Field Day at the «Maуak» Experimental Station

July 31, 2026. The «Maуak» Experimental Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Nizhyn City Council, held a field day at the Ivan Spasky Local History Museum in Nizhyn (Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast), dedicated to a scientific tasting of Nizhyn cucumbers and products made from them.

Those responsible for organizing the events: Zakhar LINNIK, Ph.D., Acting Director of the «Mayak» Experimental Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; and research associates Nadiіa PTUКHA and Lesіa CHABAN.

The Nezhin local cucumber has been an integral part of the institution’s activities since its founding; today, the institution serves as a guardian of this ancient variety developed through folk breeding.

The Nizhyn Local History Museum and the «Mayak» Experimental Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine are institutions that, in various ways, share a common mission to preserve and promote the historical, cultural, and scientific heritage of the Nizhyn cucumber. That is why the combination of history, science, and traditions forms the basis of a new format of cooperation between our institutions in the region.

Zakhar LINNIK, opening the event, noted: «There is a heritage preserved in museums. There is heritage preserved in libraries. And there is heritage preserved in science. The Nizhyn cucumber is precisely such a legacy. Today we have gathered not just for a tasting. We have gathered to reaffirm a simple truth: legends live on as long as there are people who cherish them.»

The «Mayak» Experimental Station has preserved the genetic foundation of the Nizhyn local cucumber, continues to breed it, creates new cultivars and hybrids, and officially protects this priceless heritage. For us, this is more than just a profession. It is a responsibility to history and to the future.

It is particularly symbolic that we are meeting today in a museum. After all, history gives us our roots, science gives us the future, and culture unites them into a single tradition.

I tip my hat to the generations of scientists who laid the foundation for this endeavor. I sincerely thank the Nizhyn Local History Museum, the city government, our partners, and the entire team at the «Mayak» Experimental Station. Because great brands aren’t born from grand words. They are born from years of hard work, faith, and dedication.

Today, each of you will become not just a guest, but a vegetable sommelier. Your taste, your sensations, and your evaluation will become part of this story. Because today we are tasting more than just the Nizhynskyi cucumber. We are tasting living history, which science has preserved for Ukraine.»

Nadiіa PTUKHA told the audience about the history and current status of the variety, the work carried out to preserve it, its registration in the State Register of Plant Varieties Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine, that is, its official recognition at the state level, the current state of seed production, areas of scientific research on the Nizhyn cucumber variety at the institute, and efforts to promote it at the local and global levels.

Attendees had the opportunity to taste fresh, salted, and pickled cucumbers of the Nizhynskyi mistsevyi variety, as well as the latest and most promising cucumber varieties developed by the «Mayak» Experimental Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (hybrids Dzhekon F1, Sarmat F1, Enei F1, Eldorado F1; the varieties Nizhynskyi 23, Nizhynskyi dar, Darunok oseni, Optуmist, Triumf Nizhynskyi, Nebokrai, and promising forms of the Nizhynskyi variety type).

An important area of research for scientists at the «Mayak» Experimental Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine is the development of recipes and methods for pickling cucumbers, particularly using a wide variety of spice, flavor, and aromatic plants. To date, four patents have been obtained for original pickling methods that incorporate rare spice and flavor crops from the station’s own breeding program and wild plant species as spice ingredients, and two patents have been obtained for methods of marinating cucumbers of this variety type. Attendees had the opportunity to taste and compare pickled and marinated cucumbers prepared using both traditional and original recipes.

Holding an off-site Field Day at the museum grounds served as an example of effective collaboration between science and culture; as such, it will help promote the «Nizhynskyi Cucumber» brand, foster the development of gastronomic heritage and scientific education, enhance the tourist appeal of the Nizhyn region, and establish a new tradition of cooperation among institutions.

Coverage of the Field Day held at the institution was shared on social media, which allowed a wide audience of interested individuals to learn about the institution’s researchers’ work and helped provide promotional and informational support to vegetable growers and gardeners from all regions of Ukraine.