Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Station (FSC FE)

History of Creation and Development Stages

The Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Station (historically known as the Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Field) is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the Russian Far East. It laid the foundation for northern viticulture and horticulture under challenging monsoon climate conditions.

The institution's history began in 1928 when, with the assistance of VASKhNIL Academician I. V. Michurin, a Fruit and Berry Breeding Cabinet was established under the South-Ussuri Branch of the State Geographical Society. In 1931, the Suifuno-Ussuriysk Fruit and Berry Experiment Station was organized on its basis, which was subsequently transformed into an independent Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Field (PPYOP) in 1936.

By Decision No. 791 of the Executive Committee of the Primorsky Krai Council of Working People's Deputies on July 22, 1959, the institution was granted the status of the regional Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Station (headquartered in the Trudovoye settlement). In 1995, the station integrated into the structure of the State Scientific Institution Primorsky Research Institute of Agriculture. Following a large-scale reorganization of academic science on July 12, 2018, the legal entity FGBNU "Primorskaya PYOS" was liquidated, and the institution itself joined the consolidated Federal Scientific Center of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East (FSC FE) as an isolated structural subdivision (branch). The name of the long-standing director of the institute, Academician A. K. Chaika (who led the institution from 1986 to 2016), was conferred upon the Federal Scientific Center later. Prominent scientists N. N. Tikhonov, A. V. Bolonyaev, D. M. Novikov, and Yu. F. Oksenyuk made significant contributions to the station's development, expeditionary research, and coordination of its scientific activities.

Main Research Areas

The station's viticultural research was strictly focused on expanding grapevine cultivation into northern and taiga zones characterized by severe winter conditions and brief frost-free periods:

• Interspecific Hybridization: Crossing the wild Amur grapevine (Vitis amurensis), which possesses extreme frost resistance, with cultivated European varieties (Vitis vinifera) and American hybrids (Vitis labrusca) to secure resilient offspring.
• Exploration and Mobilization of Genetic Resources: Studying, selecting, and introducing promising wild forms from the Far Eastern taiga (including magnolia vine, hardy kiwi, and Amur grape) into the breeding process.
• Rootstock Technology Development: Investigating affinity (compatibility) and propagation methods of clonal and seed-derived frost-resistant rootstocks that ensure the survival of the grapevine root system in deeply freezing Far Eastern soils.
• Viticultural Management Research: Developing training systems, long and short pruning methods, as well as disease management schemes to protect vines against specific regional pathogens such as anthracnose and downy mildew (mildew).

Breeding Results and Developed Varieties

Over decades of research, the station's scientists bred and evaluated more than 70 original varieties and hybrid forms of grapevine. The breeding program targeted both technical (wine) varieties for winemaking and table forms with ultra-early ripening periods.

Renowned grape varieties bred by the Primorsky Station (PPYOP):

Technical and Universal Grape Varieties:

• Primorsky (Suputinsky 229): A highly extractive table-wine variety of medium-early ripening period. It is an interspecific hybrid of Amur, European, and North American grapevines. It features sparkling ruby juice with a wine-like flavor profile, high frost resistance, and suitability for the production of dry wines and juices.
• Taezhny Izumrud (Minnesota Seedling): A universal grape variety of medium ripening period, selected by N. N. Tikhonov in 1936. It produces light green berries with a distinct strawberry aroma and is characterized by exceptional winter hardiness of both above-ground parts and root systems.
• Visloukhy (Suputinsky 14): A vintage interspecific hybrid developed in the late 1930s by N. N. Tikhonov from a cross between Khudyakovsky 1 and a mix of labrusca hybrids. A high-yielding technical variety with a juicy texture, ripening in mid-September.

Table Grape Varieties:

• Muskat Dalnevostochny: A popular table grape variety of very early ripening period bred by D. M. Novikov. Obtained by crossing hybrid 6-4-2 (Suputinsky 293 × Karaburnu) with the European variety Chasselas Oliver (Zhemchug Saba). It exhibits superb winter hardiness (down to -30 °C) and small conical clusters with a characteristic muscat flavor profile.
• Suputinsky Hybrid Series: A historical group of locally bred varieties (Suputinsky Ranny, Suputinsky-3, Suputinsky-60, Suputinsky-272) that served as a genetic foundation for breeding subsequent generations of Far Eastern grapevines.

Currently, the Primorsky Fruit and Berry Experiment Station, operating within the FSC of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaika, continues to preserve bioresource collections and carry out scientific research in the field of crop plant genetics.