second thrust is collecting rare vegetable crops having food or medicinal value. Reviving interest in the production of indigenous vegetables is an essential element in the preservation and growth of our local experiences and traditions. It is possible to establish a special training center for developing skills in vegetable production, and in particular for indigenous vegetable production, based on our collection nursery and working in collaboration with the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming.

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Gene Pool Formation and Creation of Melon Varieties U.A. Aymuchambetov and B.S. Tyan Priaral Research Institute of Agroecology and Farming, Kyzlorda, Kazakhstan

Melon (Cucumis melo) is an annual plant belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. The plant is grown for its tasty fruits, which are a delicacy. The fruit is a valuable source of vitamins A and C and its sugar is highly digestible. Melon has been used as a folk medicine in the treatment of kidney and stomach ailments as well as for bronchitis and rheumatism. Melon can be eaten fresh or in processed forms. Jams, purees, candied fruits, and honey are prepared from its pulp. The drying of its pulp does not reduce its taste or healing properties. The Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan has favorable soils and climate for melon production. Melons are a major crop in Kyzylorda. Over the past 40 years, more than 20 of the region’s varieties have been judged to exceed world standards; however, during the past 20 years the diversity of varieties grown in the region has decreased. Many modern of varieties of melon do not possess acceptable qualities for maturity, yield, fruit quality, and resistance to disease, nor are they widely adaptable. Providing the local population with melons year-round is a goal of farmers. Early maturing varieties bring melons to the market quickly while late maturing types assure consumers of access to melons over a long time span. There are many late maturing varieties grown in Kyzylorda. The emphasis in breeding programs should now be on the creation of early maturing varieties. Furthermore, foreign markets need to be developed for both early and late maturing varieties that have small size and such desirable traits as good taste, high sugar content, and the ability to withstand shipping and storage. The evaluation of genetic resources and the development of initial breeding materials are necessary for varietal development. We have conducted field investigations in the middle nature-economical zone of Kyzylorda region. Materials of investigation are varieties from the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, local materials from the Priaral Research Institute of Agroecology and Agriculture, as well as materials from Israel and Turkmenistan collected by expeditions conducted in each area. All materials are grouped depending on the region of origin, followed by statistical and biometrical analyses. Statistical analyses show that fruit weight has high variability within sample groups while the time required for maturity has low variability (Table 1). The sample group


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Table 1. Characteristics of melon samples coming from different places of origin

Source

Days to Fruit Pulp Soluble solids maturity weight (kg) thickness (cm) content (%) Mean CV% Mean CV% Mean CV% Mean CV%

Res. Inst. Pot. Veg. Farm. 83.9 Israel 90.2 Turkmenistan 102.9 Local varieties 89.8

3.8 8.1 4.6 6.9

2.99 1.50 3.45 3.79

24.5 27.3 20.5 46.0

5.16 4.40 4.45 5.01

12.4 16.5 16.3 23.3

10.6 12.9 11.5 11.1

18.7 11.9 20.9 23.6

from the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming is earlier in maturity (83.9 days) and has a low coefficient of variation (3.8%), indicating there is uniformity within the group for this trait. The sample group from Turkmenistan is latest in maturing (109.9 days), while samples from Israel and local varieties from our institute are intermediate in their days to maturity. The fruits of Israel have the lowest mean weight (1.50 kg); in contrast, fruits of local varieties have the highest mean weight (3.79 kg). Samples from the Research Institute of Potato Farming and Turkmenistan are intermediate for mean fruit weight (2.99 and 3.45 kg, respectively) and variability (24.5% and 20.5%, respectively) for this trait. Besides producing the heaviest fruits on average, local varieties show the greatest variability for this trait (46.0%). For pulp thickness, samples from Research Institute of Potato Farming and local varieties (5.01 cm) show the highest means, 5.16 and 5.01 cm, respectively. Samples from Israel are distinguished by their consistently high soluble solids (12.9%). These samples also have such valuable traits as long-term storability and shipping qualities. Correlation analyses of quantitative traits showed that samples from Central Asia have a positive correlation between date of vegetation and weight of fruit, that is to say, early melons had relatively more weight (Table 2). However, the opposite trend occurred for melons from Israel, where early melons had relatively less weight. All samples showed positive correlations between pulp thickness and fruit weight, as expected. Most samples showed positive correlations between pulp diameter and fruit weight. Positive correlations are observed between pulp thickness and soluble solids content for samples from Israel and the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, but slightly negative correlations were found for melons from Turkmenistan and local sources. In general, these evaluations show that each region’s samples may contribute a different trait for breeding purposes. For example, samples from Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming can be used in breeding for early maturity and thickness of pulp while samples from Israel can be used in breeding for high sugar content, storability and portability. Local varieties generally have more variability, which can be useful in the development of improved varieties in the future.


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Table 2. Correlation analyses of quantitative traits of melon of different origin1 Source

Days to maturity

Fruit weight

1 2 3 4

0.49 –0.41 0.41 0.34

Pulp thickness

1 2 3 4

0.12 –0.36 0.22 0.25

0.33 0.69 0.62 0.85

Soluble solids

1 2 3 4

0.07 –0.49 0.50 0.06

–0.06 0.34 0.21 –0.33

0.30 0.46 –0.14 –0.09

Pulp diameter

1 2 3 4

–0.11 0.19 –0.06 –0.13

–0.01 0.34 0.36 0.25

–0.48 –0.25 0.05 0.30

Trait

1

Fruit weight

Pulp thickness

Soluble solids content

–0.37 0.47 0.05 –0.44

1 – Res. Inst. of Potato and Veg. Farming, 2 – Israel, 3 – Turkmenistan, 4 – local varieties


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Storage and Use of Vegetable and Gourd Germplasm in Kazakhstan V.N. Lukyanyets and E.V. Fedorenko Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Genetic resources have great cultural and economic value. The conservation of genetic resources is an important task for the good of future generations. Future advances in the genetic improvement of crops depend on the management of genetic resources (Kovachik 1990). The conservation of genetic resources is a worldwide concern. Kazakhstan must create its own genebank of agricultural plants, including vegetable and gourd crops. In the past, all germplasm of vegetable crops was concentrated in the All Union Institute of Plant Industry named after N. Vavilov (VIR). After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the VIR, now under Russian control, has limited its release of samples to Kazakhstan for breeding and seed regeneration. Germplasm, a strategic resource of breeding, has economical, biological, cultural and historical significances. A wide spectrum of genetic variation is necessary for crop improvement. Besides the varieties cultivated today, there are ancient varieties having genes with valuable traits, local varieties with blocks of adaptive genes for different conditions, wild species with potential value traits, as well as special genetic lines, mutants, and polyploids in nature (Zheleznev et al. 2000). Worldwide, the problem of maintaining viable seeds in storage requires specific attention. It is very important that plant germplasm is stored on a long-term basis since frequent regeneration of the valuable material can expose it to genetic erosion. The time span in which a seed maintains its viability is referred to as its longevity. Longevity is undermined with the presence of a non-watertight coat and disturbance of the seed. All plants are divided into three biological classes for seed longevity: microbiotic, keeping seed viability of up to 3 years; mozobiotic, from 3 to 15 years; and macrobiotic, from 15 to 100 and more years (Barton 1964, Kuleshov 1963, Tkachenko and Tkachenko 1977). The seeds of vegetable plants are related to the first two classes. The seeds from families of buckwheat, celery, legume, cabbage, goosefoot and pumpkin are among the more long-lived (Lazukov 1969). The longevity of seeds to a considerable degree depends on the moisture of the air during storage. Maintaining a seed’s viability is more difficult as its respiration increases. The air moisture during storage of seeds should not increase above 70–75%, and the optimal moisture is about 40–60%. The moisture content of the seed itself is an important factor. For different types of seeds the critical moisture for viability is 9–13%, but

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for long-term storage of seeds (sealed in hermetically sealed packaging), the initial seed moisture must be from 4–10%, depending on crop (Alekseev 1966, Keller 1990, Kiselev and Chrustaleva 1969, Kurdina 1966, Piskunova 1964, Sokol and Zaytseva 1975). A temperature of 2.2°C will support long-term storage of vegetable and gourd seeds. The best type of packing is hermetic, as it maintains constant moisture levels and low gaseous exchange. With this in mind, polyethylene bags, polyethylene containers, aluminum foil, and glass are used (Kvasnicka 1990, Sokol et al. 1981, Khakimov 1977). Investigations on the collection, storage and evaluation of seeds have been conducted in the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming since 1955. The newest methods, conditions, instructions, standards and international classifications of sample descriptions are used. According to literature and our own investigations, the dates of seed storage for the germplasm as well as the seed weights of different crops are determined. The seeds of samples which have been characterized and possess high germination rates are put in the base collection under long-term storage. Those new samples with low seed germination rates are kept in a temporary “work” collection for study and regeneration. Those samples not forming seeds are kept in vegetative culture as a living collection. Seed material is also exchanged with other organizations, such as breeding and seed production companies. The main group of seed samples is kept within hermetic packing in a refrigerator. The temporary collection is kept in the work room. The breeding samples of watermelon and melon are kept in cardboard packaging on shelves. The main sources of replenishment for the germplasm collection include the world collection of VIR as well as the experimental station in Priaralsk, some Russian research organizations, botanical gardens, state variety networks, the former “Sortsemovoch” association, some foreign firms, vegetable gardeners, and seed shops. The new samples coming into the germplasm collection are evaluated in the field, their description is conducted and varieties grown under controlled conditions. The seed produced is tested under laboratory conditions for viability. At the present time, there are 5200 samples consisting of 108 species of vegetable and gourd crops. From this, about 1000 samples are in the base collection, more than the 3000 samples are hybrids of different generations or breeding selections or mutants, 960 samples are in the temporary (work) collection, and 210 samples are grown under vegetative culture. The biggest collections are watermelon and melon (2684 samples), tomato (637 samples), onion (340), dill (182), and garlic (160). The breeding investigations on all these crops have been conducted or are being conducted. Large collections are also gathered on such vegetables as haricot bean (154 samples), cabbage (91), cucumber (86), pepper (74), carrot (57), and garden radish (40).


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Beside vegetable and gourd crops, there are 22 species of medicinal and decorative plants in which breeding work has been conducted. At the present time their quantity is 270 samples, 200 of which are of Chinese aster. The first experiment with long-term storage was conducted with seeds of aster. The aster was the model species—microbiotic in storage longevity (2–3 years) under ambient conditions. The experiment used the variety ‘Fakel’ (harvested in 1989), which had an initial germination rate of 91.5% (classified as first rate, i.e., above 90%). The seeds were kept under unregulated conditions in a refrigerator of a seed storage facility. Samples of seeds were evaluated in five types of packing: fabric sack, polyethylene sack, paper, glass bottle with lapped top, and glass bottle with screw-top. The evaluation was replicated four times. The data were calculated with statistical methods of variance analysis. After 5 years of storage, only the seeds in glass bottles maintained their viability. The seeds in the refrigerator and the hermetic packing kept the seeds in good condition even after 11 years. Seeds stored in glass bottles with screw-top had a germination rate of 44.5%, a third class rating, after 13 years. From 1997–1999, experiments on long-term seed storage of garden radish, beet, lettuce, dill, onion and pepper were conducted. All the necessary calculations were made but it is too early to make conclusions. The data bank with sample descriptions is created together with the reproduction and storage of seeds. Now we have the descriptions for 3900 samples, and from that 2680 samples are catalogued on computer. There are descriptions of 240 samples of other plants, and from that 220 are included in the catalogue. In the last 5 years about 600 samples of vegetable and gourd crops from the gene pool were distributed for breeding and seed production. On some varieties, at the request of breeders, the regeneration of original germplasm was conducted.

Literature cited Alekseev, L. 1966. Seeds storage. In: Potatoes and vegetables, No. 1. Barton, L. 1964. Seeds storage and their longevity. Manuscript. Keller, I. 1990. Long-term storage of plant samples in Gaterolebek, Germany. In: Long time storage of genetic resources of cultured plants. Prague. p. 81–83. Khakimov, A.S. 1977. An influence of seed storage conditions of vegetable crops on their sowing quality. In: Proceeding (UzRIVMC&P). Tashkent. 14. p. 128–135. Kiselev, V.I., and V.V. Chrustaleva. 1969. An influence of storage conditions on the seed viability of vegetable crops. In: The articles collection of young scientists and postgraduate students RIOA, M.

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Kovachik, L. 1990. The program of genetic resources study in Czechoslovakia. In: Long time storage of genetic resources of cultured plants. Prague. p. 7–9. Kuleshov, N.N. 1963. Agronomic seed growing. M. Kurdina, V.N. 1966. The change of sowing seeds quality of vegetable crops during storage In: News of TAA. 5. Kvasnicka, P. and K. Dulec. 1990. Germplasm storage of vegetable and aromatic plants. In: Long time storage of genetic resources of cultured plants. Prague. p. 77–80. Lazukov, M.I. 1969. About seeds longevity the some vegetable crops. In: The articles collection of young scientists and post-graduate students RIOA, M. Piskunova, L.G. 1964. An influence of seed storage on the sowing and yield seeds quality of vegetable crops. In: Question of seed growing, seed investigation and control seeds. 2. Kiev. p. 369–373 Sokol, P.F. and A.A. Zaytseva. 1975. The influence of time and conditions of storage on the seed germination of vegetable and gourd crops. In: Proceedings of VNIISSOK. 3. p. 125–132. Sokol, P.F., et al. 1981. Seeds storage of vegetable crops. In: Quality of vegetable and gourd crops. M. p. 139–142. Tkachenko, N.M. and F.A. Tkachenko. 1977. Seeds of vegetable and gourd crops. M. “Kolos”. Zheleznev A.V., et al. 2000. Problems of conservation and use of genetic resources of Western Siberia and Altay. In: Task of breeding in Siberia. Novosibirsk. p. 75–83.


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The Breeding of Cucumber in the Fields in Kazakhstan: The Current Status and Outlook L.V. Kabirova Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Cucumber breeding has been conducted in Kazakhstan since the mid 1970s. The main emphasis has been to evaluate open-pollinated and F1 hybrid varieties brought from those USSR republics which actively cultivate this crop: Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and also from the All Union Institute of Plant Industry named after N. Vavilov (VIR). Since 1980 more than 200 cucumber varieties from various ecological areas of the world were evaluated in the Kazakh Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. Resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum) was the main criteria, due the severity of this disease in southeastern Kazakhstan until the mid 1980s. Dr. R.A. Bobrova laid the foundation for breeding of both open-pollinated and hybrid lines. Thanks to her persistence, a 2-ha heated greenhouse was constructed in 1976. Through agreements of cooperation with the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and VIR, Bobrova obtained unique varieties and original specimens for hybrid development. From 1976 to 1986 the Kazakh Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming conducted breeding using various sexual types (for example, gynoecious, gynodioecious, monoecious or andromonoecious) for the creation of superior F1 hybrids. A total of 805 hybrid combinations were produced for evaluation. The F1 lines were then evaluated under open field conditions, which were naturally infected with powdery mildew. At the same time the lines were assessed for resistance to downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis), another major disease of cucumbers and gourds. Most of the F1 hybrids failed to tolerate the extreme climatic conditions of Trans-Ili Alatau foothills and were affected with a latent strain of P. cubensis at the period of emergence of five true leaves, later perishing while fruiting. We didn’t study the race composition of P. cubensis but its aggressiveness combined with climatic conditions (low nighttime temperatures of 7–8°C and high daytime temperatures of 28–30°C) during the seedling and five-true-leaf phases was so high it prevented symptoms of powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum), angular leaf spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans), and viral diseases from appearing. During 1985 in the Nursery for Competitive Varieties Trial, the hybrids produced on the basis of Bank-crossed complex maternal form ‘BSMF-173-150-2’ and paternal gynodioecious sex forms obtained from VIR were evaluated under protective and then under open field conditions. They were evaluated for yield and fruit quality traits, including potential for use in salting and canning. In these trials, less than 30% of the leaves from the maternal materials showed powdery mildew symptoms during the fruiting stage while only 5–10% of leaves from paternal materials showed symptoms.

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Symptoms of severe infection of downy mildew during the fruiting stage were noted for F1 hybrids ‘G-196’ (‘BSMF 173-150-2’ × ‘Beloshino’) and ‘G193’ (‘BSMF 173150-2’ × ‘HOK’) in the Nursery of Competitive Varieties Trial in 1987, but not of F1 hybrids ‘G-174’ (‘BSMF-173-150-2’ × ‘MSU9410-8’) and ‘G201’ (‘BMF-173-150-2’ × ‘MSU9429-2). In resistant combinations, the paternal parents were from North America and possessed high levels of resistance to the disease. Since 1987 in fields artificially infected with downy mildew and powdery mildew, we have evaluated hybrids and subsequent generations of new genotypes under extreme weather conditions. We have cultivated all breeding materials without application of manure, humus or herbicides. The seeds are planted 5–6 cm deep so only the most vigorous seedlings emerge. Seeds are not treated with fungicides in order to identify genotypes with high tolerance to infection. In 1989 the combination ‘G-174 F1’ named as ‘Krepysh F1’ was transferred to the State Varieties Trial. Since 1996 it has been grown in Almaty, Kustanay and Akmola districts suggesting its wide adaptability. Total productivity of this hybrid can exceed 40 t/ha. Its fruits are 12–14 cm long, mid-ribbed, and uniformly green in color. The variety ‘Azat’ was created through the crossing of lines of mixed pollination and of geographically remote origin in combination with selection of progenies using a strict protocol for evaluation of disease resistance. ‘Azat’ is highly resistant to the complex of diseases found in open field production (downy mildew, powdery mildew, bacteriosis, and cucumber mosaic virus). The variety is late ripening and its fruits are 10–12 cm long, ribbed, 70–100 g, uniformly green, tasty, and genetically free of bitterness. The widely adapted variety can produce yields of 20–35 t/ha and has been evaluated since 2002 in the State Variety Trial. The F1 hybrid variety ‘Orken’ (‘Parifin mix’ × ‘Urozhayny-86’) was developed through individual and mass selection using a strict protocol for evaluation of disease resistance. The early ripening variety is tolerant to downy mildew and powdery mildew and is resistant to bacteriosis. The fruits are 12–13 cm long, green, and highly ribbed. Yields range from 30–40 t/ha. In 2003 the variety was transferred to the State Variety Trial. The F1 hybrid variety ‘Samal’ was created through the combination ‘Nacu Fusinari’ × ‘Concurent’. It is early ripening, tolerant to downy mildew and powdery mildew, and resistant to bacteriosis. Its yields range from 13–32 t/ha. Its fruits are salad type, 15–16 cm long, 120 g in weight, with occasional ribbing and light-colored spines. The plant is indeterminate, vigorous, and suitable for trellis culture. The variety has undergone testing since 2001 in the Competitive Variety Trial. ‘Medeu’ and ‘Shilde’, released in 1994 and 1998 respectively, are relatively resistant to the complex of diseases of open field production and can yield 30 t/ha or more. Due to disruption of international research linkages, Kazakhstan faces the challenge of creating its own genepool for all of its agricultural crops including cucumber. The


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assortment within the Kazakhstan collection currently is small—only six lines—and three of them, namely ‘Shilde’, ‘Azat’ and ‘Medeu’ possess complex resistance to downy mildew, powdery mildew and other diseases. Overall, few varieties can resist downy mildew. Under our growing conditions, varieties of Russian breeding—‘Fenix’ and ‘Zhuravlenok F1’—enjoy high consumer demand along with ‘Medeu’ and ‘Shilde’. We see as our main tasks: 1) select breeding parents from within the collection nursery and from local populations resistant to the diseases and inhospitable weather conditions of southeastern Kazakhstan; and 2) breed these types to create new varieties with good horticultural characteristics for commercial production. In our breeding work, we adhere to the development of lines that are genetically and phenotypically stable. In cucumber crops we evaluate: ovary shape, color of indumentum on ovary, color of spines on cucumbers, ripening date, cucumber shape, color of leaf, shape of cotyledons, sexual type of plant, and the protein spectrum of its seeds. In addition to the tasks described above, we will preserve the collection obtained by R.A. Bobrova from VIR and the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (TSHA). For such purpose, the male and female flowers within varieties are isolated in open ground and individual plants are intra-pollinated to produce self-pollinated lines from specimens highly resistant to diseases and highly productive under low temperatures (8–10°C). Interestingly, sources of resistance to downy mildew are lines developed in North America, namely ‘MSU’ and ‘Ginomait’, and also varieties ‘Fenix’, ‘Vodoley’ and ‘Zhuravlenok F1’ from Russian breeding programs. A total of 38 varieties are currently grown in Kazakhstan, including two open-pollinated varieties, namely ‘Medeu’ and ‘Shilde’, and one hybrid, ‘Krepysh F1’, of local breeding origin. Among the 38 varieties, 13 are suited for open field cultivation and 25 are suited for cultivation under protective shelters. In summary, from 1986–2000 we created six varieties of cucumber, three of which possess field resistance to downy mildew, powdery mildew, angular leaf spot, and cucumber mosaic virus. These varieties, ‘Medeu’, ‘Shilde’ and ‘Azat’, also tolerate low air temperatures (8°C) and are highly productive (30–50 t/ha). In the future it is expected that we will increase the number of open-pollinated and hybrid varieties of cucumbers through our local breeding program on the basis of already created varieties and employing the methods of nontraditional breeding, specifically, protoplast culture. In our breeding program, we will utilize the knowledge of the leading breeding institutions of the former Soviet Union: the All Union Research Institute of Breeding & Seed Growing of Vegetable Crops, the Belarussian Research Institute of Vegetable Crops, the Ukraine Research Institute of Vegetable Growing, TSHA and VIR. Extreme weather conditions of Trans-Ili Alatau foothills in southeastern Kazakhstan will facilitate the strict selection of varieties of cucumbers that are highly resistant to diseases and suitable for open field production.

