SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR BAST CROP CULTIVATION BY SCIENTISTS OF THE ALL-UNION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF BAST CROPS (1971–1981)

Abstract

The article highlights the research and development activities of the All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures in the city of Hlukhiv, Sumy Oblast, at the turn of the 70s and 80s of the 20th century. After all, it was during this period that the scientific institution was at the peak of its development, leading scientists created high-yield varieties and hybrids of monoecious hemp, developed new methods of plant cultivation, and made a certain breakthrough in the field of mechanization of hemp cultivation. Purpose: to reveal the most important aspects of the scientific activity of scientists of the All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures in 1971–1981 as a scientific center of the northern region of the Ukrainian SSR. Methods. To solve the research problems, general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, classification, typology. Special attention was paid to the historical methods of scientific knowledge: problem-chronological, comparative-historical, retrospective, periodization. Methods of historiographic and source analysis were applied. Scientific novelty. The article provides a comprehensive assessment of the scientific achievements of All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures scientists in the development of hemp, flax, and rare bast crops. The priority areas of scientific activity are summarized, their characteristic features are outlined, and their role in the formation of agricultural science in the period under study is highlighted. Results. The main achievements and achievements of All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures scientists in the cultivation and primary processing of hemp and long flax have been identified, which made the institution famous not only in the USSR, but also abroad. The mechanization department created about 50 machines for simultaneous harvesting and threshing of bast crops, which significantly reduced the amount of manual labor in the process of growing plants and increased the productivity of 140 agricultural producers. Conclusions. The period 1971–1981 can be called a time of active development of scientific activities of the All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures. It was at this time that highly productive dioecious and monoecious hemp varieties were created, and significant attention was paid to the development of varieties with a low tetrahydrocannabinol content, which allowed solving the problem of the ban on the cultivation of this crop. To achieve high results in growing bast crops, All-Union Research Institute of Bast Cultures systematically studied crop rotations, plant nutrition, and developed methods of soil cultivation and chemical protection against weeds and pests.