At the Research Institute of Vegetable Growing, part of the Ministry of Agriculture in Azerbaijan, efforts are underway to develop new varieties of watermelons and melons, as disclosed by Elmar Allahverdiyev, the Chairman of the Board of the Institute. The institute focuses on preserving domestic melon varieties and organizing their gene pool. Recent achievements include the acquisition of seeds for six ancient melon varieties such as Gandi, Sineivaz, Reyhani, Shahnazar, and others, which were cultivated in the Kurdamir district alongside ten new melon varieties and five new watermelon varieties.
In addition to melons and watermelons, the institute's breeders are working on creating new vegetable varieties suited for Azerbaijan's conditions. Specifically, hybrids of 60 tomato varieties and 21 cucumber varieties have been developed for greenhouse cultivation. These new hybrids are currently undergoing tests to assess their productivity and resistance to diseases and pests.
Source: azerbaycan24.com
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