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Yield and Economic Performance of Cucumber Varieties Grown in Southern Kazakhstan G.L. Ligay, A.T. Makulbaev, and E.A. Abildabek Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan South-Kazakhstan Research Institute of Farming, Sairam District, Kazakhstan

Cucumbers are harvested at a small size (9 cm or less) when produced for preserving. Many farmers consider it to be an economic disadvantage to harvest such small cucumbers. Yields of varieties of pickling cucumbers average only 14–16 t/ha and yields of gherkin types are even lower, 11–13 t/ha. The price of F1 hybrid cucumber seed fluctuated from US$200 to over US$1000 per kg, depending on the seed company. In contrast, the price of open-pollinated cucumber varieties fluctuated from US$20–30. Under such an assortment of seeds to select from, farmers face difficult choices. To help farmers make the correct choice of seed we have conducted variety trials. From Nunhems Zaden, a Holland-based seed company, we evaluated F1 hybrids ‘Ajax’, ‘Hektor’, ‘Delpina’, ‘Crispina’ and ‘Parker’. All of these hybrids are early maturing, resist cucumber mosaic virus, tolerate mildew, and are suitable for pickling. Some hybrids, notably ‘Ajax’, have high yield potentials that may exceed 100 t/ha; ‘Parker’ has resistance to heat and is well suited for shipping and long-term storage; and ‘Hektor’ is a very early maturing hybrid that is well suited to mechanized harvesting. The prices of these parthenocarpic hybrids, US$944–1091 per kg, were more than three times higher compared to nonparthenocarpic hybrids, US$348 (all prices in this study are measured for 2002). Parthenocarpic types do not require bee pollination to set fruit and can produce yields of 150 t/ha and higher. ‘Delpina’ belongs to a category of hybrids with a genetic character that stops fruit development at 10–12 cm. Hybrids from the seed company Rijk Zwaan were also investigated. These include ‘Opera’, ‘Etyud’, ‘Sonata’, ‘Muzika’ and ‘Harmony’. These F1 hybrids are all reported to be early maturing and have genetic resistance to many fungal diseases. With the exception of ‘Harmony’, all of these varieties are non-parthenocarpic. Many of these hybrids produce a high percentage of gherkin fruits and can give a maximum yield of 80–100 t/ha. The costs of seed for these hybrids averaged at US$187.2 per kg for the nonparthenocarpic types and US$408 per kg for ‘Harmony’. Bejo Zaden, a Holland-based firm, sold the lowest priced cucumber seeds. The average price per kg of seeds of their varieties was US$174. These varieties, which include ‘Asterics’ and ‘Atlantics’, have lower yield potential compared to other hybrids tested in this study. As a control, the local variety ‘Medeu’ from the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming and the well-known variety ‘Parad’ were used. Average market prices


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for seed of these varieties are US$18 or less. The field experiments were conducted in the foothills zone of Zailiyskii Alatau, at an altitude of 1000–1100 m, on farms located near a station of processing in a radius about 2–4 km and in the hot climate condition of the South-Kazakhstan region. In the south, the hybrids ‘Krispina’, ‘Parker’, ‘Asterics’ and ‘Atlantics’ were tested using ‘Parad’ as a check. Sowing was done during the first week of April. The fruits with size about 12 cm were sold in the market. In the foothills of Zailiyskii Alatau, ‘Ajax’, ‘Hektor’, ‘Delpina’, ‘Crispina’, ‘Parker’, ‘Opera’, ‘Etyud’, ‘Sonata’, ‘Muzika’, ‘Harmony’, ‘Asterics’ and ‘Atlantics’ were tested, using ‘Medeu’ as the check variety. The date of sowing was the third week of May, when the soil temperature had stabilized at 13–15°C. Requirements of pickling type cucumbers are a tender skin, crisp pulp, small seed cavity (25% of fruit volume), small size, dark green color, and high sugar content (over 2%). The fruit must be cylindrical and uniform in shape, with no evidence of insect or disease damage. Market prices are dependent on the size of cucumber. Cucumbers assigned with size 3–5 cm receive the highest price, followed by those with sizes 5–7 cm, 7–9 cm, and 10–12 cm. For this study, standard production practices for these regions were used. Two to three seeds were sown in holes spaced 140 × 30 cm apart; this made for a seeding rate of 60,000 seeds or 1380 g per ha. Irrigation was conducted by furrow. Inputs per ha taking into account of a coefficient of complication of 3.5 averaged US$1863.60. Fruits with size of not more 9 cm, i.e. gherkin of second group category, were preserved in 700-ml cans. The average delivery price in 2002 was US$0.17. In 2002 the climatic conditions in the foothills of Zailiyskii Alatau were humid due to frequent precipitation, which is favorable for the development of fungal diseases. In the second week of July, all evaluated hybrids showed high resistance to fungal and viral diseases, with the exception of ‘Medeu’, which was very susceptible. The hybrids from Rijk Zwaan were particularly resistant. The hybrids ‘Muzika’ and ‘Harmony’ showed durable resistance to fungi and produced fruits until the end of the growing season; however, many of their fruits were rejected due to deformation (Table 1). Trellising of the plants would have reduced this problem. An analysis of data showed interesting economical results. In Table 2 you can see that the parthenocarpic hybrid ‘Crispina’ produced a high yield of 59.4 t/ha, but in the final analysis the profit on each dollar of seed expense was only US$3.3. In contrast, ‘Muzika’, which has a less expensive seed, will provide a grower with US$16.3 per dollar of seed expense. In this example you can see that if you grow more expensive seeds it may be necessary to spend additional money on other crop management practices such as trellising to generate the yields required to justify such seed expenses. In our investigation many hybrids (e.g. ‘Muzika’, ‘Harmony’ and ‘Hektor’) were recommended for trellised production. In this case the percentages of their rejected


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fruits would be reduced, which in turn, would lead to an increase in marketable yield. Results of our investigation showed that the use of expensive parthenocarpic hybrids is not rational for non-trellised production operations since their potential yield advantages over non-parthenocarpic types are not realized (Tables 1 and 2). For the South-Kazakhstan region (Table 2), hybrids such as ‘Asteriks’ from Bejo Zaden, ‘Muzika’ from Rijk Zwaan, and ‘Parker’ from Nunhems Zaden are most profitable, although the price of ‘Parker’ seed is relatively high among non-parthenocarpic hybrids. Table 1. Yield and economic performance of cucumber varieties evaluated in Zailiiski Alatau, 2002

Variety

Seed expenses Source1 (US$)

Opera F1 Sonata F1 Muzika F1 Harmony F1 Etyud F1 Ajax F1 Hektor F1 Delpina F1 Parker F1 Crispina F1 Atlantics F1 Asterics F1 Medeu (check) 1

RZ RZ RZ RZ RZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ BZ BZ KZ

192 354 210 1134 1134 600 444 1470 552 1362 240 240 30

Total yield (t/ha)

Fruit rejection (%)

Sales (US$)

Profit (US$)

45.2 29.7 63.0 52.3 38.1 41.6 33.3 44.6 53.6 50.0 42.8 55.9 10.6

23.7 15.9 56.7 27.2 12.6 11.3 35.7 19.9 11.2 9.6 19.4 12.8 16.1

5186.2 3758.0 4103.9 5727.4 5005.9 5547.0 3217.0 5366.6 7155.5 6794.8 5186.3 7335.9 1337.9

3322.6 1894.4 2240.3 3863.8 3142.3 3683.4 1353.4 3503.0 5291.9 4931.2 3322.7 5472.3 –525.7

Profit/seed expense (US$) 17.3 5.3 10.6 3.4 2.7 6.1 3.0 2.4 9.6 3.6 13.8 22.8 –17.5

NZ – Nunhems Zaden; RZ – Rijk Zwaan; BZ – Bejo Zaden; KZ – Kazakhstan

Table 2. Yield and economic performance of cucumber varieties evaluated in SouthKazakhstan region, 2002

Variety Crispina F1 Parker F1 Muzika F1 Harmony F1 Atlantics F1 Asterics F1 Parad (check) 1

Seed expenses Source1 (US$) NZ NZ RZ RZ BZ BZ RU

1362 552 210 1134 240 240 30

Total yield (t/ha)

Fruit rejection (%)

Sales (US$)

Profit (US$)

Profit/seed expense (US$)

59.4 54.2 48.0 52.3 38.6 46.4 19.6

8.6 3.6 5.3 3.8 6.3 2.0 6.1

6317.3 6084.6 5293.5 5851.9 4211.5 5293.5 2140.6

4453.7 4221.0 3429.9 3988.3 2347.9 3429.9 2770.0

3.3 7.9 16.3 3.5 9.8 14.3 9.3

NZ – Nunhems Zaden; RZ – Rijk Zwaan; BZ – Bejo Zaden; RU – Russia


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For the Almaty region, the hybrids ‘Muzika’, ‘Opera’, ‘Parker’ and ‘Asteriks’ are more most profitable to grow.

Recommendations Before planting, it is necessary to estimate production expenses and to target profitable markets. For example, varieties such as ‘Medeu’ and ‘Parad’ can be recommended for gardeners and small-scale growers because they produce reliable yields. For inexperienced commercial growers, inexpensive hybrids such as ‘Asteriks’ and ‘Muzika’ can be recommended. Their expected yields will range from 50–60 t/ha using modern crop management practices. Parthenocarpic hybrids such as ‘Crispina’, ‘Harmony’ and ‘Delpina’ are recommended for experienced farmers with available markets. These hybrids can realize yields of 150–200 t/ha.

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Future Directions in Tomato Breeding N.V. Kurganskaya and S.K. Dzhantasova Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Tomato is one of the major vegetable crops in the world. In Kazakhstan, tomato accounts for 15–18% of the area and over 20% of the volume of vegetable production. Depending on the region, yields range from 15–24 t/ha, but the biological yield potential is higher. Some yield is lost due to frosts in autumn, especially in the northern and central regions of republic. Diseases and a lack of labor also limit tomato yields and the scope of production area. In Kazakhstan, 19 tomato varieties are used in open field production. When developing new varieties, priorities include stable yields, high adaptability to local soils and climate, suitability for intended use (fresh market or processing), and resistance to the major diseases in the geographic area where it is being targeted. To provide markets with tomato all year-round it is necessary to have varieties of different maturities. Developing tomato varieties for the early season is a priority in all regions; these varieties should be high yielding, smooth-skinned, and transportable. To succeed in open field production, these varieties must be tolerant to cool weather and sharply fluctuating temperatures. Valuable germplasm for this purpose has been identified from Canada and the northern and central regions of Russia. Besides early types, midseason to mid-late maturing varieties with heat tolerance must be created since temperatures in the south during flowering and fruit setting can be 35–40°C. The use of irrigation and modern technologies, and the selection of varieties based on high yields and favorable maturities, may lead to overlooking the importance of fruit quality. So, an important direction in our breeding program is to increase fruit quality. For fresh market purposes, a tomato should be relatively large, pulpy, transportable, storable, and available in different colors. Improving the quality of our processing tomatoes is another direction that requires greater attention. The harvesting of tomato is very laborious work, thus it is important to create high yielding varieties suited for mechanized harvesting. These varieties should be resistant to diseases and well suited for short cropping rotations, including where modern irrigation and fertilization practices are followed. Another means to reduce labor demands is the use of direct seeding. Direct seeding is less labor intensive and 30–50% less costly compared to the use of transplants. The development of varieties that germinate well under low temperatures will support direct seeding practices. As the private sector has increased in importance, there has been a demand for openpollinated varieties with high yield, large fruit, quality taste, and available in different colors. Amateur breeding enthusiasts will continue to work on creating such varieties,


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but the future of commercial tomato breeding lies in hybridization. Hybridization of tomato can lead to yield increases of 20–50% and more. Through hybridization, we can combine many economically valuable characteristics such as yield, fruit quality, early maturity, and resistance to diseases. Some years ago we began working on creating early maturing hybrids. Thirty-four lines possessing different types of sterility were estimated and their combining abilities were determined. ‘Mutant-1’, which has stamen sterility, was an interesting sample, and a pollinator to this line was chosen. But during this time period hybrid tomato for open field production was not widely practiced, so subsequent investigations were terminated. Opinions have since changed—hybrids have been shown to provide economic benefits even in the production of small-scale farms and gardens. At this time, hybrids produced in Holland are mainly used. Looking to the future, tomato breeding work in the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming will create varieties for once-over harvesting as well as varieties with large fruit, high quality, and concentrated maturity. More than 380 samples from 10 countries have been evaluated in order to develop a desirable pool of germplasm for breeding. In this evaluation, samples from North America, Western Europe and Southern Russia have generated the most interest. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) on early maturity and yield were estimated for tomato selections. Methods developed by Savchenko and Burenina were used. Through this research, samples having both high GCA and low variance of interaction of SCA and environment were selected. These measures were used for evaluating the first generation hybrids. Lines ‘k-4605’, ‘k-4353’, ‘k-4554’, ‘k-10340’ from the USA, ‘k-4499’ and ‘k-4520’ from Canada, ‘k-4605’ and ‘k-4353’ from Hungary, and ‘Iskorka’, ‘Novichok’, ‘Samaladay’, and ‘Luchezarniyi’ generated special interest. Early maturing samples with large fruits included ‘Agata’, ‘Velina’, ‘Lunnyi’, ‘Beliy naliv’, ‘Tambovskiy urajainyi’, ‘Ont-771’ (k-4486), ‘Peto-76’ (k-4767), ‘Chef’ (k-3979), ‘99-mass-1-2’ (var. k-10344), ‘Berges’ and ‘Pink glory’. Varieties were evaluated for their suitability for mechanized harvesting. Lines having non-articulated pedicels (gene j and jz) are of special interest. This “jointless” characteristic is qualitative and recessive. In our study of F2 hybrids, where one of the parents is jointed and the other is not, 56% of fruits separated from the vine easily but only 5.1–9.6% were jointless. In our breeding program today, we feel that ecological stability must be evaluated along with yield, fruit quality, and resistance to diseases. Ideally we would like to find varieties that produce very high yields during favorable conditions and only slightly lower yields during unfavorable conditions. Ecological stability is estimated using two indexes: coefficient regression (b1) and average quadratic deviation (variances) from line of regression (S2 d1). In this analysis, values higher than 1 indicate high sensitivity


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to environmental changes; in contrast, values lower than 1 indicate less sensitivity. Varieties ‘Fakel’, ‘Zarnitsa’, ‘Samaladay’, ‘Meryet’, ‘Djina’, ‘Brigantina’ and ‘Hybrid-48-83-1’ have coefficients near 1 (0.88–1.05). Varieties ‘Raketa’, ‘Titan’, ‘Rychanskiy’, ‘Novinka Pridnestroya’, ‘Plamya’, ‘Novichok’ have high coefficients (1.57–2.22); yields of this latter group of varieties could vary 35 to 73 t/ha, depending on environmental conditions. ‘Victoriya’, ‘Volgogradskiy-5/95’, ‘Luchezarniy’ and ‘Dieina’ have low coefficients, indicating low reactions of these varieties relative to environmental changes. There were no significant correlations between yield and parameters of stability (paired correlation coefficients ranged from –0.26 to 0.14). In other words, the group of high yielding varieties included as many stable as unstable varieties for yield. Fortunately, some varieties combined both high yield and yield stability. This investigation contributed to the creation of eight varieties of various maturities (Table 1). ‘Plamya’, ‘Samaladay’ and ‘Meryet’ have firm fruit and can be stored for 22– 25 days. Among these varieties, 88–93% of their fruits were harvested without pedicel attached, making them suitable for mechanized harvesting. ‘Astralmant’, ‘Narttay’ and ‘Luchizarnyi’ were noted for their tolerance to heat and resistance to Fusarium and other diseases. ‘Astralmant’ has partial tolerance to salt. ‘Zarya Vostoka’ is crimson in color and is suitable for salad. ‘Hybrid 114-90-4’ reliably produces high yields of large fruits. Table 1. The main characteristics of selected tomato varieties evaluated by the Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Kazakhstan Variety Plamya Meryet Samaladay Luchizarniy Narttay Zarya Vostoka Hybrid 114-90-4 Astralmant 1

Yield Maturity1 (t/ha) ME Mid Mid Mid Mid ME Mid ML

Fruit wt Dry matter (g) (%)

51–57 66–68 44–51 58–72 52–62 78–88 56–67 105–112 54–71 110–121 51–55 94 62–66 121–125 55–64 91–98

6.4–6.8 6.0–6.6 6.0–6.3 5.6–6.0 5.4–5.9 5.7–6.2 5.3–6.0 5.5–5.9

Sugar (%)

Acidity (%)

2.9–3.1 3.6–4.0 3.0–3.9 3.3–3.6 2.9–3.1 2.6–3.3 2.8–3.2 2.9–3.4

0.43–0.64 0.44–0.62 0.46–0.54 0.48–0.56 0.47–0.67 0.59–0.80 0.50–0.53 0.37–0.46

Ascorb. Acid (mg/100 g) 20.0–25.5 24.2–25.0 20.1–22.0 23.0–29.1 18.7–21.0 21.1–25.5 20.0–23.2 21.1–26.2

ME = mid-early, Mid = midseason, and ML = mid-late.

Currently it takes approximately 10–12 years for creating a variety using classical breeding methods, while using modern biotechnologies and methods of genetic engineering can reduce the process to only 3–4 years. To improve the breeding process, plants with different ploidy levels, especially haploids, can be used. In breeding of cultivated tomato, haploids are used in two ways: 1) sprouting of pollen grains on nutrient media, which leads to the formation of androgenous haploids; and 2) using either reduced ovules or the functional substitution of embryo sacs to form gynogenous haploids.


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In the laboratory of cell breeding and genetic engineering, obtaining androgenous calluses from isolated anthers of tomato in vitro have been studied. Experiments have been conducted to study the optimal size of anther for culture, the influence of temperature on callus formation, identify superior nutrient media for culture, and determine effective forms of aseptics for treating anthers. Accordingly, studies have demonstrated that the optimal size of anther for culture is 2–3 mm, treating anthers for 36 hours of low temperatures will stimulate greatest frequency of callus formation, Nich media is optimal for callus formation, and that the optimal aseptic is a 0.2% solution of silver nitrate. Now the main direction of tomato breeding is the creation of early maturity varieties for both open field and sheltered production. Using modern biotechnology, we aim to develop varieties that consistently produce high yields and are resistant to major diseases.

