Hama-Sana
The national project for the production of local potato seeds in the town of Morek in the northern countryside of Hama comes as a partner and tributary to the Foundation for Seed Multiplication in securing “Super Elite” potato seeds, which are characterized by international specifications, lower costs, suitable prices and a profitable production return, which contributes to achieving self-sufficiency from these seeds and reducing import counterparts from abroad.
In statements to SANA’s reporter, the owner of the project, Abdul Karim Al-Tamer, explained that their work is concerned with the production of “Super Elite” potato seeds within the open-air net houses, indicating that the project in Hama Governorate has 248 networks, and its production is expected to reach more than 300 tons of seeds. The total number of net houses belonging to the project in a number of governorates has reached 900 nets whose production exceeds 1000 tons of seeds.
Al-Tamir indicated that the produced seeds are guaranteed production and fulfill all the trials and tests required to be approved as a productive variety comparable to the best imported potato seeds.
The official in charge of the project, Tawfiq Al-Masry, explained that this project came to fulfill the requirements of the agricultural process for a substance that is one of the most important strategic crops, through which “Super Elite” seeds are obtained to achieve self-sufficiency in seeds and prevent the entry of diseases and pests coming from abroad and develop new varieties of potatoes that suit the environment. Local and contribute to the provision of foreign exchange and break the monopoly of companies to seed.
And about the production stages, according to Al-Masry, it starts from the laboratory stage, in which the production of seedlings and laboratory tubercles that are free of viral diseases, and in which the tissue culture technique is adopted, then the stage of the greenhouse in which the tubercles are produced “the mother’s generation” resulting from the tuber or laboratory seedlings and the stage of net houses that produce Super elite potatoes and finally open fields and produce the elite stage in farmers' fields.
The Director of Hama Agriculture, Engineer Ashraf Bakir, indicated that the local potato seed production project is the second of its kind in the field of lands located within Hama agriculture and has achieved significant success in the production of super elite potato seed, which promises to meet the needs and requirements of farmers of this type of seed as an alternative to its counterpart The imported potato is an important step on the path to self-sufficiency in “Super Elite and Elite” potato seeds.
Abdullah Sheikh
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