Russia·Growing seeds·Seeds

Shatura Growers Harvest 38 t/ha of New “Madeleine” Seed Potato Despite Difficult Weather

T.G. Lynn 20 Sep 2026 1 min read

Key takeaways

38 tonnes per hectare despite a difficult wet season
15 hectares were planted with the Madeleine variety
560 tonnes of selected harvest went into storage
1 laboratory on site produces all the seed material

Why it matters

For farmers: If imported seed is your constraint, this is the route in practice: a Dutch variety multiplied on site through microclonal propagation, delivering 38 t/ha in a wet year. The capital cost is a laboratory and a greenhouse, not a seed contract.
For suppliers: Demand here is for laboratory and greenhouse equipment rather than seed tubers. A farm running its own microclonal chain buys nutrient media, test tubes, peat and climate control every season, not planting material.

60-second summary

Growers near Shatura have finished harvesting the new seed potato variety Madeleine at the village of Leka. Assistant agronomist Yana Patsyuk says it held up under a difficult season - vegetation was hampered by rain, yet the yield came to around 38 tonnes a hectare. The variety was planted on 15 hectares and about 560 tonnes of selected crop went into a specialised store. The part that matters beyond the yield is where the seed comes from: Madeleine is Dutch-bred, but the enterprise produces all its planting material itself, by microclonal propagation in its own laboratory. Technician Alexandra Ryabina describes the chain - sterile test tubes on a nutrient medium, cuttings, seedlings adapted in peat, then greenhouses where disease-free mini-tubers mature before going to open ground the following year. It is a working example of a local laboratory multiplying a foreign variety under Russian conditions.

38 t/hayield of the Madeleine variety

15 haarea planted

560 tselected harvest placed in storage

In the village of Leka near Shatura, agricultural producers summed up the harvest of the new seed potato variety “Madeleine.” According to assistant agronomist Yana Patsyuk, the variety performed well even under difficult weather conditions. Vegetation was challenging due to rain, but yields proved high — around 38 tonnes per hectare. The variety was planted on 15 hectares of fields, and approximately 560 tonnes of selected harvest were placed in storage at a specialised warehouse. The variety originates from Dutch breeding, but the enterprise produces all of its seed material independently in its own laboratory using the microclonal propagation method.

Laboratory technician Alexandra Ryabina explained that under sterile conditions the material is placed in test tubes on a nutrient medium and cut into cuttings, after which the seedlings are adapted in peat and transferred to greenhouses. There, mini-tubers free of disease mature and are sent to open ground the following year. The scientific approach and modern technologies help Shatura’s agricultural producers obtain high-quality seeds and a stable harvest, demonstrating how local laboratories can support the adaptation and multiplication of foreign-bred varieties under Russian growing conditions.

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What next

Mini-tubers matured in the greenhouses go to open ground the following year. The article gives no figure for how much seed the laboratory produces or whether any is sold outside the enterprise.

Sources

Assistant agronomist Yana Patsyuk on the harvest and yield; laboratory technician Alexandra Ryabina on the propagation method. No independent verification of the 38 t/ha figure is cited, and no comparison with other varieties on the same farm is given.