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Status and Objectives of Onion Breeding in Kazakhstan O.S. Vodyanova Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Common onion (Allium cepa) is one of over 400 species of allium (Wendelbo 1969, Alekseeva 1996, Allium Lauch 1998). Numerous nutrients have been found in this vegetable, including vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C and D, mineral salts, sugars, and free amino acids such as glycine, proline, and threonine (Bekdairova 1971, Burenin 1990). Global vegetable production in 2000 was 46.2 million t, which was grown on 2.66 million ha, making for an average yield of 17.3 t/ha (FAO 2002). This level of production is second only to tomato among vegetable crops. In Kazakhstan during 1990–2001, the total onion production area varied from 17,000– 28,000 ha, while average productivity was 15–17 t/ha, and total production was between 290,00–420,000 t. Southern and southeastern regions of Kazakhstan are favorable zones for onion cultivation, accounting for 80% of the nation’s crop area. Yields until 1991 averaged 30 t/ha, with some producers achieving 50–80 t/ha. Kazakhstan is also a favorable location for onion breeding work. A total of 109 species of wild and perennial onions grow here, and some of them can be used as sources of valuable agronomic traits (Tsitsina 1955, Pavlov 1958). Onion breeding in Kazakhstan has been conducted for 50 years, the last 25 years within a single institution—the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. The institute was established by P.M. Erenburg. He created the following onion varieties: ‘Dunganskii 56’, which was awarded the silver medal in Erfurt in 1956, and ‘Octiabrskii’ in 1976, which is currently used in production. Other varieties developed by Erenburg for state testing included: ‘Kazakhstanskii 32’, ‘Kazakhstanskii 64’, ‘AlmaAtinskii’, ‘Kzyl-Tan’, and the shallot ‘Pervomayskii’. He repeatedly took part in expeditions for collection of local onion varieties and wild-growing species. For many years, even after he left science, breeders used his materials for making crosses and selections. By 2003, eight open-pollinated (OP) and two hybrid varieties of onion and two varieties of shallot (A.ascalonicum) were accepted for growing in Kazakhstan. Six out of the eight onion varieties are varieties developed from Kazakhstan selections. Onion varieties ‘Octiabrskii’, ‘Mereke’, ‘Tabys’, ‘Arai’ and ‘Igilik’, and shallot varieties ‘Kainarskii’ and ‘Vodolei’ were developed at the Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming. It is known that breeding can be successful if the goal is correctly set, parameters are determined, and the model of a future variety is constructed. Models of new onion varieties reflect levels of agricultural intensification and development in various periods of


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breeding work. In the 1970s, a variety model was based on the development of high yielding varieties resistant to downy mildew (Peronospora destructor). The model for the 1980s was designed for developing varieties suited for mechanized cultivation and harvesting. The transition to new socio-economic conditions has brought up the necessity to develop varieties for smaller-scale, individually owned farms. Also, the development of varieties with resistance to storage diseases (especially to neck rot caused by Botrytis allii) along with a set of agronomically valuable traits are planned for the period of 2001–2005. When developing a model for varietal development, the following formula is used: genotype (G) + environment (E) = phenotype (P) (Borojevic 1978). This model is the reflection of the level of the initial material at the moment used by breeders for transferring agronomically valuable traits. The strategy of variety model development has to be considered as an important stage for ensuring its breeding direction. Success of breeding work is determined by the initial material, which is impossible to achieve without a detailed study of the flowering and seed-forming biology. We made a detailed study of the onion flowering biology for perennial and wild species, as well as conducted cytoembryological research for crosses among varieties and among diverse parents, under conditions of Southeast Kazakhstan in 1970–1990. Seed yields of onion varieties with different genetic backgrounds were determined under open and restricted pollination. The influence of long-term inbreeding on varieties, which included ‘Karatalskii’, ‘Octyabrskii’, ‘Kaba’ and ‘Souz’ was investigated. It was revealed that varieties react differently to inbreeding by reducing seed productivity by 5.7–20.0 times at the maximal dispersion in J1–J2. It was established that inbred lines represent a rich source of germplasm from which valuable breeding materials may be selected efficiently. In our research they are utilized as one of the sources of the initial breeding material. From 1976–1990 we evaluated 355 accessions from 35 countries, including USA, Japan, Scandinavian countries, and Bulgaria. Since then, the All Union Institute of Plant Industry named after N.I. Vavilov (VIR) has stopped providing germplasm. It is extremely difficult to obtain this kind of germplasm now. The use of accessions sold by various companies, as a rule, is not efficient since their seed frequently has low germinating ability. In our research convergent, pair and polycross hybridization types are applied. Mutant and inbred forms are used in hybridization. In the 1980s, a wide crossing method was used to produce initial forms with resistance to downy mildew and root rots. A series of valuable hybrids resulted from the crossing of ‘Pskemskii’ and ‘Altayskii’ onions as well as shallot types. They are being assessed now in breeding nurseries. We developed a method that allows us to increase seed set and produce viable seed in interspecific hybridization between common onion (A. cepa) and species with equal chromosome sets, such as Welsh onion (A. fistulosum), and with those of unequal chromosome sets, such as chives (A. schoenoprasum), using inbred lines J3–J5 and autoploid

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forms as maternal parents. This allowed us to increase seed set by 2.9–9.4 and 4.3–42.6 times. The method was officially certified. Of practical and theoretical interest was a problem of chemical mutagenesis use in developing initial germplasm. This method has been researched insufficiently and has not been widely applied on onions. We investigated the influence of mutagens in treatment of seeds and bulbs such as ethylenimine, nitroso-methyl-urea, nitroso-ethyl-urea, nitroso-di-methyl-urea, dimethylsylphate and 1,4-bis-diazo-acetyl-butane in various concentrations and expositions on various OP and hybrid onion varieties. Influence of these mutagens on germination and survival of seeds, mitotic activity, frequency and type of chromosomal aberrations, and mutability of onions in various generations were investigated. Valuable mutant forms (including physiological mutations of the bulb shape and color) with agronomically valuable properties were selected for breeding. Varieties ‘Tabys’, ‘Arai’, ‘Igilik’ were developed through the chemical mutagenesis method. ‘Tabys’ was achieved by treating bulbs of ‘Oktiabrskii’ with nitroso-ethyl-urea at the 0.05% concentration rate, followed by the selection of highly productive populations. This widely adaptable variety is intermediate to late maturing and has a semi-pungent taste. In public testing at 103 sites, this variety outyielded local checks by 10% or more in 34 sites and was the top performer in 17 sites. The maximal yield, 66.8 t/ha, was produced in Stavropol krai. Storage tests conducted over intervals of 7–8 months show that ‘Tabys’ stores better than ‘Karatalskii’. ‘Tabys’ is recommended for production in four zones of Kazakhstan now. ‘Arai’, which was created by treated seed of ‘Dunganskii 56’ by nitroso-ethyl-urea at 0.05%, is also very interesting. It is a late maturing and high yielding variety with semipungent taste, globular to flat-globular in shape, with dry dark violet scales and high storage ability. By early spring, the storage percentage of Arai was as high as 96.6%, while that of the initial form was only 50–55%. ‘Igilik’ was created by treating bulbs of ‘Hybrid 31’ (‘Valencia’ × ‘Karatalskii’) with 1,5 diazo-acetyl-butane. The variety belongs to a late maturity group possessing high yield potential and semi-pungent taste. ‘Igilik’ produces cigar-shaped bulbs, which are well suited for culinary purposes and processing. Through the use of mutant materials in our breeding program, variety ‘Mereke’ was developed. This variety is intermediate to late maturing, high yielding, and characterized by broad adaptability, high storage life, and semi-pungent taste. In testing at 149 sites, ‘Mereke’ outyielded local checks by 10% or more at 65 sites and was the top performer at 36 sites. Its top yield was achieved in Armenia at the Echmidzinskii State Variety Testing site—equal to 72.1 t/ha. This variety is accepted for production in nine provinces of Kazakhstan. The variety was awarded the silver medal of the National Industry Achievements Exhibition (VDNH USSR) in 1991. Five mutant forms that are characterized by high productivity and other valuable traits are being tested in advanced yield trials now. We have carried out extensive re-


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search on experimental polyploidy. Polyploidization was caused by treating various parts of plants (dry and sprouted seeds, bulbs, inflorescences) with colchicine. The cytological control for the polyploidization level in tissue was conducted throughout the treatment process. Accumulation of polyploid cells and mitosis and meiosis cycles were investigated. Diagnostic attributes of the polyploid forms were determined and morphological and biological properties of their development, including meiosis processes and levels of chromosomal conjugations, were studied. It was established that the conjugations of chromosomes of the tetra and aneuploid type plants were broken. In addition to bivalent chromosome associations, quadri, three, univalent and other complex chromosomal associations were found at different frequencies. Chromosomal and chromatid bridges and fragments were observed in the fifth generation in meiosis at frequencies ranging from 1.5–7.3%. The best of the experimental autopolyploids selected did not yield to the check in terms of seed productivity and quality. These forms, in comparison with the diploid forms, had stronger developed leaf apparatus. Shallot variety ‘Kainarskii’ was created using the above-mentioned method and is two times higher than the local check in terms of green biomass. This variety is used in six provinces of Kazakhstan. During targeted breeding for varieties suitable for mechanized cultivation we developed an initial material evaluation method, which was patented and certified by the author. As subsequent breeding work showed, none of these methods can be used without involvement of traditional methods. Joint individual and population selection efforts with Donetsk vegetable-melon station resulted in variety ‘Almadon’, which is characterized by early maturity and yields as high as 40–42 t/ha. This variety is widely distributed in Ukraine. We carried out research on shallot seed production. When reproduced for a long time, which also leads to viral infection increase, the yield of shallot as well as of other vegetatively propagated crops decline. Our study showed that at the 16–18th reproduction the yield reduces sharply and the crop becomes susceptible to viral diseases and mites. Yellow dwarf virus infection of shallot results in depressed plant growth and significant yield reductions when compared to the 7–9th generations (falling from 18.3 to 2.5 t/ha). We developed shallot seed production methods based on generative multiplication, which allows us to renew varieties and seed materials, increase yield potential, save biological traits, and improve some agronomic traits. This method is also protected with the author’s certificate. Using shallot generations grown out of the seed, we identified a clone with traits descending from those of the initial form. The variety was named ‘Vodolei’ and has been used for production since 2003. Its bulb yield averaged 26.8 t/ha during three years of cultivation, while the check variety produced 23 t/ha. Green biomass yield of ‘Vodolei’ and the check variety was 31.3 and 23.7 t/ha, respectively. The variety is recommended as an addition to the variety ‘Kainarskii’. In 1996–2000 we studied the effects of bulb selection used in reproduction, based on an index of bulb shape, on biological and agronomic attributes of new varieties. It was


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confirmed that varieties of agricultural crops can be divided into several biotypes. Vegetable crops should include 80–90% of the population (Ludilov and Leukov 1997). Varieties of common onion typically are ascribed to a range of biotypes (Erenburg 1964, Bakuras 1974, Vodyanova 1993). We couldn’t find research works dedicated to the effect of common onion biotype composition on agronomic and biological characteristics. Preservation of the main agronomic and biological traits of the variety is a primary objective when a variety is reproduced. Of great importance is orientation of reproductive bulb selection based on bulb shape index. The research using the first reproduction of ‘Mereke’ was made in 1997–2000 and comprised the following experiment treatments: 1. selection of the primary bulb shape only (the primary biotype) 2. selection of the primary bulb shape to 80% + 20% of associated bulb shape types (all biotypes of the variety). Exclusion of secondary and other biotypes from the population leads to seed productivity decreases. However, statistically the decrease is nonsignificant. Figure 1 represents the data on frequency of seed yield matching under the two selection methods. The figure indicates a general tendency of frequency arrangement. It has been important to know how different ways of selection methods may affect the primary bulb biotype content (Table 1 and Figure 2).

Frequency of matching (%)

20 15

10

S S

S S

5 0

S S S S

S 12

S S S S S S

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40

Seed weight per plant (g) S

Primary bulbs

All bulbs1

Figure 1. Effect of bulb selection on seed yield 1

Consists of 80% primary bulbs and 20% secondary or other bulb types


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Table 1. Effect of bulb selection method on seed yield of ‘Mereke’ Bulb type

1998

Primary bulb All bulbs1 LSD (0.05) LSD (0.01)

127 166

1

Plants (no.) 1999 Total 44 128

Seed productivity (g) Variation (%) 1998 1999 Mean 1998 1999 Mean

171 294

20.7 21.4 1.1 1.5

17.9 19.7 3.2 4.2

18.9 20.6 2.1 2.8

21.0 23.2

59.0 33.5

28.4 40.5


Frequency of matching (%)

40

30 20

10 0

S

50

S

55

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

S

100

Main bulb type (%) S

Primary bulbs

All bulbs1

Figure 2. Effect of selection method on primary bulb biotype content 1


Data on the study of the primary bulb biotype content and its variation are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Primary bulb biotype content and its variation Family Selection type pop’ns Primary bulb All bulbs1 LSD (0.05) 1

130 212

Basic primary biotype (%) 1998 1999 Mean 80.9 76.8

78.8 75.8

79.9 76.3 3.8

1998

Variation (%) 1999 Mean

10.8 10.0

12.0 17.4

11.4 13.7 4.2


During our two years of the research we have found that differences in bulb content of the main biotype between the two selection methods are not significantly different.


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Table 3 represents the summarized data on yield and its variation among the families across the experimental treatments. Table 3. Effect of bulb selection method on yield of ‘Mereke’

Method Primary bulb All bulbs1 LSD (0.05) 1

Family pop’ns 228 303

1997 49.1 59.4 3.8

Yield (t/ha) 1998 1999 31.1 36.9 3.1

27.7 29.3 1.6

Avg

1997

Variation (%) 1998 1999

Avg

36.0 41.9

38.0 14.1

44.0 22.0

35.5 19.6

26.6 22.6


Literature cited Alekseeva, M.V. 1996. Cultural and wild food onion. Manuscript. 79 p. Allium Lauch. 1998. Eipeldaers Garten tag. No. 6. p. 6–11. Bakuras, N.S. 1974. Onion crop in Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 134 p. Bekdairova. 1971. Biochemical characteristics of garlic and onion in the process of vegetation and storage. Ph.D. dissertation. Almaty. Borojevic C. 1978. Can we develop varieties and races as we model then? International Congress of Genetics.Moskow, 21–31 August 1978. p. 1–25 Burenin, V.I. 1990. Vegetables as a source of health. 225 p. Erenburg, P.M. 1964. Results of onion plant breeding in the south of Kazakhstan. In: Methodology of onion plants breeding and seed production. p. 259–263. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 2002. FAO data. Accessed in 2002. Rome: FAO. Ludilov, V.A. and V. Leunov. 1997. Problem issues of seed production. Breeding and Seed Production. No. 3. p. 12–19. Pavolv (ed). 1958. Flora of Kazakhstan. p. 134–193. Tsitsina, S.E. 1955. Kazakhstan species of onion and prospects of their application in crops. Bulletin of the Great Botanic Garden 1(21):35. Vodyanova, O.S. 1993. Applying and development of traditional and radical methods of napiform onion. Ph.D. dissertation. 395 p. Wendelbo P. 1969. New subgenera, sections and species of Allium L. Bot. Notrier. 122(1): 25–37.

Country Reports Kyrgyzstan

COUNTRY REPORTS: KYRGYZSTAN

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The Status and Prospects of Vegetable Production in Kyrgyzstan Y.G. Levchenko and A. Abdivasiev Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

In 2002, the farmers in the Kyrgyz Republic produced 828,000 t of vegetables on 45,000 ha. Vegetable production per capita is 165 kg, which is above the recommended level of 105–150 kg for a healthy diet. Among vegetable crops, tomato accounts for 20% of production, followed by bulb onion (15.6%), carrot (13.0%), cabbage (12.5%) and cucumber (8.4%). Average yields of major vegetable crops are 16.9 t/ha each for tomato and bulb onion, 17.0 t/ha for carrot, 19.4 t/ha for cabbage, and 14.0 t/ha for cucumber. Yields are low due to inadequate application of fertilizers, lack of modern agricultural technologies, and poor quality seed, among other factors. Most vegetable crops are cultivated near population centers in the hot lowlands of northern and southern Kyrgyzstan. In recent years more vegetables have been produced in mountainous regions, as transportation costs from the hot lowland production areas are relatively high, affecting consumer prices. Small-scale farms grow nearly all of the vegetables in Kyrgyzstan, and homestead farming and peri-urban vegetable production are promoted. Very little vegetable production is processed. There are about 19 ha of greenhouses; however, due to high prices for energy resources, the costs of production in these systems are very high. Greenhouse producers who have their own boilers are in a more advantageous position as they can purchase relatively cheap fuel, while farms served by heating power stations have to pay considerable amounts of money. As a result, fresh vegetables during winter are very costly to produce. Since few consumers can afford such expensive vegetables, greenhouse production is declining. After conducting economic reforms, the vegetable seed industry suffered severely. Seed production nearly halted because prices did not offset expenses, the number of progressive farmers demanding quality seed declined, and new varieties were not available. Besides, due to changes in the law, only the patent holder of a modern variety has the right to produce it; this has led to increased production of older, non-patented varieties. Initial seed production of ‘Kyrgyzskaya’ cabbage and ‘Bishkek’ tomato is conducted at the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry. Other varieties, both hybrid and open-pollinated, of vegetable crops are supplied to the republic from Europe, Russia, China, Uzbekistan and other countries. Some farmers produce seeds of varieties for

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mass distribution. Scientific research on vegetable crops in the republic is concentrated at Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry and at the State Agricultural University named after K.I. Skryabin. The former institute conducts research on developing varieties of tomato as well as developing technologies for carrot production in mountainous areas. At present, due to the increase in vegetable prices and a decrease of interest fees on credit, there is an opportunity to purchase more fertilizers and plant protection technologies, which may generate higher yields and profits. More private enterprises are engaging in vegetable processing. For the future, vegetable production will be oriented toward diversifying crops, expanding greenhouse production with the purpose of increasing early yields, and developing a vegetable sector that can supply fresh vegetables outside the republic as well as support local processing operations.


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Carrot Seed Production in the High Mountain Zone of Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan Y.G. Levchenko and A. Mambetov Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

The climate of the high mountain zone of Naryn province allows cultivation of only cold-tolerant vegetables, and carrot is one of them. Carrot is used for food and forage and there is a desire for locally produced quality seed. In Kyrgyzstan, seed production of carrot is mainly conducted in the hot lowland valleys; therefore, introducing this technology to the high mountain zone demands investigation. Our research focused on evaluating the effects of sowing schemes on first-year carrot stock production and the effects of grafting for carrot seed production. The experiments were conducted at the Naryn Experimental Station of Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry, located in the high mountain zone (2,050 m above sea level) under irrigated conditions. The soil is light-brown with low content of humus, nitrogen and active phosphorus. The results of carrot phenological observation showed that if seed were sown in the beginning of May, shoots would appear 20–30 days after sowing. Edible root formation was evident 26 days after germination, ripening after 163 days. In the second year, the young edible roots began growing in early May. Floriferous shoots appeared after 47 days, followed by mass flowering 3–23 days later. Umbels began to turn brown in the middle of August and were harvested in the second half of October. The experiments on defining optimal sowing scheme indicated that the climate of Naryn province is favorable for growing carrot, with yields varying from 22.3 to 66.9 t/ha over the 4-year span. Drilling resulted in the highest mean yield (51.9 t/ha) and a spacing of 70 × 4 cm was most desirable. Research on carrot seed production demonstrated the possibility to get 0.18–0.34 t/ha of seed in this region (Table 1). Non-grafted plants produced the most seed consistently through the four years of this study (Table 1). A closer look at the data, however, shows that grafted plants produce a higher percentage of large and medium-sized seed (Table 2). Small-sized seed cannot be used in crop production. Taking into account both seed quantity and quality, the differences between these grafting treatments are negligible. An average of 0.19 t/ha of marketable seed is produced with non-grafted plants compared to 0.20 t/ha for grafting with flowers of the first rate and 0.21 t/ha for grafting with flowers of the first and second rate.

