VIR in Eastern Siberia: the history of Zeya Experiment Station

This historical and scientific analysis covers the activities of Zeya Experiment Breeding Station of VIR in Amur Province from 1977 through 1995. The objective was to assess the Station’s contribution to the studying, conservation, and mobilization of plant genetic resources in the context of the development of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) zone. The analysis is based on archival data, reports, and evaluation of the main areas of the Station’s work. It was Amur Province, with its unique botanical and geographical features at the junction of the East Asian, Boreal, and Mongolian-Daurian floras, that justified the strategic need of setting up a breeding center in this area. The mission of the Station, which had evolved from a field outpost, included comprehensive studying of the VIR global collection (vegetable, fodder, cereal, fruit and berry crops, spring and winter rapeseed, and potatoes), large-scale expeditionary surveys to collect landraces and wild plants, and breeding practice. Over the years of its functioning, thousands of accessions were studied, valuable sources of useful agronomic traits (earliness, winter hardiness, productivity, disease resistance, etc.) were identified, seed production was organized, and collections were established, especially those of berry crops. In the mid-1990s the Station ceased to exist for economic reasons, but its scientific legacy – the collections secured, the best accessions selected, and the experience accumulated –retained its practical and fundamental value. The obtained results underpinned the development of adaptive agriculture in the Far East, and would remain a relevant resource for the regional food security and agrobiodiversity utilization programs.

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