Sigitas Augas, executive director of "Dotnuva seeds", said that seed selection provides a lot of advantages to every farm: the selected plants are adapted to local climatic conditions, resistant to regional diseases, and most importantly, they guarantee maximum yield.
"The varieties that are suitable for France are not necessarily suitable for Lithuania. Therefore, for that purpose, we do a lot of field tests, this year we have sown more than 300 varieties, we have almost 1500 accounting fields", said S. Augas
According to him, "Dotnuva seeds" tests a wide range of varieties, so it can offer a large number of plants that are relevant to farmers: from perennials that are widespread in Lithuania to newly popular ones.
"First of all, attention should be paid to the fact that no matter what agricultural crops a farmer grows, it is important that the soil is properly nurtured. For the second year in a row, we have observed that farmers are increasingly sowing radishes, phaceliums, mustards, seed vetches, root radishes, and black radishes. These are intermediate plants. They grow their fruit during a short vegetation period and enrich the soil, which is especially important in order to improve the properties of the soil and its structure", S. Augas shared the trends.
It is also encouraging that the range of plants is expanding every year, for example, this year 66 types of corn are being tested, which were not available until now.
A reliable process
According to the company's product expert Robert Visocki, "Dotnuva seeds" takes a very responsible approach to the seed selection process.
"In order to choose a good and reliable breed, it needs to be tested in local conditions, so in order for a breed to enter the list we represent, it has to go through four stages.
First of all, we look at the official European trials, there we select potential candidates: we take into account yield, disease resistance, stability and the like.
Then we sow in the official test fields of Lithuania, and we also have our own private fields. We can be happy that the "Deltuva seeds" test field is the largest in Lithuania.
If everything goes well, then we plant the variety in farmers' fields, initially 1-2 hectares each. We try to test the varieties in five different areas.
Finally, we summarize all the results and if we see that the production pays off, we start representing this variety", said R. Visockis about how the best seeds are selected.
Lithuania has the most areas of winter plants, so most of the work is done with the seeds of winter plants.
"Every farmer wants to get the maximum harvest from his fields. Winter plants give the most harvest. For example, no matter how bad the conditions are, a winter plant will still yield about 5-6 tons of harvest in the fall, while such numbers are a challenge with summers - a very good year is needed," explained R. Visockis.
He emphasized that in order to meet these aspirations of farmers and increase expertise, the company takes advantage of the fact that it carries out monitoring in all three Baltic countries.
R. Visockis revealed that the biggest headache for farmers is the instability of the climate, so the opportunity to monitor the climatic conditions of the three countries makes it possible to achieve the desired result faster.
"Accordingly, this year, about half of Estonia's crops froze, so we can observe which varieties can withstand such winters as in Estonia. Since we highly value the plant's ability to withstand the cold, such opportunities are very important," said R. Visockis.
Not just for farmers
It is true that plant seed selection brings benefits not only to farmers - owners of gardens or yards who choose special lawn seeds can also save not only their time, but also costs.
"First of all, you need to decide what kind of lawn you want, how much time you can and want to devote to its maintenance. You also need to evaluate the available tools for maintenance, for example, one type of lawn is suitable for a lawnmower, but another for a lawnmower. These choices determine a lot," said Vilmantas Petrauskas, "Dotnuva seeds" product expert.
The soil is also an important factor - "Dotnuva seeds" in its assortment has something to offer to those whose yards have very loose soil, sandy soil prevails, and to those who live in foggy places", said V. Petrauskas.
According to him, the biggest challenge at the moment is the warming climate and frequent droughts.
"It also increases the resistance of lawns and grasses to salt water, which is especially relevant for lawns and meadows near roads or sidewalks. We are also trying to meet people's needs, that is, to slow down the growth of grass, increase seediness, but at the same time reduce the price," said V.Petrauskas.
We have to expand
Although, compared to Western European countries, the use of selective seeds is not yet so widespread in Lithuania, farmers increasingly choose already tested plants.
According to the executive director of Dotnuva seeds, this obliges the company to expand and constantly look for new solutions for farmers and gardeners.
"Currently, we are building another seed preparation factory in Latvia, as all existing capacities in Lithuania are used up. It should start operating in the fall of 2025", S. Augas shared the happy news.
Permission from the European Union to use "gene scissors" for breeders is also highly anticipated.
According to the interviewee, it would enable variety developers, including Dotnuva seeds, to create varieties in twice the time.
"If we currently create a variety in 10 years, then with this tool the varieties could reach farmers in 5 years. This tool would also allow breeders to very precisely affect the area that is needed. For example, we have a variety that is very productive and high-quality, but very sensitive to some disease, then the breeder could quite easily introduce a gene for resistance to that disease," S. Augas explained.
lrytas.lt article and photos by T. Baur.