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Table 1. Effect of grafting flowers on rootstocks for carrot seed yield, by year Treatment

1999

Yield (t/ha) 2000 2001

2002

Mean

Without grafting (control) Flowers of the first rate Flowers of the first and second rate

0.22 0.18 0.20

0.27 0.21 0.24

0.33 0.21 0.24

0.29 0.21 0.23

0.34 0.22 0.24

Table 2. Effect of grafting flowers on size of carrot seed produced Treatment Without grafting (control) Flowers of the first rate Flowers of the first and second rate

Large 23.5 67.5 55.5

Seed size (%) Medium Small 43.5 28.0 36.0

33.0 4.5 8.5

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

In conclusion, the climate of the Naryn high mountain zone is favorable for carrot growing. During this study, carrot yields varied from 22.3 to 66.9 t/ha and carrot seed yields varied from 0.18 to 0.34 t/ha. The highest carrot yields were attained with drilling seeds at a spacing of 70 x 4 cm. Grafting flowers onto carrot rootstocks improved seed quality but did not significantly improve marketable seed yields.


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Maintaining Purity in Garlic Planting Stock K.E. Ergeshova and B.K. Tazhmatov Kyrgyz Agrarian University named after K.I. Skryabin, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Garlic has been highly valued since ancient times for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Ancient peoples used garlic as a cure for healing tuberculosis, pneumonia, hypertension, rickets, insomnia, gout, angina, and also as antihelmintic, diuretic, and antiscorbitic medicine for festering wounds and non-recovering ulcers. Garlic dissolves damaging lime deposits on blood vessel walls, prevents the occurrence of sclerosis, normalizes blood pressure, and is often recommended to treat influenza and the common cold. The wide application of garlic is due to its high content of biologically active compounds, vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates. In Kyrgyzstan, garlic has been cultivated for centuries and the vegetable grows well all over the republic. Many researchers believe that garlic originated in Central Asia, part of which is Kyrgyzstan. Despite its centuries of cultivation and the region’s favorable environmental conditions, the level of garlic production remains low. Garlic production is concentrated mainly on small farms and gardens in the private sector. Due to poor seed production practices, garlic yields have dramatically declined, although prices for the vegetable have risen to US$0.9/kg. Full-grown garlic plants are of little use as planting stock since they quickly degrade due to infections of diseases and nematodes. The following agronomic techniques were proposed to enhance garlic productivity:

• Use bulblets to improve the purity of planting stock. • Use planting stock that is grown at lower temperatures (for example, in mountain areas).

• Plant at the optimal time. • Use large single-clove bulbs as planting stock. • Use only larger cloves for planting. Cultivated garlic has lost its ability for sexual reproduction long ago, reproducing itself only through vegetative plant parts such as cloves within the bulbs or bulblets within the flower heads of the seed stalks. In Kyrgyzstan as well as in other southern states, the soils under garlic culture are densely infected with nematodes due to lack of crop rotation and inadequate application of modern agricultural practices.


94

Many researchers have shown that reproduction of garlic through bulblets provides sanitation of planting stock, preserving it from infection of many pests and diseases, especially nematodes. For bulblet production, the seed stalks with heads are saved on chosen plants, cut together with a 20-cm-long stem piece, and stored in a well-ventilated room for maturation and subsequent sowing. In our experiment, prior to sowing, mature heads were threshed and graded into larger (1.0–1.5 cm), mid (0.5–1.0 cm), and fine (0.3–0.5 cm) fractions, which were sown separately. The sowing was performed on 20 October following a spacing of 45 × 2–4 cm, providing for a sowing rate of 40–80 kg/ha depending on fraction (higher rate for larger bulblets). The inability of garlic to reproduce through seed is special for garlic; the plant lost this ability in the process of transformation from wild garlic into cultivated types. It is common knowledge that garlic underwent little change in the process of reproduction and hybridization due to its inability for sexual reproduction; whereas its varieties differ markedly. The life cycle of garlic starts from the formation of vegetative buds. Larger bulblets, like seeds, pass all development stages but cotyledons. In garlic culture, not all varieties produce seed stalks. A stalk-forming variety produces flower heads and bulblets. The timely removal of seed stalks promotes growth of bulbs and increases garlic yields since seed stalks with flower heads consume many nutrients needed for bulb growth. This is why the seed stalks for production of bulblets should be saved only on the best plants. For other plants, the stalks should be removed. In the springtime of this experiment, the plants originating from larger bulblets grew and produced larger single-clove bulbs than medium- and small-sized fractions (Table 1). Table 1. Growth and development of plants depending on size of bulblet sown

Bulblet size

Growth initiation date

Large Medium Small

Apr 10 Apr 18 Apr 21

Maturation date Jul 13 Aug 02 Jul 25

Size of single-clove bulbs Diam Height Weight (cm) (cm) (g) 3–5 2–3 1–2

4–5 3–4 2–3

30 24 19

Yield (t/ha) 0.71 0.50 0.30

Table 1 shows that larger bulblets start growing relatively early (April 10) and mature relatively early (July 13). The garlic sown using large bulblets produce more vigorous plants, which produce larger cloves. Previous research by Tuleneva in 1975 showed that garlic is capable of growing successfully without transplanting when single cloves produced from bulblets were not


95

harvested but rather left in the soil for a second year to develop into multi-clove bulbs. In our research, single-clove bulbs produced from bulblets were dug out, graded into fractions and then planted in fall like cloves obtained from divided bulbs. Regardless of cultivation conditions, the earliest shoots emerged on plots where a large-sized singleclove was planted, eventually producing large bulbs dividable into 2–4 cloves. Smaller-sized single-clove bulbs produce a single non-dividable “apple” clove. During our studies we have found that productivity depends on both clove size and the age of the planting stock (Table 2). As expected, large-sized single-clove bulbs produce larger bulbs and more cloves per bulb compared to smaller-sized single-clove bulbs. But it was also interesting to note that bulb weight generally peaks during years 2 and 3, and then declines in years 4 and 5. Hence the cultivation of the same planting stock year to year will result in decreases in productivity and sizes of planting stock. Table 2. Effect of size and aging of planting stock on garlic productivity

Clove size

Bulb wt (g)

Large 50–60 Medium 30–40 Small 20–30

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Clove Bulb Clove Bulb Clove Bulb Clove wt Clove wt wt Clove wt wt Clove wt wt Clove (g) no. (g) (g) no. (g) (g) no. (g) g) no. 40 2–3 34 2 25 1

80 60 48

30 24 19

4 4 2

80 67 52

31 20 18

6 5 4

66 50 45

26 17 15

8 7 5

Year 5 Bulb wt Clove (g) no. 50 40 35

2 15 10

All seed stalk-forming varieties of garlic are winter crops while non-forming varieties are spring crops. Many specialists believe that if winter varieties of garlic are planted in the spring the character and duration of its growth stages become adversely distorted, thereby reducing harvest size and quality. This version was confirmed during our observation of the local variety ‘Dungan’ (Table 3). Table 3. Effect of planting date on growth and development of garlic cloves Number of leaves

Number of cloves

Bulb average weight (g)

Yield (t/ha)

Autumn 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov

8 7 8

7–8 6–7 5–6

70 64 50

0.60 0.53 0.50

Spring 20 Mar 20 Apr 20 May

10 12 14

4–5 4–5 0

45 27 0

0.37 0.20 0.00

Planting dates


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Every clove develops from a dormant bud located in the leaf axil and their division depends on both the number of laid buds and the environment. We have found that the date of planting affects the quantity of cloves produced. When transplanted in fall, plants normally produce 5 to 8 cloves, but when transplanted in spring, only 2 to 5 cloves are produced. Garlic planted in late spring (May) failed to produce any cloves (Table 3). Based on our research described herein, we conclude:

• Growing bulblets should be employed for improving purity of planting stocks. • Bulblets should be graded and only larger ones used for sowing. • Production on the second year single-clove bulbs should be graded—large and mid-sized bulblets should be chosen and then planted separately.

• Seed production should be practiced in the areas with a cool, mild climate (for example, in mountains and foothills).

• Planting stocks should be renewed every 4–5 years using bulblets or replacing stocks with another variety or using a planting stock grown in a cool, mild climate.

• Careful selection should be carried out yearly with sorting out of sick and lowyielding bulbs and cloves.

• The planting of medium-sized cloves should be avoided since those yield poor harvests.

• Seed stalk-forming garlic varieties should be planted by fall if possible and early spring at the latest.

Country Reports Tajikistan

COUNTRY REPORTS: TAJIKISTAN

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The Development of Vegetable and Potato Production in Tajikistan during its Transition toward an Open Marketing System T. Akhmedov Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar”, Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Introduction The Republic of Tajikistan is a mountainous country, with mountains occupying 93% of the territory. Over 6.2 million persons live in the republic. The area under irrigation is 710,000 ha, which provides for 0.11 ha of irrigated land per person. The irrigated land is found in valleys with elevations as low as 300 m above sea level (asl) to mountains with elevations rising to 2,400 m asl. Soil and vegetation zones are pronounced in Tajikistan already at the elevation of 900–1,100 m asl. The vegetable growing season in valleys ranges from 260–280 days in length, whereas in the mountains the season is shorter, 180–190 days. Precipitation is irregular and depends on the location. In valleys, the annual precipitation ranges from 160–450 mm, in sub-mountainous zones it amounts to 500–700 mm, and in mountainous zones it is about 700–900 mm. Most precipitation occurs during the autumn-winter-spring period when plants are semi-dormant or dormant. Therefore, vegetable production in Tajikistan is highly dependent upon irrigation. Vegetable and potato crops in the valley are grown in several seasons. During the autumn-winter-spring period, crops include early cabbage, early onion, early carrot, and potato. Later in the spring-summer period, major crops include onion, carrot, cucumber, tomato, midseason cabbage, pepper, eggplant, melons (melon, watermelon and pumpkin) and potato. After the harvest of grains, legumes or early season vegetables, subsequent crops of cabbage, cucumber, carrot and potato are grown. In 1991, per capita consumption was 100 kg of vegetables, 24 kg of melons and 23 kg of potatoes per year. This was slightly below the established standards in Tajikistan: 110 kg of vegetables, 30 kg of melons and 48 kg of potatoes, apart from delivery to the All-Union fund. As a result of the drastic decline of agricultural production in the mid 1990s (Tables 1–3), annual per capita consumption levels fell to 50–55 kg for vegetables, 10–12 kg for melons and 16–17 kg for potatoes. Extremely high prices of mineral fertilizers, the breaking up of large specialized vegetable growing farms, the decrease in vegetable processing, as well as the decrease in the supply of fresh vegetables and melons outside the republic all contributed to the reduced levels of production and consumption in the republic.


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Table 1. Vegetable production levels in Tajikistan, by enterprise type and year Year

Total

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

627,813 341,217 484,810 490,339 491,079 397,470 350,631 322,132 385,245 354,441 396,774 473,514

Production (t) State enterprises Home gardens 322,499 239,120 172,336 184,785 180,275 128,807 123,312 121,117 142,862 106,620 109,248 103,496

305,314 101,197 310,524 303,244 309,096 265,000 222,765 188,774 218,343 221,263 238,312 304,939

Private farms 900 1,950 2,310 1,708 3,663 4,554 12,581 24,050 26,559 49,325 63,079

Table 2. Melon (melon, watermelon and pumpkin) production levels in Tajikistan, by enterprise type and year Year

Total

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

174,999 136,546 107,244 112,870 115,981 51,963 64,091 88,514 83,824 95,252 96,925 111,372


119,876 109,114 72,733 72,733 72,733 14,900 24,843 43,075 38,554 46,659 50,838 55,143

Private farms 2 11 408 760 2,744 3,929 6,652 11,389 14,389 16,875 19,887

Production levels have been increasing for vegetables since 2001 (Table 1), melons since 1998 (Table 2) and potato since 1997 (Table 3). Among vegetables produced today, onions of different maturities (30% early and 70% mid-late and late) account for 50% of production, followed by tomato (35%); then other vegetables such as carrot, cabbage and cucumber account for the remainder. Approximately 60% of all melon production is watermelon, 30% is other melon and 10% is pumpkin. During the national transition toward an open market economy, the importance of vegetable and potato production on state farms has declined compared to private gar-


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Table 3. Potato production levels in Tajikistan, by enterprise type and year Year

Total

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

180,900 167,379 146,964 109,765 111,632 107,700 128,119 174,546 239,608 303,233 308,189 356,703


74,917 82,413 80,307 55,199 79,415 82,734 92,888 128,912 16,525 197,811 195,944 244,371

Private farms 936 1,932 2,300 2,921 1,072 6,046 12,907 49,031 79,031 84,644 83,950

dens and farms. In 1991, state farms produced about half (51%) of the republic’s vegetables, but only 22% of vegetables in 2002 (Table 1). An even more dramatic drop occurred with potato, in which the overall production from state farms declined from 50% in 1991 to only 8% in 2002 (Table 3). Until just recently, vegetable and potato production in Tajikistan increased largely due to the expansion of production area. Vegetable and potato production has been profitable in the country in spite of limited availabilities of labor and land. Vegetable production in open fields can be carried out almost year-round in the valley zones of the republic, which facilitates year-round availability of labor. Following the introduction of vegetable drying facilities through foreign investment, private businessmen are establishing production and marketing channels for these goods. Scientists of Tajikistan have developed high yielding technologies for bulb onion, carrot and cabbage on the basis of optimal fertilizer rates under the conditions of sierozem soils. For instance, fertilizer applications of nitrogen at 270–350 kg/ha, phosphorus at 90–180 kg/ ha, and potassium at 90 kg/ha will lead to yields of 45–76 t/ha of bulb onion. Applications of nitrogen at 150 kg/ha and phosphorus at 150 kg/ha will lead to yields of 26–32 t/ha of carrot roots, and mixed applications of nitrogen at 180–270 kg/ha, phosphorus at 90–180 kg/ha and potassium at 90 kg/ha can lead to yields of 45–55 t/ha of cabbage. The dried weight of onion and carrot is equal to approximately 8–10% of its fresh weight. One kilogram of dried onion can be sold at US$3.00–3.50. The market for these products are promising because demand is high, dried products are easy to preserve, and dried products can be easily transported via railway.

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Potato production Farms of mountainous and sub-mountainous regions located at elevations of 1,200 m asl and higher play a major role in potato production (in Pamir, this crop is cultivated at the elevation of 2,500–2,600 m asl). High yields of potato (45–60 t/ha) are obtained in these zones. Potatoes grown in this country are of high quality and store well. Producing potato seed domestically is more economical than purchasing imported seed. Farms of valley and sub-mountainous regions (400–1200 m asl) have grown potato for more than 100 years. The soils and climate of the zone allow the production of two full tuber crops during one growing season and can provide the local population with both early and late ripening potato types. Production in the Vahshskaya and Gissarskaya valleys is carried out both in autumn–winter (November–December, sometimes in January) and in early spring (February–March). Because of cold winter conditions for early potato production, planting is mainly carried out during early springtime in the plains of the Sogdyiskaya province. Yields from these fields provide the population with fresh potato from the second week of May through September, at which time tubers are harvested in the mountainous and sub-mountainous zones of the republic. Summer plantings in the valleys are carried out during late July to early August using freshly harvested or last year’s tubers; but this production is very limited in its area and is relatively insignificant overall. Although both potato crop and seed production are already profitable in the republic, there is great potential for even further increasing crop and seed production and profitability levels. The goal of the potato research programs at the Tajikistan agro-industrial complex is to increase per capita supplies of potato to 58–60 kg, which is the consumption rate of potato in many countries of the world. To meet this goal, potato production in Year 2009 needs to rise to 490,000–500,000 t. This will require maintenance of current production areas (24,000 ha in 2000) and increasing average yields to 20 t/ha. Fulfilling this goal will require the assistance of government-supported research and extension programs. The first challenge is to utilize modern tools of biotechnology to support the national potato seed production system. The Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science has developed a long-term strategy in its virus-free potato seed production program. During the first stage (5 years) all available sources are used for local potato seed production. This will include the improved potato types developed at Tajik bio-centers (Research Institute of Biotechnology, Tajik Agricultural University, and Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics of Academy of Science), base seed potato of super elite and elite varieties imported from other countries (Russia and Holland), as well as stocks of seed potato for reproduction (base seed production nurseries will be based on selection and clonal testing). A five-year plan of elite cultivation and two years of multiplication at seed producing farms are planned. Tubers of the second reproduction will be used for cultivation of


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food potato. According to this program, locally improved material—released and perspective potato varieties such as ‘Kardinal’, ‘Zhukovskii early’, ‘Nevskii’, ‘Pikassa’ and others—will serve as the foundation for the future. Production levels of seed potato are planned to increase to 90,000 t by 2009. All seed potato production operations will be carried out in mountainous zones at elevations not less than 1,800–1,900 m asl. Initial seed producing nurseries and elite fields will be located in fields at elevations of not less than 2,000 m asl. In Spring 2003, planting of the first mini-tubers obtained from the Research Institute of Potato Farming of Russia was performed. Clonal selection nurseries of the abovementioned varieties were established. Similar operations have been started in the Rashtskaya region at Hazorchashma, a new farm of elite seed production, which is located at the height of 2,250 m asl. Besides the abovementioned, government programs will support farmers by developing and making available modern production and storage technologies, mineral fertilizers, and crop protection technologies. The government of the republic and local hukumats will carry out these operations.

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Current Status of Onion Seed and Bulb Onion Production in Tajikistan D. Boboev and A. Dzhomoliddinov Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar”, Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Vegetable production in Tajikistan peaked in 1991 when the nation’s farmers produced 626,000 t. Out of this total, 321,000 t were produced in the public sector on 16,100 ha. The production areas in 1991 for individual vegetables were distributed as follows: tomato 5,676 ha; onion 5,281 ha; cabbage 1,177 ha; cucumber 654 ha; red beet 340 ha; garlic 134 ha; table carrot 88 ha; and other vegetables 1,933 ha. After 1991, production levels drastically declined due to social and political situation instability; however, since 1998 there has been a steady increase in production levels, albeit not as high as in 1991. Using recommended production practices, the soil and climate in the republic can generate yields of 35–50 t/ha for early ripening onions sown in autumn, and 60–70 or more t/ha for onion crops sown in winter to early spring. These potentially high yields have made onion production a priority for improving the republic’s economy as it transitions from closed to open markets. Through the continuous selection of improved lines, scientists of Tajik Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Vegetable Growing, the Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar” have released a series of onion varieties allowing conveyor fresh bulb onion production starting from the middle of May to September. The variety ‘Peshpazak’ has been developed for winter cultivation and for the production of early season bulbs, ‘Dusty’ for the mid-late season, and ‘Vahdat’ for long-term storage. This set of improved varieties is complemented by traditional varieties ‘Ispanskii-313’, ‘Leninabadskii kulicha’ and ‘Samarkandskii krasnii’. Besides the introduction of improved lines, improved production practices have been developed that permit cultivation almost year-round. Traditionally, a significant portion of this production is exported to other countries. The cultivation of ‘Peshpazak’ under irrigated conditions can allow production when main agricultural crops are not grown. Such production of ‘Peshpazak’ occurs in the autumn-winter-spring period and lasts for 230–250 days. Onions in general and especially ‘Peshpazak’ can be grown under cool winter temperatures as the minimum winter temperature averages at 7°C. ‘Peshpazak’ can overwinter well at 8–10°C and even at lower temperatures under snow cover. For winter survival, it is important for plants to attain full sprouting and strong root formation (3–4 roots) by the first frost. ‘Peshpazak’ has several advantages compared to other varieties, including its supe-


