The yield of grain crops in the Vitebsk region should be 40-50 centners per hectare - A. Kosinets

July 30, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The yield of grain crops in the Vitebsk region should be 40-50 centners per hectare, as stipulated by the strategy for the development of the region's agro-industrial complex for 2011-2015. This was announced today to journalists by the chairman of the regional executive committee, Alexander Kosinets, reports a BELTA correspondent. Today, biological yield of 50-70 centners per hectare was recorded in some farms, but the abnormal heat prevented the ears from filling, so only 25-35 centners per hectare are harvested from these fields. This indicates the effectiveness of the measures taken in agriculture, which will be continued in the future, noted the head of the region. "We will strive for a grain harvest of 2 million tons by putting fields in order, using competent agricultural technology and farming practices," emphasized Alexander Kosinets. The strategy for the development of the region's agro-industrial complex provides for an increase in the region's grain acreage to 500 thousand hectares, including about 100 thousand hectares for corn, 100 thousand hectares for rapeseed, and about 20 thousand hectares for flax, the yield of which should reach 3-4 tons of flax straw per hectare. In addition, about 10 thousand hectares are planned for potatoes. The modernization of the agro-industrial complex will continue to develop, including the plan to replenish the farms' fleet with five hundred new combines in 2011. "Serious modernization will bring success if we work seriously with the land," noted Alexander Kosinets. According to him, one of the most serious problems in the region is the sharp decline in soil humus, which has been observed since the 1970s. At the turn of the century, the application of organic fertilizers decreased by 5-7 times in the region, so today and in the future, at least 14-15 tons of organic matter per hectare of crops should be applied, and the most optimal option is up to 100 tons per hectare. "Our main task for the future is to increase the humus content in the soil, then we will have a good harvest," believes Alexander Kosinets. -0-