Department of Vegetable and Horticultural Crops

Main Directions of Scientific Activities

• Breeding of vegetable and horticultural crops using sources and donors of valuable traits (cold resistance, early maturity, resistance to biotic and abiotic factors, high adaptability, high product quality).
• Development and improvement of seed production methods for newly created varieties and hybrids of vegetable and horticultural crops, obtaining original and certified seeds of new varieties, parental lines, and hybrids. Providing methodological support and author supervision for seed material cultivation.
• Development of technological elements for the cultivation of vegetable and horticultural plants adapted to changing climate conditions. Scientific support for modern cultivation technologies.
• Development of energy-efficient production systems for vegetable and horticultural products, using methods to minimize the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, energy-saving soil cultivation, and resource-efficient irrigation regimes.
• Obtaining high-quality seed material of vegetable and horticultural crops with increased resistance to abiotic environmental factors.
• Development of new and improvement of existing methods for the storage of vegetable and horticultural crops.

Scientific Achievements of the Department:

• Developed an improved methodology for adaptive tomato breeding. Through scientific research, a method of gametophytic and sporophytic selection has been developed using tomato plants as an example.
• Developed methods for determining the resistance of horticultural plants to the negative effects of abiotic factors (UV-B radiation, high doses of ozone, heat resistance, drought resistance) in laboratory and field conditions.
• Established methods for the selection and creation of new heat-resistant, agrochemically efficient genotypes of watermelon adapted to cultivation in the steppe zone of Ukraine.
• Developed a methodology for obtaining tetraploid maternal lines of watermelon using the introduction, selection, and modern biotechnological methods.
• Created new varieties of industrial-type tomatoes suitable for processing into tomato products (juice, tomato paste, sauce, ketchup, whole fruit preservation, freezing, drying). Varieties such as Naddnipryansky 4, Kimmeryets, Inguletsky, Sarmat, Anakonda, Legin’, Kumach, Yuvileiny were included in the State Register of Plant Varieties Authorized for Distribution in Ukraine.
• Created new varieties of salad tomatoes: Apologet, Zymova Vyshnia (Winter Cherry), Prisadibny, Sonechne Kolo, Ukrayinec, Flagman, Horisvit.
• Created new varieties of cucumbers: Goloprystansky, Sphinx, Anubis.
• Created new varieties of sweet peppers: Zlato Skyfiv, Bahriany Vulkan, Kanion, Zvenyhora.
• Created new varieties of eggplant: Khersonsky, Iceberg, Zabava, Nasoloda.
• Created new varieties of zucchini: Zolotinka, Haydamaka, Akrobat, Askold, Avatar, Ataman, Zlatohor.
• Created new varieties of pattypan squash: Asteroid, Oranzhevyy, Kardamon.
• Created a new variety of asparagus vegetable pea: Khersonska.
• Created new varieties of watermelon: Tavriysky, Snizhok, Krasen, Orfei, Tsilnolistnyy, Spasky, Khersonsky, Knyazhych, Alyans, Charivnyk, Mriya, Favorit, Paralaks, Vognedar.
• Created new varieties of melon: Holyanka, Hoprinka, Ingulka, Lada, Didona, Olviya, Prestyzh, Fantaziya, Fortuna, Lasunya.
• Created new varieties of pumpkin: Divo, Hileya, Novinka, Rodzinka, Bilynka, Altair, Yanina, Pivdennyy, Siry ukrayinsky, Universal, Zmina, Malyutka. These varieties are recommended for cultivation in open ground in the Steppe and Forest-Steppe zones.
• Improved the key elements of technology for growing ecologically safe vegetable and horticultural crops, including balanced mineral nutrition, the use of growth regulators based on the physiological needs of plants at different stages of development, and the application of biological preparations. Work is being done to expand the assortment of vegetable species.
• Developed a technology for growing seedlings of industrial tomato varieties using drip irrigation. Developed new methods for seedling and direct sowing cultivation of carrot and table beet using drip irrigation.
• Developed a resource-saving technology for growing onion sets, which involves autumn planting of mother plants.