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rior growth when sown from 25 August to 15 September (the optimal time for sowing), complete absence of bolting, and full bulb formation during the warmer winter months. Other varieties sown at this time generally skip bulb formation and immediately undergo flower bolting and seed formation. Another attribute of ‘Peshpazak’ is its ability to produce good sprouts after only 1–2 irrigations in autumn, followed by natural rainfall and then only 4–6 irrigations in spring depending on conditions; in comparison, other varieties require a total of 20–30 irrigations. Another advantage of this variety is that it requires only 1–2 weedings, with or without herbicides, because the major annual weeds are killed by frost. Another key advantage is that irrigation water and labor are available during its production season. Onion production in the republic can be highly profitable, especially if export markets develop. There is high demand for onions in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) republics during June and August, which ‘Peshpazak’ can satisfy. The economic efficiency of onion production can be increased by exporting the crop to other countries. Moreover, unemployment can be eased. Currently, there are several onion drying lines (about 10), which operate mainly on electricity and radiators. To increase profitability, it is important to switch to more modern drying methods such as freeze drying. According to biochemical analysis, dry matter contents are 14–17% for ‘Peshpazak’ and 12–14% for ‘Dusty’, which at abovementioned yields provide a high output of dried onion (25–45 t/ha) when bulbs are dried intact. There are about 800,000 ha of irrigated land. Out of this land, 270,000–280,000 ha are occupied by cotton, Tajikistan’s major crop. Under the conditions of irrigated farming in Tajikistan, onion production can also be carried out intensively. The availability of seed for crop production is important. In 1985–1990, up to 130 t of onion seeds were produced in the republic annually, which satisfied all domestic needs and allowed for some exporting. However, due to the aforementioned reasons, since 1991 seed production in the republic has drastically decreased—in 1995 only 1.7 t were produced, and a scant 0.08 t were produced in 1997. Therefore, since 1995 the republic has purchased up to 170 t of seeds from other countries at very high prices. These factors show the need for the establishment of regions for commodity seed production based on optimizing economic and climatic factors, the creation of specialized seed producing farms, the establishment of policies that promote seed production (particularly, tax exemption of seed producing farms), and providing conditions for farmers to produce quality seed on their own. A multi-year research study has shown that seed yields are much higher when seeds are sown in autumn (4.9 t/ha) as compared to spring (1.2 t/ha). This was evidenced at several seed producing farms of the republic. For instance in Joint Stock Company named after Mukarramov in Isfarinskii district, seed yields were 51.0–72.1% higher in autumn sown plantings compared to those sown in spring. Similarly in the Soglyiskii branch

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named after I.V. Michurin of the Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar”, yields were 51.5–93.8% higher. In the state farm “Zargar” of the Kofarnihonskii district, yields in autumn sown plantings were 60.0–114.5% higher than those sown in spring, which resulted in 24.0–36.6% higher profits. Today, almost all of the republic’s specialized seed producing farms have converted to autumn sowing dates. The methods used in producing onion seeds play a significant role in increasing yield and seed production efficiency. However, each method is characterized with its advantages and disadvantages. For example, replanting bulbs for use in seed propagation allows selection of the best stock nursery material but it requires additional expenses for harvesting, selection, and planting. In Joint Stock Company of “Hakikat” in Shahrinavskii district, seed-from-seed production methods led to 5.9 times more profits than the bulb replanting method since the expenses of propagation materials were much less (bulbs used for propagation cost 30–40% more than bulbs used for consumption). Several farms have achieved economic efficiency in seed production. For instance, at the Sogdyiskii branch named after I.V. Michurin of the Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar”, yields of 0.7–0.8 t/ha were consistently obtained using bulb replanting methods. Research results have shown that onion variety, mass and size of bulbs, planting scheme, plant stand density, organic and mineral fertilizer rates, as well as other factors play a major role in affecting seed yields. Studies show that bulb and seed yields can differ widely depending on variety, environmental conditions and production practices. For example, in Sogdyiskaya, ‘Ispanskii-313’ and ‘Peshpazak’ showed average seed yields ranging from 0.60– 0.80 t/ha per year over the past 10 years, while in Gissarskaya yields were lower, ranging from 0.58–0.60 t/ha. At the same time, the yield of large-sized onions amounted to 37.0– 39.0 t/ha in Sogdyiskaya, but were much higher, 54.8–70.0 t/ha, in Gissarskaya. In previous years, it was recommended to use 55,000–57,000 plants/ha. Research on optimal plant stand density of onion was carried out at Sogdyiskii branch named after Michurin. Densities of 57,000 to 200,000 plants/ha were studied using the varieties ‘Ispanskii 313’ and ‘Leninabadskii kulicha’. The results showed that plant density did not significantly affect plants during their early and main stages of growth; however, the percentage of lodged shoots was affected, declining from 24% at the 57,000 plants/ha density as compared to only 1% at 200,000 plants/ha. Although the higher plant density produced relatively fewer shoots per plant, its overall seed yield increased from 0.35 t/ha to 1.04 t/ha. There were no significant differences in seed quality between the plant densities. Seeds of all densities corresponded to the requirements of the first class quality and were characterized by 95% or higher rates of germination. Economic analyses showed that the higher seed yields obtained from the higher plant densities justified the higher density’s additional production expenses. In recent years, fertilizer expenses have accounted for 24.5% to 30.0% of the major production costs of onion and its seeds, and sometimes even more. In response, fertil-


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izer trials were conducted from 1998–2000 to establish recommended rates for farmers. In general, the economic benefits from onion production must be directed to not only protect the republic’s food security, but also to transform Tajikistan into a major onion producer among the CIS republics. A significant portion of the harvested onions will be exported and at prices higher than local farmers can obtain in domestic markets. Markets targeted for export include Russia, and to a lesser extent, Kazakhstan. Onion production in Tajikistan can improve the incomes of its farmers as well as strengthen the overall economy of the republic itself.

Country Reports Turkmenistan

COUNTRY REPORTS: TURKMENISTAN

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The Status of Vegetable Production in Turkmenistan K. Mamedkulov, A. Aklyev, and O. Palivanmuradov Research Institute of Agriculture and Water Resources, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

National independence and political stability in Turkmenistan have created new opportunities for economic and social progress. Agriculture is an important part of the Turkmenistani economy, as more than 50% of the nation’s population lives in rural areas and 40% of its labor is involved in agriculture. Progressive land reform measures are also underway. A total of 1.66 million ha of irrigated land (90% of the irrigated land available) has been given to 395,800 private landholders. Private enterprises account for 99% of potato, 69% of melon and 24% of grape production in the country. Production goals in 2005 and 2010 are 149.6 and 199.3 kg per capita, respectively, for vegetable and melon production. Goals in 2005 and 2010 are 42.5 and 52.6 kg per capita for potato production; 81.3 and 124.8 kg per capita for fruit and berry production; and 15.1 and 21.7 kg for sugar production. To satisfy the local demand for sugar, the production of sugar beets will be substantially increased to produce 500,000 t in 2005 and 900,000 t in 2010. In 1998, the first sugar mill was put into operation in Mary town. In 2002, a factory for the production of fruit juice and fruit/vegetable puree was built in Ahalskya region. The area of irrigated land will reach 2.00 million ha in 2005 and 2.25 million ha in 2010. Significant increases in the production of vegetables and melons are planned in the national program “Strategy of Social and Economical Reformation in Turkmenistan for the Period Up to 2010”. The Vegetable and Melon Production Department of Research Institute of Agriculture and Water Resources is involved in this activity. Three experimental research stations situated in the main regions of the republic are included in the department. The main objectives of the department are to:

• produce seeds of selected vegetables and melon varieties, with emphasis on elite seed production;

• develop sustainable crop rotations, rational methods of soil cultivation, ecologically safe fertilization systems, as well as irrigation and plant protection schemes;

• develop low-cost ecologically safe technologies for cultivating and harvesting vegetables;


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• improve scientific research methods in open field and sheltered production systems; and

• enhance international cooperation. Modern genetic improvement technologies can lead to rapid creation of open-pollinated (OP) and hybrid varieties with improved characteristics for yield, quality, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Colleagues of the department and experimental research stations have created more than 12 varieties of vegetables and melons which were transferred to the state for testing. The main objectives of seed production research are to develop presowing seed treatments and improved procedures for insuring genetic purity of economically valuable traits and variety characteristics. Restoration and maintenance of important traits are carried out on native varieties of cabbage, ‘Sakarskii’ onion, sugar beet, and other crops. As a result of research conducted in the main zones of vegetable growing (Lebapskaya, Dashoguzskaya, Ahalskaya and Maryiskya regions), ecological guidelines for vegetable production were established. Sustainable practices involving soil management, crop rotations, crop biodiversity, and water conservation were considered in developing these guidelines. Scientific and technical developments of the department are under testing in the experimental research farms located in the main zones of vegetable production. Seminars to farmers are presented on production practices and superior varieties (both domestic and foreign). Analysis of our present vegetable production status at daihans unions or in the private sector showed that successful economic development requires the introduction of vegetable crop rotations, optimal irrigation regimes, fertilization strategies, soil amendment treatments, and integrated pest and disease management practices. Here our task is to obtain good yields of high quality produce with minimal losses from insect pests, diseases and weeds. Soil and climatic conditions of Turkmenistan allow us to obtain high yields of all vegetable crops without the need for transplants. However, transplants are required to obtain valuable early or super early yields of tomato, cabbage, cucumber and other vegetables. Transplants are grown in plastic houses. Early harvesting and general yield of these crops are mainly dependent on the quality of transplants. Pot-grown transplants provide the greatest benefits, maturing 15–20 days earlier than other seedling production systems. Large farms specialized in melon production are located in the Amudarya river delta, Murgab, Tedzhen, as well as in the Karakum-darya zone. Turkmenian melon, which was the original symbol of the nation, is also grown among other varieties. More than 400

COUNTRY REPORTS: TURKMENISTAN

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varieties of melon have been released in our history. However, melon production is declining now, largely due to the introduction of the melon fly. In 1997, the melon fly appeared in Turkmenistan, first in Serahskii, Tedzhenskii, Tahtabazarskii and Vekilbazarskii districts. Today, the melon fly is found throughout the territories of Ahalskii, Maryiskii, Balkanskii and Dashoguzskii regions. Yield losses of many melon varieties reach 35–65%. Melon fly attacks cucurbits, including watermelon, melon, cucumber and pumpkin. Scientific research is being carried out to protect these crops from this pest. Selected OP lines and hybrids of tomato are being evaluated for heat-resistance. In 2000–2001, experiments were carried out on the fields of the Ahalskii Scientific and Production Center at Research Institute of Agriculture and Water Resources. For this, 11 varieties and two domestic checks (‘Volgogradskii skorospelii 323’ and ‘Progressivnii’) were evaluated for superior fruit setting and yield traits. Varieties were sown during the first week of February and transplanted during the first and second weeks of April. Location of the first flower cluster formation, alternation of the following clusters, and cluster number on 10 June with increasing outcome in dynamics after 10 days, and the number and fruiting coefficients in the first and the second clusters were evaluated. Ten typical plants from each variety were evaluated. Results show that varieties grown in southern regions of Turkmenistan (originating from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Volgograd province, southern Ukraine, and Turkmenistan) are most promising. These are basically early and midseason types. Most of these lines formed their first flower cluster above the 7th leaf, and rarely above the 6th or 8th leaves. ‘Kopet-Dag’, ‘Progressivnii’, ‘Linya 57’, ‘Early Boy’, ‘Ont 771’, ‘TX-318’, ‘Yantari 530’, ‘Temp 353’ and ‘Gok-yila’ were prominent for low first flower cluster formation (usually above the 6th leaf, more rarely above the 7th leaf) and simultaneous formation of subsequent clusters. Formation of flower clusters through one leaf or one-by-one is observed in varieties ‘Rannii Uzbekistana’, ‘Kopet-Dag’, ‘Liniya 57’, ‘Early Boy’, ‘Ont 771’, ‘TX-318’ and ‘Luk’. These are varieties with early ripening and compact fruiting arrangements. The number of flower clusters was calculated on 10 June. The main yield was formed on clusters formed during the first week of June under its hot-dry conditions. Clusters formed later were under extreme heat stress and usually did not set fruit. In Turkmenistan many varieties from other rayons were characterized by low marketable yields since their fruits produced during the hot-dry season were soft or scalded. Fruit formation analysis in the first flower clusters of our selected early maturing varieties showed good results for early sowing dates. A high level of fruit setting was found in the majority of varieties. On the first clusters they formed 2–4 normal fruits. The fruit setting coefficient for control variety ‘Volgogradskii skorospelii 323’ was 64%. Higher fruit setting coefficients were found in varieties ‘Gok-yila’ (91%); ‘Kopet-

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Dag’ (83%); ‘Rannii Uzbekistana’; ‘Liniya 57’ and ‘TX-318’ (each 80%); and ‘Yantari 530’, ‘Temp 353’ and ‘Chemenly’ (each 76%). The coefficients of ‘TMK-20’ and ‘Early Boy’ were each 60%. In general, fruit setting coefficients were high for the first clusters. This is correlated to comparatively favorable conditions for early yield formation of tomato using pot-grown transplants. Air temperatures in April–May were in the range of 18–30°C and relative humidity levels were 55–60%. Regular irrigation maintained optimal soil moisture conditions. Potted transplants rooted well under these conditions. In spite of favorable conditions of fruit formation in the early season, varieties performed differently; ‘Gok-yila’, ‘Kopet-Dag’, ‘Chemenly’ and ‘Yantari 530’ performed very well while varieties from USA, Canada and Bulgaria generally performed poorly. Significant biological differences for early and midseason ripening tomato varieties were noticed on for early fruit formation, which was measured on 10 June. The following varieties set fruit well: ‘Gok-yila’ (29 fruits), ‘Kopet-Dag’ (27), ‘Yantari 530’ (26), and ‘Rannii Uzbekistana’ and ‘Chemenly’ (each 24). The following varieties performed poorly: ‘Ont 771’ (17), ‘TX-318’ (16), and ‘Luk’(15). Fruit formation was drastically decreased during the second week of June due to high temperatures (up to 36–40°C). ‘Volgogradskii skorospelii 323’ formed only 3 fruits per plant during this period, while ‘Yantari 530’, ‘Rannii Uzbekistana’, ‘Kopet-Dag’, ‘Gok-yila’ and ‘Liniya 57’ each formed from 4 to 7 fruits. Fruit formation practically ceased for ‘Ont 771’, ‘Luk’, ‘TX-318’ and ‘Early Boy’ varieties. In general we found that the main yield of early ripening tomato varieties is formed by 10 June. The most promising lines included ‘Gok-yila’. This fresh market variety matures after 116–120 days, its average fruit weight ranges from 80–100 g, and its yields range from 60–90 t/ha. Early ripening ‘Chemenly’ matures only 100–110 days after germination. Fruits weigh 35–40 g and can be used for processing, fresh eating, or shipping. Its fruit set is concentrated and initial harvests are profitable. Yields range from 37–48 t/ha. Late ripening ‘Balkan’ matures after 121–125 days, producing fruits which average 80– 90 g in weight, and ship fairly well. This salad-type variety produces yields of 40–50 t/ha.

Country Reports Uzbekistan

COUNTRY REPORTS: UZBEKISTAN

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Status, Problems and Development Perspectives of Potato, Vegetable and Melon Production in Uzbekistan H.C. Buriev, V.I. Zuev, and S.M. Medzhitov Tashkent State Agrarian University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Introduction The keenest global problems of the new millennium revolve around energy, water, nutrition and health. Currently, there are 6.2 billion persons in the world and every 50 years the size of our population doubles. Therefore, providing the world’s population with adequate food supplies is a focus of world development. The important role of vegetables is well known. Vegetables are the most sustainable and available natural sources of vitamins, minerals and fibers in our diets. Therefore, vegetable production is directly related to improving the health, longevity and working ability of the population. This fact is being understood worldwide and the production of vegetables and melons is constantly increasing. The production of these products rose by 43%, from 468.5 to 669.1 billion t during 1990–2000. During this period, the world’s population increased by 17%, from 5.2 to 6.1 billion persons; this led to an increase in per capita availability of vegetables by 24%, from 89 to 110 kg. China is the world leader in vegetable and melon production. It increased production from 128.1 to 278.3 billion t in total and from 111 to 117 kg per person during 1990– 2000. Increases in per capita vegetable and melon production occurred in other countries as well, for example, in Italy from 253 to 266 kg, in France from 133 to 135 kg, and in USA and Canada from 123 to 133 kg (Litvinov 2003). Global trends indicate a consistent increase in vegetable production. Over the last 5 years, production levels increased by 20%. The need to increase vegetable and melon production is important for all countries in the world but especially in Uzbekistan, where there are high population growth rates (2.4% per year, leading to a doubling of the population every 30 years) and a great need for high value enterprises in agriculture. The Republic of Uzbekistan occupies a land mass of 44.4 billion ha. Agriculture is the main sector of the economy, providing about one-third of the republic’s gross domestic product. Approximately 60% of the population lives in rural places. In Uzbekistan, there are about 4.3 billion ha of irrigated land, out of which about 213,000 ha (4.9%) are occupied by potato, vegetable and melon crops. Currently, per capita supplies of potatoes, vegetables and melons are lower than the recommended levels of 68 kg for potato and 166 kg for vegetables and melons (Oripov and Bozorov 2002).

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According to these recommended consumption rates and Uzbekistan’s population of 25 million persons, Uzbekistan’s production levels should be 1.70 million t of potato and 4.15 million t of vegetables and melons. Such levels of production should actually be higher if one considers post-harvest losses and exports.

Overview of potato production Before independence our population consumed potatoes imported from Russia and Belarus. In 1991, domestic potato production was 351,200 t (16–17 kg per capita). To ensure greater self-sufficiency in potato production, the republic embarked on the difficult task to significantly increase its potato production. With the aim to ensure adequate supplies of potato seed stocks and production levels for domestic production, the Cabinet Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan in August 1996 adopted resolution #301, “On measures of market relation intensification in potato production and increasing of potato production in the republic”. According to this resolution, the “Uzkartofel” firm was established (subsequently re-named to “Uzkartoshkanavuruflari”, which combined 26 potato-growing farms. The firm worked to: 1) satisfy demand of the republic’s farms for seed potato by creating a seed production facility; 2) import seed potato for the purpose of variety regeneration; 3) produce seed material of high quality; and 4) collaborate with scientific institutions on intensification of selection and seed production. Simultaneously, importing of mass quantities of seed potato was prohibited as well as the use of food potato for seed production. The importation of seed potato for variety regeneration was 25,000 t per year, and seed was produced on 7,000 ha per year. Production of 126,000 t, including 84,000 t of seed material was expected from this resolution. It was already planned in 1997 to increase the potato planting area up to 59,900 ha and gross output to 855,000 t. An established potato seed-producing firm executed the importation of high quality seed from the Netherlands and Germany, as well as organizing local seed production on the basis of summer plantings, which incurred periodical regeneration of varieties. The activity of this firm favorably contributed to an increase of potato production in our country. Since 1997 there have been steady increases in potato production (Table 1). These increases are due to increases in yields rather than increases in production area. National potato yields before independence were about 8.7 t/ha, but in the last three years our yields have exceeded 14 t/ha, which is quite good considering the hot, dry climate of Uzbekistan. These gains were achieved by using high yielding varieties, high quality seed, and late summer plantings. In spite of these gains, we have not met consumer demand. At our current production level of 777,000 t, only 620,000–630,000 t are consumed and about 150,000–160,000 t are used for seed production. Consequently, only 25 kg per capita of domestically produced potato is consumed in our country. Various sources report that the requirements


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Table 1. Potato production in Uzbekistan, 1991–2002 Year

Area (000 ha)

Production (000 t)

Yield (t/ha)

Prod’n at dehkan farms and households (%)

1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 1999 2001 2002

40.0 45.8 57.6 54.6 48.0 51.3 50.8 48.9

351 567 440 691 691 650 731 744 777

8.7 9.6 12.0 12.6 12.4 14.2 14.6 14.3

45 55 67 80 72 82 80 85 88

for potato are 55–68 kg per capita per year, thus, we are only meeting 37–46% of our domestic needs. Moreover, it should be noted that potato production in recent years is more concentrated on small dehkan farms and households. More than 85% of potato production is obtained from these small-scale farms where agro-industrial technologies and mechanization cannot be easily applied. Due to high labor expenses, the production costs of potato grown on small plots are extremely high.

