In the village of Tairovo near Odesa, where the National Scientific Center "Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking named after Vasily Tairov" of the NAAS is located, and in the village of Shabo, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky District, scientific and practical conferences were held, during which farmers discussed, let's say, "grape problems."

Over the course of two days, representatives of government, business, and science have joined forces to resolve a number of issues that winegrowers and winemakers have in our country.

The current season in the Odesa region has become one of the most unsuccessful in the last 20 years. The southern districts of the region, where the main massifs of the "sun berry" plantations are located, found themselves in a zone of prolonged drought for two years. Some varieties did not yield at all, because the fruit-bearing shoots froze on the vine. At the same time, many farmers were faced with a situation where pollination was not successful enough due to rainy weather and the clusters were not too solid, had an insufficiently attractive appearance. Also, due to high humidity, the culture was struck by fungal diseases.

There is a strategy – there is no development

As you know, 60% of the 39 thousand hectares of all vineyards in the country are grown in the region. The yield last year was 74 centners per hectare (for comparison, in Transcarpathia – 84 centners). Data for ARC are not known.

Despite the fact that the functioning of the industry is based on the program for the development of viticulture in Ukraine until 2025, its implementation could not provide a breakthrough.

For example, the prospects for irrigation of vine plantations remained practically on paper. If the water consumption of fruit-bearing plantations in many regions of viticulture (Transcarpathia, Nikolayevshchina) is provided by natural precipitation by 45-53%, then in the Odesa region it is necessary to calculate the need for "smart" use of water for irrigation. The actual results obtained convincingly testify to the high economic efficiency of grape growing technologies under irrigation – the costs will pay off in a few years.

Today, if the laying of a hectare of vines ranges from 150 thousand to 200 thousand hryvnia (depending on the cost of planting material), then the additional costs for drip irrigation of such an area amount to 20 thousand hryvnia (17.7 thousand hryvnia / ha – according to the standards of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy), then there is about 10%. The unconditional payback of drip irrigation costs in five to six years makes it a profitable strategy for the industry in the Odesa region.

The program for the development of viticulture in Ukraine emphasized the need to orientate farmers to domestic planting material, and exclusively to certified. Saplings of clonal origin, free from viral infection and controlled by infection with the causative agent of bacterial cancer and phytoplasmas – provide stable, high quality yields.

“Analyzing the situation in the agro-industrial complex over the past two years, when we faced a significant drought and then rainstorms, it is clear that, first of all, you pay attention to economic processes. In the region, viticulture under the conditions of risky farming remained a stabilizing sector for a long time: if there were no cereals, then enterprises and collective farms came out at the expense of viticulture and winemaking. But, unfortunately, it so happened that in recent years the area under the vine has decreased significantly.

Today in our country there are only 40 thousand hectares of vineyards, of which 24 thousand are in the Odesa region. That is, 60% of viticulture is concentrated in the region and here we have some responsibility, so my colleagues from Kherson and Nikolaev signed an agreement about six months ago, created a working group that worked out a number of projects. In particular, on irrigation agriculture, issues related to tourism, logistics, infrastructure. We discussed viticulture and winemaking separately, ”said the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

One of the few structures capable of providing the domestic nursery with the initial clonal material and providing scientific support for all technological stages of the production of certified seedlings is the Clone Breeding Center of the V.E. Tairov Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking. In recent years, more than 100 clones of 45 grape varieties have been isolated and studied here. Through the efforts of the Center, in the leading vineyards in the country, basic mother plants of scions and rootstocks with a total area of ​​almost 100 hectares have been laid, and the cultivation of domestic certified seedlings has begun.

The process is hindered by the lack of adequate government support for nurseries and imperfect legal and regulatory support.

The sweet berry of labor requires

Of course, grape lovers are primarily interested in table varieties, the berries of which are large, crispy and juicy, covered with an easily eaten thin skin. High taste properties are achieved due to the harmonious ratio of acidity and sugar, so most of them received high tasting ratings. And that is why they are so eagerly snapped up in markets and supermarkets.

Today, grapes for fresh consumption in the region are grown 10-12 times less than the recommended annual physiological norm. It is clear that the reduction in the production of table sorts has led to an increase in imports, due to which about 65% of the supply volume is now formed. Meanwhile, in the region there are real opportunities not only to fully satisfy their own needs, but also to trade on international markets.

To provide the population, breeders of the Tairov Institute have created more cold and frost-resistant varieties of table grapes better adapted to the cultivation conditions: in the State Register there are 19 and 2 universal varieties. The new varieties are able to withstand frosts down to -24 ° C without significant damage. The variety of the table assortment and the use of new varieties make it possible to create a conveyor for the production and consumption of fresh grapes within five to eight months. This is a highly effective direction – calculations give from 200 to 300% profitability, especially in the case of growing large resistant varieties of early or late ripening.

Table viticulture, in essence, is an independent subdivision of the industry, with its own specific goals, objectives, means of production, etc. The Tairov Institute is adjusting the basic indicators of the industry.

Of course, the fate of the country's viticulture and winemaking could not but provoke heated discussions. And the speeches of the forum participants were sometimes unexpected.

They proposed, for example, to carry out the maximum deregulation of the industry. A simple example is excise stamps. They were introduced to control alcohol turnover. But alcohol is not added to dry grape wine. How then these products became excisable is a mystery. The excise stamp for dry wine costs one kopeck. And the administration of this tax – the cost of the stamp itself, the sticker, the work of specially allocated employees of the tax service – the hryvnia!

Another opinion. In Ukraine, there is still an old Soviet law that determines which containers can be filled with wine. But these are Italians and Moldovans, French and Spaniards pour what they want: special bottles, kegs like beer. And in the USA and Great Britain, the number one container category in terms of growth rates is metal cans.

Winemakers are sure that if a material is approved for food, then it can also be used for wine.

Finally, the third. Everyone knows the program to support small and medium-sized businesses, which involves lending to entrepreneurs at 5-7-9%. However, there is one exception. Preferential conditions are not provided for pawnshops, currency exchange offices and ... producers of alcoholic beverages. And all alcoholic. But in many countries wine is a food product. And in Ukraine, dry wine is still considered an alcoholic drink, which closes producers' opportunities for profitable financing.

Reconstruction of the irrigation system to be financed by the government

The Cabinet of Ministers allocated more than UAH 117 million for the reconstruction of pumping stations and hydraulic structures of the Belgorod-Dniester irrigation system.

The system, which should provide irrigation of almost 14.6 thousand hectares of agricultural land, was put into operation in 1981-1987. The source of irrigation is the Dniester River, the water of which is supplied to the main pumping station by an 8.2 km long underwater canal.

The system includes 90 km of open and closed canals-pipelines, 17 pumping stations, 56 control hydraulic structures.