Conducting Experiments

On July 16, 2026, in accordance with the 2026 schedule for the review of research projects at the scientific departments of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the NАAS, a review of research projects under Research Program 23, «Vegetable and Melon Growing,» took place in accordance with the following task:

23.00.01.05.F Development of the productive and adaptive potential of cucurbit crops and creation of heterotic watermelon and cucumber hybrids.

Phase 2026: Breeding and genetic monitoring of the breeding stock of cucurbit crops and selection of parental components for hybrids.

Laboratory for the Breeding of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae Crops. Field trials. Director: Oksana Volodymyrivna Serhiienko.

Researcher Lina Dmytrivna Solodovnуk presented the experiments and provided information on their alignment with the work program. The research is being conducted in accordance with the technical specifications and the schedule. The work is being carried out in all nurseries: the hybridization nursery, the collection nursery, and the nursery for preliminary testing of lines and hybrids. Information was presented on promising cucumber breeding material, which was selected based on economically valuable traits in 2026.

23.00.01.02.F Creation of vegetable crop germplasm using biotechnology methods for breeding for adaptability.

Phase 2026: Establishment of an active in vitro collection of test cultures and determination of the effect of ultra-low temperatures on the viability of phytoviruses.

Director: Tetіana Volodymyrivna Ivchenko.

Researchers Nataliіa Oleksandrivna Bashtan and Tetiana Mykolayivna Mіroshnіchenko presented their experiments and provided information on their alignment with the work program. The research is being conducted in accordance with the technical specifications and the schedule. A study was presented on the development of a biotechnological method for micrografting plants of the genus Cucurbita, the use of which allows for the identification of effective hybrids for breeding. Also presented was research on the development of a methodology for creating an in vitro collection of vegetable crops with vegetative and generative propagation types, which will ensure the preservation of valuable genotypes, the possibility of their rapid mass propagation, and the compact storage of a large number of samples under controlled laboratory conditions; as well as revitalized test-tube clones of sweet potato.

23.00.01.02 Р Screening of shallot breeding material based on agronomic and biological traits to develop early-maturing varieties with high yield and quality potential.

Phase 2026: Monitoring of viral disease infection in the source and breeding material of shallots, and identification of promising lines for breeding programs.

Olha Mykolayivna Bilenka, the project lead, presented the experiments and provided information on their alignment with the work program. The research is being conducted in accordance with the technical specifications and the schedule. The following results were presented: an assessment of the preservation of collection and breeding samples of shallots; phenological observations; monitoring of bolting during spring planting; recording of green leaf yield and their morphological analysis; chemical analysis of green leaves; and an assessment of disease damage to shallot plants.

23.00.02.03.P Determining the impact of fertilization systems on crop yield, quality, and physiological processes in vegetable agrocenoses.

Phase 2026: Determining the patterns of changes in carbon dioxide emissions in vegetable agrocenoses under different fertilization systems (cucumber).

Field research. Project leader: Volodymyr Ihorovych Mykhailyn.

Volodymyr Ihorovych Mykhailyn, the project lead, presented the experiments and provided information on their alignment with the work plan. The research is being conducted in accordance with the technical specifications and the schedule. Information was presented on a system for optimizing the nutrition of cucumber seed plants. Research was presented on the development of a database detailing the relationship between changes in carbon dioxide emission levels in vegetable agrocenoses under various fertilization systems.

The Experiment Acceptance Commission, consisting of: Director, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor O.I. Alforov; Head of the Breeding Department, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Research Scientist S.I. Kondratenko; Head of the Department of Advanced Technologies for Growing Vegetables and Melons, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher O.V. Melnуk; Chief Researcher at the Laboratory of Adaptive Vegetable Growing, Storage, and Standardization, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor O.D. Vitanov, Head of the Laboratory of Genetics, Genetic Resources, and Biotechnology; Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor T.V. Ivchenko, Scientific Secretary, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher O.M. Shabetiа, Head of the Laboratory of Innovative and Investment Development of the Vegetable Market and Intellectual Property, and L.A. Terokhina, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher, assessed the condition of the crops and compliance with research protocols. During a lively discussion, a range of issues was identified, along with ways to address them.

The committee's conclusion: Accept the experiments.