Lilacs Galore!

Belgorod State University's Botanical Garden Research Laboratory has successfully transferred 5,000 clonal micropropagated lilac saplings to the Botanical Garden nursery

Dr Lyudmila Tokhtar, head of the laboratory, explained the 'Belgorod Lilac' project,
“According to the Belgorod Lilac project plan, this year we had to propagate 5,000 lilacs of 45 specific varieties using a modern high-tech clonal micro-breeding process. To date, 5,401 saplings of 23 varieties have been transferred, with work ongoing to deliver the remaining 22 varieties. In 2020, we are looking to obtain 10,000 seedlings using in vitro methods, so work on the clonal micropropagation of plants is carried out in the laboratory continuously. In addition to breeding the lilac varieties we have already, we are also faced with the task of introducing new varieties, so as to continue the expansion of lilac diversity.”
The project has continued to garner interest from throughout the Region, with 4 nurseries ordering a total of 1,500 plants from the University.

Translated by I P Turner, Centre for Foreign Language and Academic Writing

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