Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) intend to expand practical cooperation in viticulture and pistachio cultivation.
The cooperation was discussed by Alisher Shukurov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, and Maher Al Rwahni, director of Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at UC Davis, during a working visit by an Uzbek delegation to the United States.
The parties focused on testing promising plant materials adapted to Uzbekistan’s conditions, their subsequent propagation in the country, and the development of scientific and practical cooperation.
In particular, in the field of pistachio cultivation, the meeting addressed the introduction of the UCB-1 rootstock, which is considered promising for local conditions. The parties explored the possibility of importing seed material into Uzbekistan for testing and, at a later stage, establishing a domestic seed-propagation system based on parental lines.
Viticulture was another area of discussion. Participants considered the import and testing at experimental sites of modern grapevine rootstocks designed for different soil and climatic conditions. The materials are resistant to diseases, nematodes, drought and salinity.
The parties also discussed the possibility of propagating promising materials directly in Uzbekistan before introducing them into agricultural practice.
In addition, they reviewed the potential for testing next-generation rootstocks from the UCD GRN series, developed by UC Davis scientists, in different regions of the country.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue practical cooperation. It will include importing promising plant materials into Uzbekistan, testing them under local conditions and subsequently propagating them.
