Vitebsk region forestry enterprises plan to collect more than 20 tons of chokeberries

September 20, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Forestries of the Vitebsk region plan to harvest a good crop of black chokeberries this autumn, Oleg Gritskevich, leading engineer for secondary forest use and auxiliary agriculture of the Vitebsk Regional Production Forestry Association (PLHO), told a BELTA correspondent. Black chokeberry plantations have been established in the Begomlsky, Lepelsky, Lioznensky, Surazhsky, Gluboksky (0.5 ha each) and Orshansky (3 ha) forestries. 14 tons of berries from 7 hectares have already been harvested. About 10 more tons are expected to be harvested from the remaining areas. At the same time, the forestries expect revenue from the harvested crop to be around Br70 million. The berry harvesting is scheduled to be completed by September 25. The black chokeberry harvest is supplied by forestries to the region's canning and winemaking plants. "The products are in demand, so in the following years it is planned to establish new plantations in forestries that have not yet been involved in cultivating this shrub," noted Oleg Gritskevich. In addition to black chokeberries, the region's forestries are also engaged in growing other crops. For example, the Bogushevsky forestry harvested 70 kg of strawberries this summer, which were sold to the public. The Lioznensky and Gluboksky forestries are drying 500 kg of rose hips each for delivery to the region's wineries. The first harvest of oyster mushrooms was collected this year by the Lepelsky, Surazhsky and Lioznensky forestries. -0-