Scientists at the Sverdlovsk Horticultural Breeding Station registered a new winter-hardy haskap variety, Polyanka Kotova, in the State Register of Protected Selected Achievements.

According to  Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation , this is the first variety of haskap bred in the middle Urals. It is named after one of the authors of the variety, a prominent breeder Leonid Kotov.

The new variety is characterized by high frost resistance, good yield (more than 3 kg of berries from one bush) and an original dessert taste. Therefore, it is recommended that the berries are consumed fresh, but they are also perfect for processing, such as making jam from berry puree.

“Kotov received the new seed replant variety from Kamchatka haskap in 1985. Finally, the outstanding seedling was transferred to the Sverdlovsk Horticultural Improvement Station to be studied in a common agricultural setting with other introduced varieties. According to the results of the study in 2011, the Polyanka Kotova variety was transferred for state variety testing. 

Raising and registering a new type of berry crop is long and painstaking work. However, today we have a variety obtained in our soil and climate zone, suitable for cultivation in the regions of Sverdlovsk, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm Territory and the Republic of Mari El (included in the State Register of Improvement Achievements in the Volga-Vyatka Region), ”said Nadezhda Yevtushenko, senior researcher at the Sverdlovsk Horticultural Breeding Station, candidate for agricultural sciences and co-author of the polyanka variety Kotova haskap.

Polyanka Kotova has a vigorous, very leafy bush, elongated oval or slightly pear-shaped fruits with delicate pulp and an excellent sweet and sour taste. Also, with proper watering, the berries reach 1 gram or more. The new variety is of early-medium maturation in the first or second decade of June. In addition, it is resistant to pests and diseases, and is not affected by apical aphids, ticks, spots.

The variety test conducted by the state commission lasted nine years. The experts checked all the declared characteristics on the plant: ripening, yield, resistance to diseases, size and taste of the fruit, and many others.