Virus-free potatoes and innovative domestic breeding technologies are being developed in the Moscow region.

As part of a working trip to the Dmitrovsky Municipal DistrictSergey Dvoynykh, Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region, visited the Doka-Gen Technologies breeding and seed production company.
He toured the laboratory where the properties of industrial potato varieties intended for processing into chips and French fries are studied, a new module of the breeding greenhouse, and a greenhouse complex under construction with hydroponic equipment, which will increase the production of virus-free mini-tubers—the starting material for producing healthy seed potatoes.
"The company is developing a domestic breeding base, using biotechnology, such as marker-assisted selection, which allows for the more precise selection of candidate varieties with desired genetic traits, such as increased resistance to major diseases and field productivity. One of the new projects being implemented is remote diagnostics of potato plant diseases in the field using machine vision, based on a trained neural network from a UAV platform. "This decision-support tool for the company's agronomists will allow them to monitor crop conditions more quickly and accurately," said Sergei Dvoynykh, Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region.
The Moscow Region Ministry of Agriculture added that last year, Doka-Gen Technologies produced 45,500 tons of potatoes, over 9,000 tons of vegetables, and approximately 4,000 tons of grains and legumes. The enterprise is equipped with modern agricultural equipment and operates a storage complex with microclimate control systems. Table products are supplied to retail chains under the Vegetoria brand, and seed potatoes are sold directly to Russian farmers.
DGT LLC has concluded agreements on scientific and technical cooperation and partnership with the State Research Center, the M.M. Shemyakin and Yu.A. Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physicochemical Biology of Moscow State University, and the Institute of Physicochemical Biology of Moscow State University. Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Russian State Agrarian University, Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.
By 2028, the company plans to increase production of virus-free mini-potato tubers to 2 million per year by building new stages of the greenhouse hydroponic complex and a laboratory at the selection and genetic center, and significantly increasing the automation of warehouses and production facilities. The company receives annual government support. Subsidies are provided in several areas, including potato production and support for elite seed farming.