Promising early potato varieties for the conditions of the Baikal region
The Irkutsk region belongs to the zone of risky agriculture, therefore, there is a need to search for early potato varieties that can be suitable for the region. According to the results of the research, the value of the potato yield in the Irkutsk region is influenced by genotypic peculiarities of the variety and weather conditions, in which plants grow. Based on complex indicators of plant growth and development, the varieties identified with high stable yields were Lazurit, Madeline, Red Scarlet, Krasnoye Leto, Zhukovsky Ranniy and Agata, Rosara. In the breeding work to create new potato varieties, we recommend that the parent forms include the varieties distinguished for their environmental plasticity and stability, yield, quality of tubers and their resistance to golden nematode of potato. We recommend that the variety ‘Lazurit’ should be included in the state variety testing in the Irkutsk region and production test for this variety be organized at farms of the forest-steppe zone of the Irkutsk region.