Current state of varietal resources of vegetable crops in Ukraine

Abstract

Today, providing the population of Ukraine with quality food products is an important issue that needs to be addressed. Any agro-technology for growing a vegetable crop is based on a particular variety or hybrid. This assortment in vegetable growing is very diverse, so we carried out analytical research to select the right variety to grow and satisfy production requirements. This was done on the basis of a review of literary sources. We have attempted to analyses the existing assortment of vegetable crops included in the State Register of Plant Varieties Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine (hereinafter ‒ the Register of Plant Varieties). The article provides a comparative analysis of the achievements of Ukrainian and foreign vegetable breeding and seed production. This will allow producers to be guided and to select new, highly productive and adapted varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops. The aim of the review was to determine the quantitative composition of vegetable varieties and hybrids suitable for distribution in Ukraine and their yields. The following methods were used in the review: dialectical cognition of processes and phenomena, monographic; empirical; comparative analysis and abstract and logical. The analysis of the quantitative composition of the updated assortment of vegetable crops revealed that the assortment of vegetable crops in the Register of Varieties has been expanded by 1103 varieties over the past five years. The highest rate of variety renewal belongs to vegetable crops from the following families: Solanaceaе, Cucurbitaceae, Brassicaceae, with the average number of new varieties per year ranging from 26 to 53. The dominant species of the Solanaceae family are the edible tomato (average yield is 148.5 t/ha) and potatoes. At present, the average number of Brassicaceae varieties in the Register of Vegetable Varieties has been 10.3 items over the past 5 years. Most varieties of this family are represented by cabbage species: cauliflower and white cabbage (average yield 71.0 t/ha). There is a tendency to increase the number of varieties of vegetable crops from the Cucurbitacea family ‒ from 0.6 in 2019 to 23.7 in 2023. The cucumber varieties with an average yield of 127.3 to 245.0 t/ha are the most registered varieties of this family. The renewal of varietal diversity in the Register shows the dynamics of increasing the number of varieties of vegetable crops of foreign breeding, which are 4.7‒6.2 times higher than varieties of Ukrainian breeding. Thus, all varieties of vegetable crops included in the Register of Plant Varieties are adapted to the growing conditions and are able to form a high level of yield under the certain soil and climatic conditions, in closed ground structures and are suitable for fresh or processed consumption.