14.11.2016 change 14.11.2016

Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice has grown more than 200 new varieties of plants

More than 200 new varieties of fruit plants and vegetables have been grown at the Research Institute of Horticulture (INHORT) in Skierniewice. Approx. 7 percent of apple varieties in Polish orchards, 40-50 percent of cabbage, onions and peppers and more than 70 percent of raspberry varieties are the varieties obtained at the Institute.

Recently obtained new variety of apple tree - the Institute director Prof. Małgorzata Korbin told PAP - has been called Putinka somewhat provocatively and with great hope for the return of Polish apples to the eastern market. Apples have a bright red colour, are sweet, crisp and quite juicy - she added. The Institute has already started the first, lab consumer tests of apples of this variety and the analysis of the production and market value.

The Institute, which celebrates the 65th anniversary of the start of research activities in Skierniewice this year, has grown more than 200 varieties of fruit plants and vegetables, many of which have found their permanent place in the domestic and foreign markets. According to the INHORT, approx. 7 percent of apple varieties in Polish orchards, 40-50 percent of cabbage, onions and peppers and more than 70 percent of raspberry varieties have been obtained at the Institute. Among the new varieties grown at the Institute are, for example apple trees Ligol and Ligolina, currants Tihope and Polares, cucumbers Edyp, Zefit and Ikar, and raspberries Polonez, Poemat and Przehyba.

Prof. Małgorzata Korbin emphasised that the Institute\'s activity is based on a long tradition, now enhanced with innovative directions in research work and applied technologies. "The breeding process begins with the classic pollination of selected parent plants. The resulting offspring is evaluated in the field, which in the case of apple trees takes a few to several years, as well as laboratory testing using modern molecular methods" - she added.

This system allows to expedite the selection of descendant seedlings considered the most valuable in terms of the colour of the fruit peel, flavour, health-promoting substances, resistance to diseases and pests and other market features.

"Currently we do not have to wait for years for the results of time-consuming and costly field evaluation, because in many cases, already at the stage of small seedlings we can determine which offspring plants contain genes responsible for the traits desired by producers and consumers" - added the head of the Institute.

She admitted that the demand for new varieties of fruits and vegetables is still very large. Consumer tastes vary, and this applies not only to the differences between consumers from different countries and continents, but also to generational differences. "Our surveys have shown that children and young people generally prefer juicy, hard, slightly acidic fruits, while older people often choose sweet and crunchy fruits, which are easier to eat" - she said.

On top of that there are physiological reasons, because at every stage of the development the body has a different demand for compounds in the food. "At this point, we enter the stage of processing of products and the development of technologies that allow to combine valuable substances contained in fruits and vegetables of different species" - emphasised Prof. Korbin.

Very popular are innovative fruit and vegetable food products developed at the Institute, including cloudy juices with high pro-health values and fruit and vegetable chips.

"For our age-diverse population we are currently developing mixed juices with varying content of natural health-promoting substances, which are called functional foods. Examples are concentrated apple juices with added concentrated fibre from other species of fruits and vegetables that facilitates digestion"- she noted.

The Institute continues to work on new varieties of fruits and vegetables, including varieties of raspberries, currants, brassica, cucumber, which produce large, high-quality crops.

The Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice was established in early 2011 with the merger of two R&D units with a long tradition and rich research and implementation heritage: the Institute of Pomology and Floriculture and the Institute of Vegetable Crops. The Institute has experimental centres and plants, experimental fields and orchards, including ecological ones, as well as a rich laboratory infrastructure.

The research program of the Institute covers basic studies on the biological bases of production of fruit, vegetables and ornamental plants, biotechnology, genetics and creative breeding of horticultural plants, agrotechnology, plant protection, nursery and protection of genetic resources of fruit, vegetable and ornamental plants, agronomy, fruit and vegetable storage and processing, cultivation of edible mushrooms. Bee science is also a significant item in the Institute\'s programme.

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