ASU science helps to increase agricultural productivity

One of the main topics covered in the report of the Governor of the Altai Territory on the socio-economic development of the region by the end of 2016 was the issue of increasing agricultural productivity.

Pilot region

Altai State University is actively developing research to improve the efficiency of agriculture. Altai Krai is the largest agricultural region of Russia, one of the leaders in the production of cereals, meat, milk and dairy products. It is no coincidence that our region acted as a pilot region for creating a new biotechnology industry in the country, aimed at developing the agricultural sector based on innovation, meeting the existing demand for biotechnological products, including import substitution.

In his report on the socio-economic development of the region at the end of 2016, Governor Alexander Karlin noted the particular importance of the agro-industrial complex for the Altai Territory and the country as a whole, pointing out the main problems of the industry. Separately, the governor touched on the subject of animal husbandry and especially dairy cattle breeding, which is much less than, for example, poultry farming is susceptible to modernization and the introduction of new technologies. For Altai State University, agrobiotechnology is one of the key areas for the development of science and innovation.

“Not only a significant scientific base has been created in our university, but also experimental productions for testing new highly efficient technologies for the agro-industrial sector, which can make a significant contribution to the development of agriculture in the Altai Territory,” said ASU Rector Sergey Zemlyukov.

One of such research areas of the university is the international project “Kulunda”, within which the efforts of scientists of the AltSU and AGAU in the Altai Territory laid the foundation for creating a unique monitoring network to monitor the main climatic and soil parameters that have a powerful impact on productivity in complex and diverse conditions of our region. For this purpose, the only lysimetric station in Russia has been installed in the dry Kulunda steppe. The station measures in real time the influx and evaporation of sediments in the soil, the accumulation and migration of nutrients in it, as well as other important soil parameters at various depths. Long-term analysis of these data will make it possible to identify the dependence of wheat yield on various climatic and soil parameters. Together with data on processing technologies on test fields, this will help develop comprehensive recommendations for farms and peasant farms on the application of innovative technologies for tillage, fertilization and plant protection. The uniqueness of the lysimetric station lies in the ability to measure these parameters simultaneously in the soils used for arable land and in the soils of the present steppe. This serves as a scientific basis for making right decisions in the development of long-term strategies for the development and more rational use of resources of the Kulunda Steppe.

Today, 148 variants of combinations of technological factors have been evaluated on 356 plots, including “Strip-Till” and “No-Till” in such farms as KH “Partner” LLC (Mikhailovsky District, Poluyamki Village), PR Timiryazevsky "(Mamontovsky District, p. Pervomaysky), Federal State Unitary Enterprise PZ" Komsomolskoye "Russian Agricultural Academy (Pavlovsky District, p. Komsomolsky). On the test fields, unique research was carried out on the application of 4 different types of farming technologies. The results are impressive: an increase in the average yield of grain crops to 20–25 c / ha, an increase in the profitability of grain production by 30–35%, a saving of seed by 15–20%, an increase in productivity and production of aggregates by 35–40% were recorded. The scientists of AltSU are ready to transfer technologies to the interested farms and specialists of the relevant ministry of the region.

At present, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation is implementing state support for investment projects for the construction and modernization of agricultural objects, including such as greenhouse complexes and seed-breeding centers. For their subsidies, the federal budget for 2017 provides for 11.5 billion rubles. In this direction, in the beginning of 2015, a laboratory of hydroponic installations was established on the basis of the Altai Center for Applied Biotechnology, AltSU. One of the priorities of this laboratory is the production of healthy potato varieties that are promising for cultivation in Siberia. As the director of the center, the doctor of biological sciences Dmitry Durnikin notes, the essence of the technology, which, by the way, is actively developing all over the world, consists in performing three main stages in the recovery of potato seeds. At the first stage, in the laboratory of clonal microscopic reproduction of AltGU, revitalized promising potato varieties are introduced into in vitro culture and the generation of original seeds is obtained in the form of minitubers. For this purpose, the university uses its own developed and improved hydroponic installations. They allow you to work all year round, reduce material loss, reducing the cost of original seeds. At the second stage, mini-tubers are planted in nurseries, and the result is the first field generation. From it, in the third year, a super-elite grows, which, like the next generation of the elite (third stage), can already be sold on the market.

“Using this technology, from 2019 you can get up to 500–800 tons of high-quality elite (super elite) planting material of potatoes per year, for the Altai region this is quite enough, again, there is always the possibility to increase production if the market demands it,” said Dmitry Durnikin.

This spring, the first batch of miniclub will go to Pervomaisky district on the fields of a peasant farm. Farmer Valery Cherenkov, who has concluded a cooperation agreement with ACPB of AltSU, has been cultivating “second bread” for more than 20 years. His dream is his own, Altai, healthy and productive seed potatoes. And in the future he wants to provide with quality (and most importantly, certified) potato seeds not only the farms of the Altai Territory, but also the neighboring regions.

“Tired of wandering around the country in search of healthy seeds. I had to go to the Urals to get seed - where does it fit?! Everywhere, especially on the Internet, there is a lot of advertising about selling seeds, but in reality seeds are of poor quality. It’s good that a lab and a pilot production mini-club appeared in the region!” Valery shares his concerns.

Now, Altai State University is actively negotiating with representatives of the agroindustrial complex of the East Kazakhstan region to organize a similar scheme for obtaining high-quality potato seeds, promising for cultivation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. There are appeals for cooperation from the heads of farms in the Altai Republic and the Kemerovo Region. In 2016, the Altai State University, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Altai Territory, opened the Engineering Center "Prombiotech", which includes a laboratory complex and experimental production. Prombiotech has a modern set of equipment for the development of technological processes for the production of biological products, the development of pilot batches for conducting analytical studies, toxicological studies and determining the effectiveness of the resulting biological products. Today, the center is able to provide with experimental batches of bioproducts the entire region of Western Siberia. When it reaches full capacity, Prombiotech will be able to produce up to 6 tons of finished product per month. And this is the application for the all-Russian market!

Profit guarantee

In 2016, the center tested the technology and launched two experimental batches of an innovative biological product, created on the basis of spore-forming bacteria of the genus Bacillus. The drug is a powder, soluble in water and milk. It mixes well with the main feed of the cattle diet. Probiotic allows for the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases, reduces the content of pathogenic organisms, normalizes the intestinal microflora of the animal, provides the best absorption of feed nutrients. In 2015–2016, livestock farms of the Altai Territory and other regions of Russia were conducted with the scientific support of the All-Russian Institute of Animal Husbandry of the Russian Academy of Sciences. L.K. Ernst 48 pilot industrial tests of probiotic biopharmaceuticals manufactured by Prombiotech.

The work was carried out with the direct support of the Agricultural Consulting Center, which has an extensive system of specialists in the districts of the region. Here are the specific numbers. In the farm "Partner" (Mikhailovsky district), the average increase in the productivity of dairy cows left 9.4%. Increase in calf productivity - 10.6%. The economic effect in a short time exceeded 1 million rubles! AltSU scientists say: this is not the limit! The constant use of their probiotics when feeding cattle guarantees farmers a steady income!

“Agriculture is our destiny!” the governor of the Altai Territory noted in his annual report.