Overview of vegetable and melon production It is accepted that the economic reforms aimed at Uzbekistan did not necessarily improve vegetable production in the republic. Today’s vegetable production area and production are only 76% of what they were in 1991 (Table 2). Vegetable yields are stagnant. Currently, 76% of vegetables grown in Uzbekistan are on small dehkan farms and households plots. For melons, the sowing area has decreased dramatically and production levels are only 60% of what they were in 1991 (Table 3). In 1991, 4.2 million t of vegetables and melons were produced for the population of 20.7 million persons, amounting to 203 kg per capita. In 2002, we produced only 137 kg of vegetables and melons per capita. Taking into account our exports and various post-harvest losses due to processing, transportation and storage, the average Uzbek has access to 95–100 kg of vegetables and melons, less than the 166 kg that is recommended. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan ranks behind only Armenia (115 kg/person) among former Soviet republics in providing its citizens with vegetables and melons. After obtaining independence, measures to improve the social status of the rural population were carried out. Approximately 500,000 ha of irrigated land formerly grown in cotton were transferred to the rural population for homesteads. Vegetable production has drastically increased on small farms (Table 2), which are mainly used to produce crops for home consumption and small-scale marketing. Among vegetable crops, to-


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Table 2. Vegetable production in Uzbekistan, 1991–2002 Year

Area (000 ha)

Production (000 t)

Yield (t/ha)


1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 1999 2001 2002

165.7 151.1 128.4 127.2 136.5 123.0 131.1 127.4

3,348 2,975 2,663 2,840 2,903 2,651 2,645 2,749 2,936

18.8 17.6 18.5 18.9 19.5 21.5 20.9 19.4

62 63 69 70 66 75 75 76

Table 3. Melon production in Uzbekistan, 1991–2002 Year

Area (000 ha)

1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 1999 2001 2002

83.2 42.6 30.3 38.0 42.2 30.3 33.9 37.5

Production (000 t) 914 587 426 362 445 518 452 455 479

Yield (t/ha)


11.1 10.0 11.9 11.7 12.2 14.9 12.9 12.7

65 61 63 61 55 63 61 58

mato is most popular. In recent years, over 1 billion t of tomatoes are grown, typically near processing enterprises. The significant decline in large-scale commercial vegetable production has contributed to a decline in agri-businesses that supported commercial operations. The costs of fertilizers, lubricants and production technologies have rose, thereby reducing farm profits. The slow development of markets has also kept farm profits low and unreliable. A group of middlemen dealers currently determine market prices for dehkan products, which now account for most of the volume of vegetable sales. There is a great need to improve the marketing structure of vegetable products (Oripov and Bozorov 2002). Apart from small-scale production inefficiencies and the slow development of marketing structures, the growth of the vegetable sector in Uzbekistan has been limited for other reasons. These include a shortage of irrigation water, use of obsolete technologies, absence of both specialization and regionalization of farming operations, inadequate mechanization, and high prices for mineral and organic fertilizers. All irrigation is still


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done by furrow, while drip irrigation is yet to be practiced. Modern seed treatments are typically not used before seed is sown. The use of herbicides and other modern technologies for managing weeds are not sufficiently utilized. Disease and pest management practices are inefficient due to high prices of pesticides and lack of mechanization for spraying (Buriev et al. 2002, Azimov and Khakimov 2003). The use of hybrid seed has been limited due to its high cost and the uncertainties of commodity markets. National seed production has been neglected and the Association ‘Sortsemovosh’ has relaxed the control of seed quality. Private seed companies are producing non-released varieties (Azimov 2000, Buriev et al. 2002). The assortment of vegetable crops is extremely limited. Only about 20 varieties are cultivated to any extent. Uzbekistan’s diverse collection of melon varieties are being replaced with standard watermelon varieties, as these varieties are higher yielding, more resistant to disease, and more transportable. As a result, the nation’s assortment of melons has been decreased and many valuable varieties of this crop can be lost.

Opportunities in export markets Uzbekistan has great potential for exporting vegetables and melons, as many varieties of these crops have special appearances and taste qualities. However, the export potential of the country is far from realized. Before independence, the main share of production was on large-scale farms and then exported using a centralized network, but now most production is on small dehkan farms and exporting is decentralized (Buriev et al. 2000). When a member of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan was a major supplier of fruit and vegetable products to other Soviet republics, but today the situation has changed for the worse. The main reasons for drastic declines in exporting of vegetable and melon products to former Soviet republics are many, including the disintegration of the unified railway network, a shift toward international tariffs of transportation custom and transit dues, as well as barriers in reciprocal payments. Other factors contributing to the decline are the lack of information available on international markets, lack of knowledge in export quality standards, absence of settled mechanisms for export products, lack of trade houses and representative offices of Uzbekistan in these countries, significant transportation expenses, government red tape, and miscellaneous racketeering (Buriev et al. 2000). In central Uzbekistan, early cabbage, carrot, table beet, potato, cucumber and tomato in the open field can be harvested by the first half of June. In southern Uzbekistan, cabbage and carrot can be cultivated overwinter and harvested in May (Azimov et al. 2003, Buriev et al. 2002). This provides good opportunities for exporting the early harvest to more northerly countries of the former Soviet Union, where high prices for fresh vegetables remain until July. Western countries cannot compete with Uzbekistan in these markets. This exporting can be promoted by improving transportation services, greenhouse operations and general infrastructure of the vegetable sector (Oripov and Bozorov

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2002). The republic’s potential for exporting can also be realized through the introduction of a mechanism that would provide all producers access to information on market prices for fresh and processed products, the development of a program supporting export output preparation in line with the requirements of ISO 9000, and the creation of an independent vegetable export organization that supports all producers in the country.

Opportunities in processing and storage The main share of Uzbekistan’s food exports are vegetables, fruits and their processed products. Uzbekistan is the major producer of tomato paste in the world. Annually, over 800,000 t of tomato fruits are used for processing. Tomato production looks promising in the future, especially since processors are only receiving 50% of what they can handle. A yield of 30 t/ha can produce 4 t of tomato paste. With the current price of tomato paste at 750 USD/t, a total of 3,000 USD/ha can be generated. Today, the fruit and vegetable complex of Uzbekistan functions in the form of the national company “Uzplodoovoshvinpromholding” (as an opened Joint Stock Company) and district unions “Meva-sabzavot” controlled by district hokimiats. The company “Uzplodoovoshvinprom” unites 27 specialized firms on stocking, storing, and processing of fruit and vegetable products. In 2000, this company cultivated 150,200 t of vegetables out of which 107,800 t were used for processing, 38,500 t were sold at domestic markets and 3,900 t (2.5 %) were exported as fresh products. Promotion of the processing industry can help farmers when markets are saturated. The potential of the processing industry is only half of what it could be. Processing enterprises need to be better integrated with raw material producers. This can be achieved by the creation of shareholding organizations of raw material suppliers that support the profitable operation of processing enterprises. For large-scale processing enterprises, it is necessary to organize an integrated system of specialized farms that can supply them with high quality raw material. Three-sided coordination of contract relations—between growers, stockers and transporters—may be needed to integrate small-scale producers into large-scale processing systems. As a result of idleness and inappropriate use, most of the vegetable storage equipment of Uzbekistan has become useless. Therefore, the renovation and rational use of storehouses are also needed. The introduction of new storage technologies (regulated gas environment, freezers, new types of packaging) can ensure long-term storage, quality preservation, transportation convenience, and promote exporting. Such actions would require comprehensive governmental support.

Government support Governmental planning and support often plays a major role in strengthening the agricultural sector of a nation. In Japan for example, vegetable production is planned on 17 prefectures. After East Germany united with West Germany, the national government


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supported farmer cooperatives on the formerly state-run farms, helping farmers to reduce production costs by 40%. Specialized farm operations have also been supported by the Russian government. For vegetables, increased levels of production in many countries are realized on the basis of government support. Vegetable production is credited and subsided nearly everywhere (in the USA, US$40 per ha are allocated from government budgets, and in Russia, US$6). These governments promote fair trade through regulation and facilitate the dissemination of market information to growers (Litvinov 2002). In contrast, there is minimal planning and subsidization of vegetable production in Uzbekistan.

Land expansion The republic of Uzbekistan has great potential to expand its area under vegetables, melons and potato through the use of more intensive crop rotations. Its climatic conditions permit the growing of more than a single crop on the same piece of land each year. One million hectares of irrigated land are available after the harvesting of grains in early summer. Tens of thousands of hectares are also available at this time after the harvesting of early cabbage, carrot, beet, greens, and potato. Second crops of carrot, beet, radish, turnip, cucumber, cabbage, and potato are possible. Rainfed land reclamation can serve as a reserve for increasing production of watermelons, melons and gourds. Currently, there are 3,000–4,000 ha cultivated as rainfed areas, but this can be increased tenfold. These lands would be located in Dzhizakskaya, Samarkandskaya, Tashkentskaya, Surkhandaryinskaya, Kashkadaryinskaya and Horezmskaya regions. Yields of over 700 t/ha have been reported in sub-mountainous rainfed areas.

Improved varieties The lack of improved varieties is a major problem limiting vegetable production in Uzbekistan. Presently, 235 varieties of potato, vegetable and melon crops are included into “The State Register of agricultural crops recommended for sowing on the territory of the republic of Uzbekistan for 2003” (Table 4). There are no foreign varieties of French beans, dill, garlic, melon, marrow, hot pepper, pumpkin, radish, spinach, or turnip registered. During the years of independence of the republic of Uzbekistan 124 varieties were included into the State Register. Out of these, 49 varieties were created by local breeders, including 10 tomato (8 for open field, 2 for sheltered production), 7 cucumber (5 for open field, 2 for sheltered production), 3 each of potato, white cabbage and pepper, 2 each of carrot, coriander and onion, and 1 variety each of dill, lettuce, radish and pumpkin. There were 74 foreign varieties released, including 23 potato, 22 tomato (12 open


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Table 4. The number of open-pollinated (OP) and hybrid varieties, from domestic and foreign sources, included in “The State Register of agricultural crops recommended for sowing on the territory of the republic of Uzbekistan for 2003” Crop

Registered Domestic varieties OPs Hybrids Total

Beet, table Beans, French Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, white Carrot Cauliflower Coriander Cucumber (open field) Cucumber (sheltered) Dill Eggplant Garlic Lettuce Marrow Marrow, custard Melon Onion, bulb Parsley Pepper, hot Pepper, sweet Pumpkin Potato Radish Radish, garden Sorrel Spinach Tarragon Tomato (open field) Tomato (sheltered) Turnip Watermelon Total

4 1 1 17 10 2 3 16 13 2 2 2 2 1 1 36 9 2 2 5 5 27 3 6 1 1 1 30 13 2 15 235

1 6 9 2 8 1 2 1 2 1 1 35 5 1 2 4 5 4 3 2 1 15 3 2 11 123

1 2 1 4

1 6 5 2 9 3 2 1 2 1 1 36 5 1 2 4 5 4 3 2 1 15 3 2 11 127

OPs

Foreign Hybrids

3 1 5 3 1 1 2 10 1 1 1 2 1 1 23 4 1 1 3 1 66

1 6 2 1 5 2 12 10 3 42

Total 4 1 11 5 2 1 7 10 1 1 1 4 1 1 23 4 1 1 15 10 4 108

field and 10 sheltered production), 11 cucumber (5 open field and 6 sheltered production), 6 white cabbage, 3 each of bulb onion, carrot, table beet and watermelon, and 1 cauliflower. Only 46 of 235 released varieties (19.5%) in Uzbekistan are F1 hybrids. Local breeders of Uzbekistan are not able to compete with foreign firms in developing hybrid varieties. In the 1960s and 1970s, scientific institutions of Uzbekistan worked on developing hybrids of watermelon, melon and tomato, but these outputs were never


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used. This work is not continued in the republic due to a lack of homozygous inbreds available for use as parental lines, which require much time and resources to generate. The republic needs ultra early maturing varieties of potato and vegetable crops. When sown early in the season they can produce high yields before the hot summer temperatures begin, and they allow for multiple cropping. The republic needs improved varieties of spring garlic. Currently, garlic is grown in winter culture and occupies the field from September to the end of June. Cultivation of spring varieties would decrease the time the crop is in the field. There are too many potato varieties released. Reducing their number is needed as well as the production of virus-free base seed of the remaining varieties. Scientific institutions of Uzbekistan have developed propagation methods using meristem culture, but they are not used. This is related to the lack of coordination of Center scientists and a lack of modern equipment and chemicals in labs. The most important task of vegetable crop breeding in Uzbekistan is the release of varieties that combine high productivity and ecological stability. Created varieties must possess resistance to abiotic stresses, diseases and pests. They should not accumulate heavy metals, nitrates, pesticides or radionuclides. They should be storable and possess high food quality characteristics. With the aim of breeding of such varieties it is necessary to expand selection methods and to increase their efficiency. For this, breeders of Uzbekistan must become familiar with biotechnological methods of selection, gene engineering, remote hybridization, site-directed mutagenesis, and adaptation selection, and then integrate these methods into our work practices. Developing varieties suited for domestic production practices is needed. In many instances, our local varieties often outyield foreign hybrids due to their adaptability to local climate and limited use of chemical fertilizers.

Improved seed production and quality It is known that the performance of a variety is related to seed quality. Seed production of vegetable, melon and gourd crops during the year of reforms decreased in Uzbekistan. During the period from 1993 to 1997, the seed multiplication area of specialized seed producing farms decreased from 3,300 to 2,088 ha, and production levels dropped from 1,550 t to 580 t (Azimov, 2000). Therefore, the revitalization of our seed production practices is needed to improve our vegetable sector. There is a danger that we will lose valuable varieties of local melon and other vegetables due to consumer preferences, ecological stresses, and inadequate seed production infrastructure. At the market it is possible to purchase many varieties of seeds, although the quality of the seed, both in terms of genetic purity and seed viability, is uncertain. Regulations regarding variety selection and seed production have been adopted but are not fully operating. It is necessary to establish active mechanisms of regulating seed

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production practices. We must re-establish science-based seed production systems. For this, it is necessary to strengthen regulations of seed quality for domestic markets, improve the State Center’s work regarding certification and seed quality, improve harvesting operations, and modernize seed storage conditions. It is necessary to prohibit the importation of seeds of varieties not on the State Register. It is important to maintain our current system of State variety testing. Our Government must promote elite seed production, create insurance funds, and regulate soil conservation practices. It is necessary to utilize recent advances in science to support our existing seed producing firms for creating new varieties or multiplying them in cooperation with scientific institutions. To improve seed quality of local varieties, it is necessary to prohibit cultivation of food crops by seed producing farms, to allow the renting of land to seed producing farms, and to increase quality control measures (Azimov 2000, Azimov and Khakimov 2003).

Increasing diversity in the diet The necessity to expand our assortment of vegetable crops is a main problem. For the last three years in Uzbekistan only five crops occupied 83–83.5% of land area: tomato (39–40%), bulb onion (19–20%), carrot (10–11%), cucumber (7–8%), and white cabbage (6–7%). Another 20 crops (pumpkin, pepper, eggplant, table beet, radish and others) covered only 16.5–17% of the area. There are practically no nutrition standards, advertising or propaganda promoting the health benefits of vegetable consumption. In contrast, promotional programs are widely conducted in Japan and the USA. Diversifying our vegetable production will increase the nutritional status of our population and increase our quality of life. The cultivation of leaf cabbage, perennial onion, daikon radish, kohlrabi, okra, amaranth, asparagus and other crops should be encouraged.

Year-round production The harsh climate of Uzbekistan limits year-round production. Improvements in vegetable production under protective shelters are required. Winter greenhouses in Uzbekistan occupy a total of 500 ha, which pales in comparison to that, for example, found in Italy (9,000 ha), Turkey (10,000 ha) and Spain (11,000 ha). It is necessary to enlarge this production area for reducing seasonality of vegetable supplies as well as to create opportunities for vegetable exporting. Our energy expenses are considerably less and our natural sunlight is considerably better than most countries in our region during the winter months and the year-round production of cucumber and tomato can be achieved. For this to occur, our greenhouses require modernization. In most existing greenhouses, mechanized production systems


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do not operate, soil heating systems are absent, structures are not energy-efficient, and the soils are poorly drained and of low fertility. Fertilizer monitoring technologies and hydroponics need to be introduced.

Other limitations Vegetable production of Uzbekistan is characterized by additional problems. First of all, our systems are not environmentally sustainable. The excessive application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and the use of heavy machinery have damaged our natural resources. The introduction of diversified crop rotations, minimum soil tillage, organic and biological fertilizers, integrated pest management, disease-resistant varieties, and low-impact soil tillage technologies will minimize harm to the environment while generating quality vegetables. As in other countries, we need to introduce modern production technologies to our farmers. Our recent economic instabilities and the collapse of our domestic farm machinery industries have hurt our vegetable sector. Our current farm machinery has depreciated, specialized equipment for vegetable production is not being produced, and most harvesting operations are done by hand. Advances in agricultural engineering and other sciences can help in this regard to modernize our vegetable sector. Uzbek Research Institute of vegetables, melon crops and potato, Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry, Karakalpak Research Institute of Crop Husbandry, and departments of four agrarian colleges are involved in vegetable production research.

Future priorities The problems discussed herein define the future direction for research in the vegetable sector. Major priorities include: • Identify varieties best suited for our environment and local farmer practices. • Use biotechnology to create new varieties and expand our gene pool. • Improve vegetable seed production practices and ensure virus-free planting stock of potato. • Introduce new vegetable crops that will add diversity and quality to our diets. • Renovate protective shelters for year-round cultivation and introduce advanced production technologies in these structures. • Improve the sustainability of vegetable crop production through the use of diversified crop rotations, biological fertilizers, reduced tillage operations, and integrated pest management technologies. • Develop improved production technologies, and specifically farm machinery, for


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both large and small-scale farms. To achieve these goals, close collaboration among all scientific groups of the republic is required.

Literature cited Azimov, B.Z. 2000. A modem state and problems of development of Uzbekistan’s vegetable growing, melon growing and potato growing: Herald of Uzbekistan’s Agrarian Science, No. 1, p. 18–21. Azimov, B.Z. and R.A. Khakimov. 2003. Status and perspectives of development of Uzbekistan’s vegetable growing, melon growing and potato growing: main directions of scientific research. Reports of the International Scientific and Practical Conference: Deepening of Integration of Education, Science, and Production in Agriculture of Uzbekistan. 23–25 April 2003. Tashkent: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. p. 92–95. Buriev, K.C., G.A. Samatov, Y.T. Komilov, and S.D. Dehkanov. 2002. Export of fruit and vegetable production in Uzbekistan: results achieved and perspectives of development. Collection of papers “Export of fruit and vegetable production in dehkan farms of Uzbekistan”. Tashkent. p.137–142. Buriev, K.C., V.I. Zuev, and B.C. Gulamov. 2000. Vegetable-growing, melon-growing, fruit-growing and wine-growing of Uzbekistan. Tashkent: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. 51 p. Litvinov, S.S. 2002. The branch needs in the state. Potato and Vegetables, No. 4, p. 4–6. Litvinov, S.S. 2003. Vegetable growing of Russia and its scientific production. Potato and Vegetables, No. 1, p. 2–4. Oripov M. and T. Bozorov. 2002. Development fruit and vegetable growing in Uzbekistan. Agrarian Science, No. 12, p. 4–6.


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The Status, Problems and Perspectives of Vegetable Production in Uzbekistan K.C. Buriev, L.A. Gafurova, V.I. Zuev and S.M. Meikhltov Tashkent State Agrarian University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan occupies a territory of 444,300 km2 or 44.4 million ha. The main sector of Uzbekistan’s economy is agriculture, which provides one-third of the gross national product. There are 4.3 million ha of irrigated land, with potato, vegetables, melons and gourds accounting for 165,000 ha or 3.9% of this area. Vegetables are highly valued in Uzbekistan for their nutritional qualities and there is a great need to increase production levels in the country to keep pace with the nation’s rapid population growth (2.4% yearly). On a global scale, vegetable production has risen by 20% over the past 5 years (Litvinov 2003). Unfortunately, the economic reforms carried out under the direction of Uzbekistan’s Agrarian Production Complex have yet to generate any such gain in vegetable production. In fact, the area sown in vegetables and production levels remain less than what they were in (Table 1). Yield increases have been minor. Today, 76% of the vegetables grown in Uzbekistan are grown in small dehkan farms and gardens, up from 62% in 1991. The melon sector has also declined and is on the verge of collapse. The production area of melons is less than half of what it was in 1991 and yields have declined similarly (Table 2). In contrast to vegetables, there has been a decline in the percentage of melons grown on small dehkan farms and gardens, from 65% in 1991 to 58% in 2002. In 1991, Uzbekistan’s population was 20.7 million and its gross production of vegetables and melons was 4.3 million t—this amounted to 203 kg of produce per capita. Taking into account post-harvest losses, processing, and exports, vegetable and melon production in Uzbekistan satisfied the nutritional requirements of its population that year. However, in 2002, the republic’s population was approximately 25 million and gross production was 3.9 million t—this amounted to 137 kg of produce per capita. Now the available supplies are below recommended norms, consisting of only 95–100 kg/ capita/year. Among the former Soviet countries, the availability of vegetables and melons in Uzbekistan is surpassed only by Armenia (115 kg). Upon declaring its independence, Uzbekistan’s national government sought to improve the status of its rural population. A total of 500,000 ha of irrigated land were converted from commercial cotton production to personal plots. As a result, the share of vegetable production in personal plots has risen.


