AgroTerra is developing a project to produce hybrid seeds of corn and sunflower

AgroTerra Group of Companies continues to develop a project to produce hybrid seeds of corn and sunflower on irrigated fields. The company’s irrigation system already operates on more than 1,500 hectares of land in the Solntsevsky and Gorshechensky districts of the Kursk region. AgroTerra plans to scale up the project further, increasing the irrigated area to 3,600 hectares by 2023.

“The production of high-quality hybrid seeds is now more relevant than ever. Our production system keeps us among the leaders in this area. When designing and building the irrigation system, the company was guided by the best world experience and used the most modern high-tech equipment. International experts, including consultants from Argentina, visited AgroTerra sites. Employees of Russian research institutes also shared their expertise,” says Nina Mironova, Business Development Director of the company.

AgroTerra had to look for non-standard solutions during the construction of the irrigation system. The company used a cascading water lifting system with booster pumping stations due to the difficult terrain in the Gorshechensky district, where some of the company's fields are located 90 m above the water intake point. The construction of the irrigation system is now complete and is operating in commissioning mode.

The irrigation system in AgroTerra is fully automated and launched with a special application online. The monitoring is on 24 hours a day, and the fields under irrigation are equipped with sensors that measure the level of moisture and nitrogen as well as control watering in each individual field. The irrigation system is maintained by a team of 20 people, most of whom are local residents.

As for the quality of production, AgroTerra first evaluates the genetic purity of hybrid seeds, which is confirmed by independent EU laboratories and ensured both by the use of an irrigation system and strict adherence to agrotechnological operations. The yield is the second important indicator of hybrid seed production evaluated by the company.

AgroTerra uses local reservoirs for water intake and pays great attention to compliance with the requirements of environmental legislation. Thus, the company uses special fish protection devices in the water intake system, and the water intake itself was installed outside the spawning zone to avoid the entry of fish and fry into the system. In addition, AgroTerra has a 10-year program to stock reservoirs with fish and release fry. Last year, more than 60,000 fish were released into the water bodies of the Kursk region, and the company plans to increase this number up to 270,000.

“It stands to reason that we started developing this project in the Kursk region. This region, due to its climate, is excellent for hybrid seed production and irrigation traditions have existed here for a long time. In addition, having been working in the Kursk region for more than 12 years, we see ongoing support from both the local government and the Committee of the Agro-Industrial Complex,” notes Nina Mironova.