For the first time, EkoNiva has joined the activities of the Privolzhye 2023 testing ground, a large-scale project organised by the Soya Bean Grain Association of the Volga Federal District. Following the event, the company's in-house bred varieties were awarded Laureate Variety diplomas.

Farmers from all nearby regions gathered in Privolzhye district, Samara oblast, to evaluate the results of sowing on the demo plots of the testing ground. This year, different varieties of five crops – both irrigated and rainfed – were presented on 300 plots with various protection schemes and nutrition patterns. EkoNiva-Semena showcased soya bean varieties of its own breeding – EN Argument, EN Akcent and EN Argenta.

‘The total area planted with soya beans keeps growing in the Volga Federal District. This crop is cultivated on over 265,000 hectares, the district ranking third in the country. The region's climate is good only for early varieties, so we offered ultra-early and early varieties for sowing in the experimental fields’, says Willi Drews, Doctor of Agronomy, EkoNiva’s Consultant.

The Privolzhye testing ground based in the real production site of the large enterprise Sev-07 is the biggest demonstration platform in the Volga Federal District and the major project of the Soya Bean Grain Association. Hundreds of trial plots under irrigation and rainfed conditions were systematically monitored by agronomists and scientists during the entire farming season. In addition, all varieties of the participating companies were sown on the same day and received equal treatment.

‘We have debuted in this large-scale project and are happy with the result. Our variety EN Akcent has been awarded a Laureate Variety diploma in the Highest Protein Rainfed Variety category. During demonstration tests, the value of this parameter amounted to 44.7%. Another in-house variety, EN Argument, became the best in terms of ripening time, beating last year's leader by a week’, says Marina Balashova, Marketing Department Manager at EkoNiva-Semena.

EN Argument is one of the very early maturing varieties with a consistently high protein content in the grain. For ripening, the variety requires a sum of active temperatures of 1,900°С. Being photoperiod insensitive, it can be grown in the northernmost area of soya bean cultivation. It has a good lodging and pod shattering resistance and is distinguished by high attachment of lower pods and a protein content of 39-42%.

‘The variety is entered into the State Register for the West Siberian region, where it matures within 100-105 days, showing a yield potential of 2.3-2.8 t/ha. In the Black Soil region, particularly in Kursk oblast, the variety ripens faster – in 82-85 days – and can be harvested in mid-August. In other areas, including the Volga region, the variety makes a reliable predecessor for winter crops and performs well even in adverse climatic conditions’, comments Denis Goloyenko, Soya Bean Plant Breeder.

EN Akcent is registered for the Central region, where it matures in 100-110 days. It is a consistently high-protein variety with a seed protein content amounting to 45%, which is confirmed by the results obtained at the Privolzhye 2023 testing ground. EN Akcent is resistant to lodging, and the stubble losses do not exceed 5% due to the high attachment of lower pods. The yielding capacity is 2.8-3.5 t/ha. EN Argenta, another heavy-productive intensive soya bean variety, is also of great interest to farmers. It is included in the register for the Central Black Soil, Central and Middle Volga regions.

‘For its maturity group, the variety has the maximum yield potential of up to 5 t/ha. An important feature is increased branching, which stabilises the yield by evening out crop nonuniformities. EN Argenta provides consistent yields despite the lack of precipitation, which is essential for the southern part of the Volga region’, emphasises Denis Goloyenko.

Currently, the soya bean seed market is highly competitive. However, EkoNiva's varieties have a decided edge over the others – early maturing, which still does not prevent them from ensuring high yields and grain quality and being as good as varieties with a long growing period.