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Table 1. Vegetable production in Uzbekistan, 1991–2002 Year

Area (000 ha)

Production (000 t)

Yield (t/ha)


1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 1999 2001 2002

165.7 151.1 128.4 127.2 136.5 123.0 131.1 127.4

3,348 2,975 2,663 2,840 2,903 2,651 2,645 2,749 2,936

18.8 17.6 18.5 18.9 19.5 21.5 20.9 19.4

62 63 69 70 66 75 75 76

Table 2. Melon production in Uzbekistan, 1991–2002 Year

Area (000 ha)

1991 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 1999 2001 2002

83.2 42.6 30.3 38.0 42.2 30.3 33.9 37.5

Production (000 t) 914 587 426 362 445 518 452 455 479

Yield (t/ha)


11.1 10.0 11.9 11.7 12.2 14.9 12.9 12.7

65 61 63 61 55 63 61 58

The significant decline in commercial vegetable production has contributed to a decline in agri-businesses that supported commercial operations. Also, the development of markets has proceeded slowly. A group of middlemen dealers currently determine market prices for dehkan products. There is a great need to improve the marketing structure of vegetable products (Oripov and Bozorov 2002). The development of the vegetable sector in Uzbekistan has been limited for many reasons: a shortage of irrigation water, use of obsolete technologies, absence of both specialization and regionalization of farming operations, inadequate mechanization, and high prices for mineral and organic fertilizers. All irrigation is still done by furrow, while drip irrigation is yet to practiced. Disease and pest management is inefficient due to high prices of pesticides and lack of mechanization for spraying (Buriev et al. 2000, Azimov and Khakimov 2003). The use of hybrid seed has been limited due to its high cost and the uncertainties of commodity markets. National seed production and regulation of seed quality has been


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neglected. Private seed companies are producing non-released varieties (Azimov 2000, Buriev et al. 2000). Uzbekistan possesses a high export potential of vegetable and melon production, as many species and varieties of these crops have special appearances and taste qualities. However, the export potential of the country is far from realized. Before independence, the main share of production was produced on large-scale farms and exported using a centralized network, but now most production is on small dehkan farms and exporting is decentralized (Buriev et al. 2002). In central Uzbekistan, early cabbage, carrot, table beet, potato, cucumber, tomato can be harvested in early June. In southern regions, cabbage and carrot can be cultivated as a winter crop and harvested in May. These early harvests have great potential for exporting to the more northerly countries of the former Soviet Union, where consumers largely consume processed vegetables until July. Open field production in Western countries also cannot compete with the earlier maturing crops of Uzbekistan. Therefore, there is great opportunity for Uzbekistan to expand its export markets if investments are made into the improvement of transportation and packing facilities, processing industries, greenhouse facilities, and other infrastructure (Buriev et al. 2000). A renewal of the vegetable processing industry can further expand production levels. Improved integration of farmers and processing enterprises can be achieved through increased sharing of profits (Oripov and Bozorov 2002). Improvements in vegetable and melon production can be achieved through the development of specialized enterprises using intensive cultivation practices backed by research that is supported by the state. Everywhere in the world this is understood, and in many developed countries the role of the government in vegetable production is distinctly observed. Increased levels of vegetable production in many countries are realized on the basis of government support. Vegetable production is credited and subsided nearly everywhere (in the USA, US$40 per ha are allocated from government budgets, and in Russia, US$6). In many advanced countries, the State takes upon itself rules of trade (not through second-hand dealers, but rather through written agreements between suppliers and buyers), regulation of prices and their control, and widespread dissemination of market information (Litvinov 2002). Uzbekistan has great possibilities for expanding its production areas of vegetables by using more intensive cropping systems. After cereal crops are harvested in late spring, 1 million ha of irrigated land are available for production. Tens of thousands of additional hectares become available after the harvest of early vegetable and potato. The development of an organization to ensure high quality seeds of improved varieties is needed. It is interesting to note that Uzbekistan has a gene pool of vegetable and melon crops (approximately 4,000 samples), which is concentrated at the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry and at the Research Institute of Vegetable, Melon Crops and Potato.

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At the present time, 208 varieties of vegetable and melon crops are included in the State register of agricultural crops recommended for sowing in Uzbekistan. Only 46 of these are hybrids and the national breeders in Uzbekistan cannot compete with those of foreign-based seed companies. Our national institutions developed hybrid varieties of tomato, watermelon and melon in the 1960s and 1970s, but these varieties were not introduced into production. This work does not continue today. One reason for this has been the absence of inbred lines, which demand much time and resources to generate (Buriev et al. 2002, Azimov and Khakimov 2003). The development of hybrids that combine high productivity, food quality, and resistance to ecological stresses is the most important task of vegetable breeding today. Improving the commercial seed sector industry goes along with the development of superior varieties. Unfortunately, the production of vegetable seeds has declined during the years of national reform. From 1993 to 1997, seed production declined from 1,550 t to 580 t (Azimov 2002). Therefore, the restoration of the seed production sector is a most important condition for the development of Uzbekistan’s overall vegetable sector. Because of the disintegration of the seed production sector, there is danger of losing many valuable vegetable and melon varieties. There is also the need to expand the assortment of vegetables grown in Uzbekistan. For the past three years, five crops occupied 83.0–83.5% of land sown under vegetables: tomato (39–40%), onion (19–20%), carrot (10–11%), cucumber (7–8%), and white cabbage (6–7%). The remaining land was planted in approximately 20 other vegetable crops, including pumpkin, pepper, eggplant, table beet, and winter radish. The harsh continental climate of Uzbekistan limits year-round production. Improvements in vegetable production under protective shelters are required. At the present time there are less than 500 ha of production in winter greenhouses in Uzbekistan. Our power expenditures are considerably less and our natural sunlight is considerably better than most countries in our region during the winter months and the year-round production of cucumber and tomato can be achieved. For this to occur, our greenhouses require modernization. In most existing structures, mechanized production systems do not operate, soil heating systems are absent, and the soils are poorly drained and of low fertility. Fertilizer monitoring technologies and hydroponics need to be introduced. The problems mentioned herein define the future directions for research in the vegetable sector. Major priorities include: • expand research on genetic improvement and regeneration of the existing gene pool; • expand breeding projects for the creation of more diverse varieties; • develop early maturing varieties; • develop varieties resistant to diseases and stresses;


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• develop production practices for improved varieties; • improve elite and primary seed production; • intensify the use of biotechnology for the development of new genetic resources; • introduce new vegetable crops to diversify production practices and improve diets; • ensure more effective use of water and other natural resources of the country; • improve production technology for both large and small-scale farms in different soils and climatic zones (saline soils, mountainous districts, eroded soils) with an emphasis on increasing mechanization; • intensify research on reconstruction and modernization of production under protective shelters; • promote sustainable practices, including crop rotations, organic fertilizers and integrated pest management technologies; • expand research on melon production and post-harvest handling; and • evaluate export and local marketing opportunities. For achievement of these purposes, collaboration among all scientific bodies of the republic is necessary. There is an urgent necessity to integrate the research activities of organizations throughout Central Asia and to establish a collaborative network on vegetable crops.Within the framework of such a regional network, Uzbekistan can conduct work on the following projects: • develop a vegetable production strategy, including a determination of priority crops; • enrich the pool of germplasm through collection missions, conservation practices, characterization, selection of superior types for breeding, and formation of a database. • introduce research methodology used by international research centers; • create an information/consultation center for farmers; • conduct training courses on vegetable production practices, and applications of information and communications technologies; and • expand the integration of science departments in higher education institutions with research and development activities.

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Literature cited Azimov, B.Z. 2000. A modem state and problems of development of Uzbekistan’s vegetable growing, melon growing and potato growing: Herald of Uzbekistan’s Agrarian Science No. 1, p. 18–21. Azimov, B.Z. and R.A. Khakimov. 2003. Status and perspectives of development of Uzbekistan’s vegetable growing, melon growing and potato growing: main directions of scientific research. Reports of the International Scientific and Practical Conference: Deepening of Integration of Education, Science, and Production in Agriculture of Uzbekistan. 23–25 April 2003. Tashkent: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. p. 92–95. Buriev, K.C., G.A. Samatov, Y.T. Komilov, and S.D. Dehkanov. 2002. Export of fruit and vegetable production in Uzbekistan: results achieved and perspectives of development. Collection of papers “Export of fruit and vegetable production in dehkan farms of Uzbekistan”. Tashkent. p. 137–142. Buriev, K.C., V.I. Zuev, and B.C. Gulamov. 2000. Vegetable-growing, melon-growing, fruit-growing and wine-growing of Uzbekistan. Tashkent: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. 51 pp. Litvinov, S.S. 2002. The branch needs in the state. Potato and Vegetables (4):4–6. Litvinov, S.S. 2003. Vegetable growing of Russia and its scientific production. Potato and Vegetables, No. 1, p. 2–4. Oripov M. and T. Bozorov. 2002. Development fruit and vegetable growing in Uzbekistan. Agrarian Science, No. 12, p. 4–6.


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Status, Problems and Prospects for the Production of Vegetables, Melons-Gourds and Potatoes in Uzbekistan A.M. Abbasov Uzbek Research Institute of Vegetables, Melon Crops and Potato, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

An analysis of prospects for the production of vegetables, melons/gourds, and potatoes in view of the emerging free marketing system demands a science-based approach. Serious structural changes have occurred in the production of these crops after independence, notably the rise in the importance of dehkan farms. Today, 76.5% of the area planted in vegetables (127,500 ha) are within dehkan farms, while 57.9% of the area planted in melons/gourds (35,600 ha) and 86.8% of the area planted in potatoes (50,800 ha) are within dehkan farms. After independence, the area planted in potato increased by 8,200 ha. In contrast, the area planted in vegetables decreased by 10,000 ha and the area planted in melons/gourds decreased by 43,400 ha. In many cases, yields have also declined. It is predicted that the demand for vegetables in the republic (taking into consideration population growth, industrial processing and export production) will be approximately 3.70–3.75 million t in the near future (2007–2010), while the demand for melons/gourds will be 2.60 million t and the demand for potato will be 1.22 million t at that time. There were 2.90 million t of vegetables, 0.48 million t of melons/gourds and 0.77 million t of potatoes produced in 2002. These volumes should be increased by 1.00 million tons for vegetables, 2.10 million t for melons/gourds, and by 0.47 million t for potato. Such an achievement will demand the full use of available production areas under irrigation and the increasing of yields by a factor of 1.5 to 2.0. Two ways for increasing yields are to: 1) develop high yielding varieties that are resistant to diseases and unfavorable environments; and 2) develop high quality seed production practices. The specialists of the Research Institute of Vegetables, Melon Crops and Potato have created 25 high yielding varieties resistant to diseases during 1998–2003. Nineteen varieties have already been included in the State Registration List of Breeding Achievements: ‘Bohodir’, ‘Toshkent-tongi’, ‘Avitsenna’, and ‘Subhidam’ tomato; ‘Sharkia-2’ white cabbage; ‘Nargiza’ sweet pepper; ‘Navruz’ cucumber; ‘Zafar’ onion; ‘Nilufar’ parsley; ‘Kokshakh’ lettuce; ‘Orom’ dill; ‘Naphis’ spinach; ‘Manzur’ and ‘Surkhon tongi’ watermelon; ‘Amudare’, ‘Sujunchi-2’, ‘Zar Gulobi’ and ‘Khorazmii’ melon; and ‘Umid’ potato. Thirteen additional varieties of vegetables, melons and gourds are currently under evaluation by the State Testing Commission. Among the already approved lines:

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•

‘Avitsenna’ tomato is a midseason variety with a globular, 130–150 g fruit. It contains 5.7–5.8% dry matter and has yields of 60–70 t/ha.

•

‘Navruz’ cucumber is early ripening and suitable for early season production in greenhouses, as well as for midseason to late season production in fields. It has smooth, dark green fruits that do not turn yellow and average in weight at 105 g. The variety is resistant to mildew and has yields of 30–40 t/ha.

•

The bulb onion ‘Zaphar’ typically yields 50–55 t/ha. It is a late season type with the capacity to maintain its quality in storage until May. The bulbs average 110 g and are violet in color. The variety is tolerant to mildew and thrips.

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The bulb onion ‘Sumbula’ ripens in the early season (May) and is suitable for sowing in August or early September. This variety resists bolting and will produce yields of 35–40 t/ha.

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‘Gulyabi Horazmii’ is a late ripening melon with good keeping capacity. It is resistant to powdery mildew and Fusarium wilt. Its yields average at 35–40 t/ha.

Along with creating new open-pollinated varieties, the Institute has developed F1 hybrids. Among the most promising are (‘Turon’ × ‘Hamajun’) greenhouse tomato, (‘LCh’ × ‘Urinboy’) watermelon, and (‘Nargiza’ × ‘Vesna’) sweet pepper. A total of 2,500 kg of elite and super-elite seed from the Institute’s breeding lines were produced in 2002. In addition, 264,100 kg of F1 seed were produced for farms in the republic. With regard to yields in 2002, farms in those regions that have historically specialized in the production of vegetables, melons and gourds, such as Tashkent, Samarkand, Fergana and Namangan regions, achieved average yields of 22–26 t/ha compared to yields of 19.8 t/ha in other regions. The key factors to consider in plans to increase yields of these crops in the republic are climate, environmental requirements of crops, specialization of farming practices, levels of experience among laborers, and local infrastructure. For example, it is profitable to increase vegetable production in Andijan, Namangan, Fergana and Tashkent regions, particularly, in their foothills, while it is recommended to increase the production of melons and gourds in Syrdarya, Jizzak, Horesm, Kashkadarya, Navoi and Karakalpak regions. Due to the unique natural conditions of Surkhandarya region, export production of early-ripening vegetables should be increased there to the degree that the production area is increased by 20–25%. Along with proper production practices, it is necessary to define recommended production levels for each crop. In accordance with the specific demand for each major vegetable, the percentage of tomato plantings among all vegetable plantings should be 40–44%, bulb onion 20–24%, carrot 10–12%, cucumber 8%, cabbage 6%, and other vegetables 14–16%.


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It is noted that a principal reason for low vegetable yields has been the decrease of required agribusiness logistics, including insufficient supplies of organic fertilizers, fuels, plant protection technologies, and agricultural machinery. Therefore, in order to achieve the successful development of vegetable and melon/gourd production sectors in Uzbekistan, it is necessary to:

• Strengthen agricultural enterprises related to the production of vegetables and melons/gourds and to promote the sowing area of these crops to 125,000 ha (in 2010), with appropriate proportions for each vegetable crop determined.

• Stabilize the cultivation of cereals at the rate of 25–30% of total sowing area in order to support high yielding vegetable crop rotations.

• Provide farmers with adequate access to pesticides to control insect pests and diseases. A total volume of 94.4 t of pesticides are needed for potato, 38 t for melon/gourds, and 266.7 t for vegetables. A total of 63.7 t of herbicides are needed to control weeds in these crops.

• Consider providing tractors and other machinery to farms, including special equipment for vegetable production since much of the current machinery is exhausted or lacking. Along these lines, we can consider providing favorable credit lines to farmers for purchasing of machinery and to look for alternative ways of solving mechanization problems.

• Provide producers with access to quality seed. In particular, intensify activity of the ‘Uzsabzavod-Navuruglari’ enterprise using foreign assistance, and strengthen logistics of seed production for vegetables, melons and gourds.

• Provide a scientifically grounded foundation for intensifying research in breeding, seed production, plant protection, and economics. Related to this is the need to build competent human capital in the leading fields of crop production in the republic.

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Evaluation of Global Sources of Root Crops for Breeding and Cultivation in Uzbekistan R.F. Mavlyanova Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Introduction Among vegetable crops, root crops deserve attention because they are year-round food sources. Russian varieties of table beet, celery, parsley, parsnip, and early red radish are currently cultivated in Uzbekistan. As of now, only 12 varieties of root crops are cultivated, and there have been no new releases for over 20 years. More than 50 commercial varieties of root vegetables are grown worldwide, and many of these varieties possess valuable characteristics. Their study and the development of improved seed production practices are needed. Selection and introduction of superior types from around the world will lead to increased yields, quality and consumer choices in Uzbekistan. The following is a report of the first comprehensive evaluation of root crop varieties in Central Asia. We evaluated 1145 varieties of 45 types of 8 major root crops. The seed was obtained from 72 countries by the All Union Institute of Plant Industry named after N.I. Vavilov (VIR) and the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry (UzRIPI). Research was carried out in UzRIPI from 1978–1999. As expected, climatic conditions varied considerably day to day, season to season, and year to year. The soil type was a gray loam. Solanaceae and melon crops were grown on this soil previously. Research was carried out in accordance with methods practiced at the VIR dating back to 1969. Released varieties served as standard checks.

Selecting varieties for earliness Previous research showed there is much variability within species for earliness. When cultivated in central Uzbekistan, the days to maturity (from germination to economical maturity) in carrot varieties of European subspecies ranges from 85–95 days; in carrots of the Asian subspecies, 75–95 days; garden radish of European subspecies, 20–24 days; Chinese white garden radish, 23–27 days; pink garden radish, 28–32 days; winter radish of European subspecies (summer production), 65 days and (winter production), 78–82 days; radish of the Chinese subspecies, 60–79 days; radish of the Japanese subspecies, 65–80 days; turnip of European subspecies, 60–79 days; turnip of the Central Asian subspecies, 60–63 days; table beet, 80–100 days; leaf celery, 90 days; pedicel celery, 98 days; root celery, 120 days; parsley, 85–95 days; and parsnip,100–105 days.


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Several varieties were selected for their earliness, including garden radish variety ‘French Breakfast’ and other pink-red types with white tips, most of which were obtained from Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and USA. Early maturing varieties of European summer radish were selected from Russia and Ukraine. Varieties of white and yellow turnips from the Netherlands and Canada were selected, as well as table beet varieties from the Netherlands, Canada and Russia.

Selecting varieties for resistance to bolting In root crops, breeding for resistance to bolting is critical. Varieties of the Chinese garden radish originating from China, Afghanistan and India were more susceptible to bolting compared to those from USA, Chile and Hungary. Among winter radish varieties, European types bolted at the rate of 2–15%, Chinese types bolted at the rate of 4.3–100%, while Japanese types bolted at the rate of 10.2–100%. For European and Chinese types, bolting occurred during all stages of vegetative growth, while bolting occurred only during the beginning and middle stages of vegetative development of Japanese winter radish. For European carrot, the share of plants that flowered ranged from 1.0–23.4% for spring-sown and was at 25.1% for summer sown plantings. In Asian carrot, flowering occurred in 10.4–100% of plants sown in spring and 3.1–16.9% in summer. Bolting was manifested in all varieties from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and India. In general, yellow-root types flowered earlier than orange-root types. In European carrot, bolting manifested itself by the end of the vegetative stage; Asian carrots bolted earlier. All turnip varieties from India bolted. Climatic conditions in central Uzbekistan are favorable for plants to pass through all stages of growth, from germination to seed production. For European garden radish, this period takes 80–85 when roots are replanted and 85–100 days when they are not. Likewise for Chinese garden radish, this period is 85–98 days when roots are replanted and 95–110 days when they are not. For European winter radish (summer), 90–95 days are required for seed production, while Japanese winter radish requires 85–95 days. In biennial crops the period from root planting after storage until seed maturation depends on variety. In European and Asian carrot, this period ranged from 110–115 days; in European winter radish, 125–135 days; in Chinese winter radish, 85–110 days; in European and Central Asian turnip, 110–120 days; in table beet, 115–125 days; and in celery of all types as well as in parsley, 130–145 days. This research led us to the conclusion that root crops from across the world are well suited for cultivation and seed production in Uzbekistan. Root crops are cross-pollinating, and self-incompatibility studies for these crops are lacking. Our evaluation of self-incompatibility for garden radish varieties showed that self-pollination reduced seed viability to 69–75% for varieties ‘Joltii’ and ‘Ertapishar’; other varieties of European and Chinese subspecies produced only nonviable seeds. For

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varieties of European and Chinese radish, seed viability dropped to 11–46% and 7– 49%, respectively. Varieties of the Japanese radish formed only poor quality seeds. Under open-pollination conditions, seed quality was much improved. These results confirm the presence of inbreeding depression for seed quality in crucifers.

Selecting varieties for high yields On the basis of long-term research, the variability of yield for various subspecies was determined under cultivation in the hot climate of Central Asia (Table 1). Significant phenotypic variability of yields (CV = 36–96%) and weights of a root crop (CV = 24– 52%) were dependent on climatic conditions, origin and quality features. Foreign varieties without heat tolerance produced low yields. High yielding varieties from Europe and the USA were generally well adapted to the hot climate of Central Asia. Table 1. Species variability of yields for edible root vegetables grown in central Uzbekistan, including both check and other varieties Crop Carrot (spring sown) Carrot (summer sown) Radish (European) Radish (Chinese) Green radish Turnip Table beet Celery (leaves) Celery ( roots) Parsley (leaves) Parsley (roots) Parsnip

No. of varieties 256 450 163 96 203 54 69 78 78 17 17 15

Yield (kg/m2) Check Mean 2.1 2.4 0.4 1.7 3.7 2.1 2.2 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.5 -

1.0 1.1 0.5 1.4 3.8 1.7 1.5 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.5

Range

CV (%)

0.1–3.6 0.2–3.6 0.1–1.1 0.9–3.2 0.1–9.0 0.1–3.0 0.4–5.2 0.1–2.6 0.1–2.6 0.1–1.2 0.1–1.1 0.1–2.0

36 43 42 36 38 36 80 96 74 60 68 92

Among the most promising selections were spring-sown European carrot varieties from the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, which produced yields of 1.5– 2.0 kg/m2. Summer sown varieties producing yields of 1.6–2.0 kg/m2 came from Georgia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, England and Spain and Russia. Asian yellow-rooted carrots with yields of 1.8–2.7 kg/m2 came from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Australia. For European garden radish, varieties with white, yellow, rose-red and mottled skin produced yields of 0.6–1.1 kg/m2. These promising varieties originated from Russia, Netherlands, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Germany, France, Italy, Chile, and Morocco. Late-ripening varieties of a pink Chinese garden radish from Denmark and Kazakhstan were also impressive.


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For European winter radish, promising white, black and violet types were selected that produce yields of 4.4–7.0 kg/m2. These varieties came from Russia, USA, Germany, Turkey and Egypt. Varieties of Chinese winter radish with yields of 4.4–5.9 kg/m2 came from Russia, Dagestan, Korea, China. Promising varieties of the Japanese subspecies were also selected. These Japanese varieties produced yields of 6.5 kg/m2. Table beet varieties with yields of 2.2–3.4 kg/m2 came from Russia, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Spain, USA, Canada. Varieties of leaf celery with yields of 0.9–1.7 kg/ m2 came from Georgia and Egypt; varieties of pedicel celery with yields of 0.9–1.5 kg/ m2 came from Netherlands, Germany, Canada and Japan; and varieties of root celery with yields of 2.7–3.1 kg/m2 came from Russia, Canada, Portugal and Bulgaria. A parsley variety from Dagestan and parsnip varieties from USA and Canada were also selected.

Selecting varieties for nutritious roots The chemical content of a vegetable must be taken into account when evaluating its quality. This long-term study found low phenotypic variability for dry matter content of carrot (CV = 9.4%) and intermediate levels for garden radish, turnip, beet, celery, and parsnip (CV = 11.2–19.7%). For parsley and parsnip, intermediate levels of variability were found for ascorbic acid and total sugars (CV = 15.7–19.8%). For carrot and beet, intermediate levels of variability for total sugars (CV = 12.4–16.7%) were observed. The phenotypic variability of the contents of other measured chemical components were somewhat higher (CV = 20.8–60.9%). These components included dry matter content of winter radish and parsley; total sugars of garden radish, winter radish, turnip, celery; and sucrose content for turnip and table beet; carotene for carrot; and ascorbic acid for carrot, garden radish, winter radish, turnip, beet, and celery. Average values and ranges of these chemical components were determined and many varieties surpassed the quality of previously released varieties (Table 2). Table 2. Species variability of root quality traits for root vegetables grown in central Uzbekistan, including both check and other varieties Crop

No. of Dry matter (%) var. Ck Mean Range

Carrot (spr sow) 90 14.0 Carrot (sum sow) 208 12.5 Radish 115 6.2 Green radish 132 9.2 Turnip 35 11.6 Table beet 48 15.0 Celery (roots) 30 18.9 Parsley (roots) 12 20.0 Parsley (leaves) 12 22.3 Parsnip 10 -

14.1 12.0 6.1 7.7 10.2 15.8 19.8 18.7 16.5 25.0

9.1–21.0 9.1–16.0 4.1–09.0 3.1–13.0 8.1–16.0 8.1–24.0 10.1–24.0 16.0–25.0 11.0–30.0 20.0–30.0

Total sugars (%) Ck Mean Range 4.6 5.1 2.8 3.2 3.3 7.2 0.2 3.1 2.0 -

Ascorb. acid (mg/100 g) Ck Mean Range

5.0 2.6–7.5 7.9 5.1 3.1–7.5 3.2 2.2 1.1–4.0 26.7 2.3 0.1–5.0 29.8 3.5 1.6–6.0 30.6 7.8 2.1–11.0 24.7 0.4 0.1–0.8 5.8 3.0 2.1–6.0 51.3 1.9 0.1–0.4 280.2 5.1 4.0–6.0 -

4.9 1.0–15.0 4.1 1.0–11.0 23.3 6.0–45.0 26.0 6.0–60.0 27.5 11.0–50.0 19.2 8.0–36.0 4.7 0.1–10.0 27.0 1.0–60.0 207 101–400 22.1 15.0–30.0

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High carotene contents were found in European carrots that originated from Russia, Netherlands, France, Germany, India, USA and Canada. Productive local populations of the Asian carrot were characterized by average levels of nutrients and relatively dense flesh. Released varieties ‘Mirzoi krasnaya’ and ‘Mirzoi joltaya’ will be useful as parental lines since they were productive and had consistently high contents of dry matter, total sugars and ascorbic acid. Sources of the highest levels of carotene (up to 21 mg/ 100 g) were from European carrot, and can be used for hybridization. Among European garden radishes, superior varieties included red types such as ‘Round Red’ from Russia, ‘Quantum’ from Moldova, ‘Lubimii’ from Bulgaria, ‘Cherry Belle’ from Netherlands, ‘Cherry Belle’ from USA, ‘Early Scarlet Globe’ from Canada and ‘Crimson Giant’ from Chile, the white ‘Icicle’ from Netherlands, and the rose with white tipped varieties ‘National’ from France, ‘Tertralowiecka’ from Poland and ‘Copenhagen Market’ from Turkey. The Chinese pink garden radish ‘C-2264’ from Russia, ‘Dunganskii 12/8’ and ‘Koreyskii mestnii’ of Kazakhstan, ‘Long Scarlet’ from India and ‘Chinese Rose Winter’ from USA were also selected. Superior varieties of European winter white radish included ‘Zimska bela’ from Yugoslavia and ‘Winter white’ from Russia, as well as black varieties ‘Round Black Spanish’ from Canada, ‘Darwisheli’ from Egypt and ‘Runder Schwarzer’ from Germany. Some varieties of Chinese green, red, and red-fleshed radishes from China and Korea, as well as varieties of white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed European turnips originating from Russia, Netherlands, Denmark, England and Canada were selected. Also chosen were varieties of table beets from Russia, France, Denmark and Australia, varieties of celery from Netherlands and Canada, and varieties of parsley and parsnip from Denmark.

Selecting varieties for resistance to plant disease Losses of yield due to diseases can be significant. Our research showed that under natural conditions, few varieties were resistant to diseases. Types were noted for resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe umbelliferaum) in carrot, radish mosaic virus and scab (Actinomyces scabies) on radish, and bacterial blight (Pseudomonas apii) on celery. As expected, the presence of diseases was strongly influenced by climate. For example, the spread of radish mosaic virus was promoted by damp, warm weather.

Selecting varieties for storability A shelf-life of 150–160 days is needed during the winter period. In our research, European varieties of carrot were characterized by high shelf life (96–100% of samples were of acceptable quality after storage), while the Asian varieties were less storable (83– 85%), particularly varieties of yellow carrot. Russian and Ukrainian varieties of table beet stored better (90–100%) than varieties from Europe and America. In general, the beets that stored best had round and oval roots in comparison with flat-shaped roots. For turnip, Russian varieties showed good shelf life (84–89%). Among winter radish varieties, the best shelf life was displayed by varieties of the European winter radish (92–100%).


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The shelf life of white-green Chinese radish varieties was 82–92%, those varieties with very juicy pulps had a shelf life rating of 59%, while red Chinese radish rated at (45– 56%). Varieties of Japanese radish were unsuitable for long-term winter storage, and thus, should be consumed within 45–60 days after harvesting.

Correlation studies Correlations of yield and root quality traits were determined (Table 3). Table 3. Correlations of yield characters for root vegetables grown in central Uzbekistan Crop Carrot Radish (European) Radish (Chinese) Green Radish (European) Green Radish (Chinese) Green Radish (Japanese) Turnip Beet

Yield and root wt 0.55 0.68 0.69 0.59 0.01 0.28 –0.50 0.12

Yield and Root wt and Plural coeff. plant density plant density of correlation 0.67 0.83 0.65 0.27 0.35 0.58 0.43 0.92

–0.10 0.22 –0.04 –0.38 –0.70 –0.37 –0.08 –0.11

0.72 0.97 0.96 0.69 0.25 0.79 0.63 0.92

Positive correlations of productivity with weight of roots (r = 0.3–0.7) were revealed for carrot, European and Chinese garden radish, and European winter radish. Positive correlations for yield and plant density were shown for carrot, Chinese garden radish, Chinese and Japanese radish, and turnip. For European garden radish and table beet, correlations were relatively strong (r = 0.8–0.9). For other crops, these correlations were weak (r < 0.3). With the exception of European garden radish, negative correlations of root weight and plant density were detected. These results indicate that yields are increased with large-rooted varieties that tolerate high plant densities. The presence of ambiguous correlations between root quality traits can be useful when creating new varieties. Our research revealed moderate correlations of r = 0.3–0.7 between dry matter content and total sugars for garden radish, Chinese winter radish and celery. Moderate correlations were also found between sucrose content with dry matter and total sugars of beet, between ascorbic acid content with dry matter and total sugars of turnip, and between dry matter and sucrose content of beet. For winter radish, a strong correlation (r = 0.7–0.8) was found between ascorbic acid with dry matter and total sugars. The correlation of carotene content with other components was negative. Plural correlation coefficients for garden radish, winter radish and beet testify to relative independence, and for other crops a moderate interlinking of chemical components.

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Combining ability studies The polycross test, a widely used test of combining ability, was used. Previous research studies on the effects of hybridization on the days to maturity were inconclusive. In our research, we found that hybrid progeny of parental varieties ‘Ertapishar’, ‘Red Giant’ and ‘Zenith’ garden radish matured 4–6 days later than the parents; the hybrid progeny of ‘Chin-yan-tsin’ Chinese radish matured 10 days later than its mother variety, but the hybrid progeny of ‘Loba-38’ Chinese radish matured 7 days earlier. Special differences were not observed for other varieties. Varieties showed various combining abilities for yield. High general combining ability (GCA) was showed by carrot varieties ‘Mirzoi krasnaya’ (147%), ‘Local 1’ (124%), and ‘Local 2’ (159%) from Uzbekistan. Increases in yields for these varieties were influenced by high germination rates. High GCA was shown by garden radish varieties ‘Koreyskii mestnii’ (174%), ‘Red Giant’ (130%), and ‘Dunganskii 12/8’ (174%). Their hybrids displayed large root weights, which is characteristic of the late-ripening Chinese garden radish. For Chinese radish, ‘Chin-Yan-tsin’ showed very high GCA for yield (131%) as did ‘Bukenropkhal’ (117%). As for carrot root quality, ‘Mirzoi krasnaya’ showed high GCA for dry matter (108%) and ascorbic acid (130%). Hybrid ‘Shantene’ had high average GCAs for dry matter (107%), and sucrose (179%). ‘Local-1’ showed high GCA for dry matter (111%), total sugars (117%), ascorbic acid (114%), carotene (122%) and sucrose (140%). ‘Gauses’ had high GCA for dry matter (116%), ascorbic acid (118%), total sugars (156%), sucrose (179%) and carotene (166%). Roots of radish hybrids had notably higher sugar contents in comparison to their parents, but accumulated less dry matter and ascorbic acid. ‘Margilanskaya’ showed the highest average GCA (105–110%) for these three root quality traits. ‘Bukenropkhal’ had high GCA (108%) for dry matter, ‘Kesonbommu´had high GCA (108%) for total sugars and ascorbic acid, and ‘Khuan Jou High’ had high GCA (119%) for ascorbic acid.

Seed and crop production recommendations Seed production of European carrot, European winter radish and Chinese radish, and European turnip was done in two-year culture, and seed production of European garden radish and Japanese radish was done in one-year culture. This study identified many varieties superior to what are currently grown in Uzbekistan. The introduction of these varieties can increase yields and food quality, as well as provide consumers with a broader assortment of foods to select from. Some findings in the cultivation of these promising varieties include:


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• ‘Nantes’ and ‘Chantene’ European carrot can be sown in the second half of August, as well as grown overwinter or sown in early spring for early crop production.

• All varieties of European garden radish can be grown under polyethylene in early spring.

• European summer radish can be sown in early August and harvested in mid-September and consumed up to mid-October.

• European winter white and black radish can be sown at the end of July, harvested at the end of October and then consumed or stored overwinter.

• All varieties of Chinese radish and European turnip can be sown in the first half of August, harvested at the end of October, and then consumed over winter.

• The production of Japanese radish is similar to that of Chinese radish, but the harvested roots should be used within 50–60 days.

Concluding remarks This comprehensive research study generated much valuable information that can be used for introducing high yielding and high quality varieties into Uzbekistan. These varieties can be used both cultivation and in the development of improved varieties. From this gene pool we have already developed several new varieties, including ‘Kuz khadiyasi’, ‘Shifobachsh’ and ‘Sadaf’ winter radish, and ‘Baraka’ carrot.

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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

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List of Participants Kazakhstan Alexei Morgounov Regional Representative CIMMYT-CAC P.O. Box 374 Almaty, 050000 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-3272-285966; 284947 Fax: +7-3272-282551 B. Alimgazinova Head, Science Department Ministry of Agriculture 49, Abay Ave., Astana, 473000 Kazakhstan E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +7-3172-323048 S. Kenenbayev Director Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 S. Babayev Department Head Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 T. Aitbayev Deputy Director Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706

S. Jantasov Scientific Secretary Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 O. Vodyanova Leading Researcher Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 N. Kurganskaya Senior Researcher Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kaina dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 L. Kabirova Senior Researcher Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 T. Gutsaluk Senior Researcher Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706

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B. Amirov Head, Breeding Department Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 V. Lukyanyets Head, Genebank Laboratory Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 M. Manakov Senior Researcher Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 Z. Kuatbekov Head, Mechanization & Technology Department Research Institute for Potato and Vegetable Farming Kainar dormitory, Karasay region Almaty oblast, 483123 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-271-51472 Tel/fax: +7-3272)-983706 D. Sydyk Deputy Director South Kazakhstan Research Center of Agriculture 3 Al-farabi Square, Shymkent, 486019 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-3252-567906; 554013 Fax: +7-3252-554131

V. Tyan Head, Vegetable and Melon Growing Department Priaral Research Institute of Agroecology and Agriculture Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan Tel/fax: +7-32422-74563 U. Aitmukhambetov Researcher Priaral Research Institute of Agroecology and Agriculture Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan Tel/fax: +7-32422-74563 S. Oleichenko Head, Vegetable Growing Department Kazakh National Agrarian University 8 Abay Ave., Almaty, Kazakstan Tel: +7-3272-651948; 640233 Fax: +7-3272642409 G. Kusainova Senior Lecturer Kazakh National Agrarian University 8 Abay Ave., Almaty, Kazakstan Tel: +7-3272-651948; 640233 Fax: +7-3272-642409 T. Kudaibergenov President Almaty Farmer Association Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan Tel/fax: +7-32822-44862 M. Kozhakhmetov Senior Researcher Taldykorgan Research Institute of Agriculture “Zarya” Farm Taldykorgan region Almaty oblast, 489195 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-3222-29445; 21570; 20045 Fax: +7-32822-71234 A. Zub Senior Researcher Taldykorgan Research Institute of Agriculture “Zarya” Farm, Taldykorgan region Almaty oblast, 489195 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-3222-29445 Fax: +7-32822-71234


G. Ligay Senior Researcher Kazakh Molecular Biol. and Biochem. Inst. 86 Dosmykhamedova Str. Almaty, 050012 Kazakhstan Tel: +7-3272-921852 Fax:+7-3272-921947 S. Skokbayev Chairman State Variety Trial Commission 56 Shemyakina Str. Almaty, 050018 Kazakhstan Tel+7-3272-908736 Fax: +7-3272-908649

Kyrgyzstan D. Akimaliyev Director Kyrgyz Research Institute of Farming 73/1 Timur Frunze Str. Bishkek, 720027 Kyrgyzstan Tel/fax: 996-312-251924; 251611 U. Levchenko Head, Vegetable Growing Department Kyrgyz Research Inst. of Crop Husbandry 73/1 Timur Frunze Str. Bishkek, 720027 Kyrgyzstan Tel/fax: 996-312-251924; 251611 K. Ergeshova Head, Plant Growing Department Kyrgyz Agrarian University 68 Mederova Str. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Tel: 996-312-545210; 540435; 547894 Fax: 996-312-540445 K. Osmonaliyeva Head, Processing Department Kyrgyz Agrarian University 68 Mederova Str. Bishkek Kyrgyzstan Tel: 996-312-545210; 540435; 547894 Fax: 996-312-540445

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A. Mambetov Head, Vegetable Growing Group Naryn Experimental Station

Tajikistan T. Akhmedov Director, Scientific-Production Association “Bogparvar” Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences 44 Rudaki Str., Dushanbe Tajikistan Tel/fax: 992-372-347422 A. Jamaletdinov Researcher, Scientific and Production Association “Bogparvar” 44 Rudaki Str., Dushanbe, Tajikistan Tel/fax: 992-372-347422

Turkmenistan B. Seidov Head, Science and Techniques Department Turkmen Research Institute of Grain Production 63 Azadi Str., Ashgabad, 74400 Turkmenistan Tel/fax: 993-12-354348 Email: [email protected] K. Mamedkulov Head, Plant Protection Department Research Institute of Agriculture and Water Resources 63 Azadi Str. Ashgabad, 74400 Turkmenistan Tel/fax: 993-137-26145; 993-12-354348 Email: [email protected]

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Uzbekistan L. Gafurova Vice-Rector Tashkent State Agrarian University 140 Tashkent Uzbekistan Tel/fax: 998-712-639629; 637600 R. Mavlyanova Deputy Director Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Growing “Botanica” Dorm. Kibraisky region,Tashkent oblast, Uzbekistan Tel/fax: 998-712-642374; 642230 A. Abbasov Deputy Director Uzbek Research Institute of Vegetables, Melon Crops and Potato Tashkent Uzbekistan Tel: 998-71-1399461

Resource Persons T.A. Lumpkin Director General AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42 Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan 741 Republic of China Tel: 886-6-583-7801 Fax: 886-6-583-0009 E-mail: [email protected] M. Ali Socio-economist AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42 Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan 741 Republic of China Tel: 886-6-583-7801 Fax: 886-6-583-0009 E-mail: [email protected]

M. Boirbal Researcher International Potato Center PO Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru Tel.: +51 1 349 6017 Fax : +51 1 317 5326 e-mail: [email protected] Sarat Researcher International Potato Center PO Box 1558, Lima 12 Peru Tel.: +51 1 349 6017 Fax : +51 1 317 5326 e-mail: [email protected]

Participants of “Status and Perspectives of Vegetable Production in Central Asia Workshop”, held from 13–14 June 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan

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