CULTIVATION OF OLEAGINOUS PLANTS IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 15, 2011
• Sequence Number: 522
• Publication Date: May 31, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
CLASSIFICATION R ~E
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCYD
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY ussx
SU BJECT Economic Agric+zlture, vegetable oils
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Rome
DATE
PUBLISHED .Jan 19119
LANGUAGE Italian
rxn ooeuurr eorr~irs uroar~nor srrarnrs rxa rsnoru rararsa
or rxa uairso sram nrxu rxs rurirr or asnorsaa ~R so
a. s. e.. st ?ro ss. as ~ruoao. m rs~rsrus,or or rxs ranunor
or m eornrn a war r~rru m ~r urwrxoai:ao rusor a rao?
runao n gar. uraoournor or rxn roar a raoxu~ao.
GATE DIST. 3/ May 1950
N0. OF PAGES 9
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
0learia (Vegetable Oiisl, vo.l III, No 1, .19k9.
CtfL'PI9ATl4N OF_OT,E407NQr?8 PLANTS_II~T TIC JSSR
The aurhnr reviews +he princi.pal oil plants and trees cultivated in the
USSR, examining production da*.~a end characteristic features of cultivation.
As a result of. the postwar agricultural and industrial revival, the output of
vegetable oils in 1~ut"? is exliec?ed t,o ennunt? is 675,000 metric tons, a figure
slightly below t?he prewar avAryi,.? Though the supply is not yet sufficient
to cover domestic demtird., the author is of the opinion that when the present
Five-Year Plan. is compl?ted there is likely to be an exportable surplus of
vegetable oi.l.s that may have a permanent effect. on the world market situation.
Vegetable oils ar_co~in* for half of the total fat output of the USSR,
while Soviet. production of fats amounts to 6 percent. of the total world out-
put. Since definite figures for the last few years are lacking, it is only
possible to estimate the USSR's tot?sl annual. output of vegetable oils., An
estimate based on availab.Le, but incomplete st?atis+.ics gives a minimum of
500,000 metric tons annual output. In 1940, .just prior to the war, annual
output. had risen to ?05,400 metric tons.. Considering the present output, '
the planned output of t?he curreut? Five-Year Plan, which is set at 880,000
metric tons by 1950, does not seem unreasonable
The vastness of tb.e territory and the variety of ecological conditions,
from the Arctic Circ1F to the subtropical belt of the Transcaucasus and Turkestan,
form the basis for +,he widespread and varied production of oleaginous plants,
However, the possibilities for production of oleaginous plants remained latent
until after. Wor1.d War I, At that time, malty previously unk~pown crops were in-
troduced~ These crops included the soybean, the peanut, the castor oil plant, y~
the perill.a, the 1a11emant?ia, the t?ung tree, etc. The Institute of Scientific+~?
CLASSIF4CATION
STATE ~..NAW NSRB
~ARMYtiGr,~i.i?~ AIRS cc., r..,,~',I ~ ,. i FB I ..~., ..~;_. .,
1 -
-~.~o
'DISTRIBUTIONS 5 ,'
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
Research for Oleaginous Plants was founded, and today has the right to control
and approve the plants to be raised by local populations. Much has been done
to improve agricultural techniques, and all operations, from the sowing of the
seed to the final extraction of the oil, have been mechanized. Furthermore,
the methods now in use can be improved.
In 1947, 3,738,400 hectares were put into oleiferous plants (excluding
the oleaginous textile plants), with most of this area located in the south-
central regions of the Soviet Union, which are especially adapted to these
crops because of their warm climate and long growing season. However, there
is insufficient rainfall over a very wide area, and the irrigation net is at
present not extensive enough to meet all agricultural needs. Even if agri-
culture is further industrialized, it will still be widely dispersed in these
regions and the yield will remain low. Another bad feature of steppe agricul-
ture is the lack of an agricultural tradition among the indigenous population,
which has been nomadic for many centuries. Among the many regions in the USSR
where oleaginous plants are grown are some localities famous for their natural
advantages and for the technical progress of their workers. These localities
show the real potentiality of production, which is today still insufficient to
meet domestic requirements, but which may, in the not too distant future, be
increased to the point where large-scale exports could be sustained.
The sunflower is the most important oleaginous crop in the USSR from the
standpoints of distribution and quantity of production. It appeared in Russia
toward the middle of the 18th Century, first in the Ukraine, then along the
Volga, and was initially considered (as elsewhere in Europe) a decorative plant.
Subsequently, the toasted seeds were eaten as confections. The first experi-
ments in extracting oil from the sunflower were made at the beginning of the
last century. Even today, the cultivated varieties are separated into seed
and oil types, and other varieties which are less utilized are separated into
forage types, including the annual Helianthus annuus cultus, austroruthenici
Wenzl, and the perennials H. Maximiliani, orgyalis, etc. The most valuable
oil varieties are those which have tough "plating" over the seed integument
in the form of specially pigmented tissues which provide complete immunity to
the sunflower weevil. Several varieties, resistant to dodder (which is diffi-
cult to control on asteraceous fields), have been developed, but do not as yet
meet the requirements for high productivity.
Work on genetic improvement, which has been developing continuously during
the last 20 years, has greatly benefited sunflower oil seed crops through the
introduction of numerous select strains, several of them since the end of World
War II. After 35 years of uninterrupted work, A. Krasnodar and P. Pustovoit
recently developed several varieties which, under suitable conditions, exceed
the oil content of the standard varieties. (The author has done experiments'.
work in Italy on the standard variety 8281 Zhdano?a) In 1945, the new varieties,
designated No 1483, 1647, 3519, 4036, etc., were grown on more than 200,000
hectares in field-size units. Varieties 4966 and 6540 were introduced on a
smaller scale. Variety 6540 has exceeded oil production figures of variety
8281 by 24 percent per hectare. The oil content is that of the best varieties
previously known and varies from 43-44 to 52-57 percent, in comparison to shelled
almonds .
There have also been improvements in agricultural technology. Seed has
been propagated by means of Benkovskiy's apparatus, a system which permits
savings in seed and manpower, especially in weeding. Zmiyevskiy has perfected
a sunflower harvesting and threshing combine. A means of artificial pollina-
tion, similar to the system used for maize, has been developed, and, over an
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
RE~~o
area of 240,000 hectares, has increased production 100 to 300 kilograms per
hectare. Average Soviet unit production in 1940 was 930 kilograms per hectare,
with pertain growing regions (Krasnodar, northern Caucasus) averaging 1,500-
1,650 kilograms per hectare. A few localities have even produced as much as
3,4~-5,~ kilograms per hectare. During World War II, the unit average for
the Soviet Union dropped to barely 300 kilograms per hectare. In the postwar
period, Soviet agriculture has been able, for the most part, to restore the
prewar level of production, even exceeding the 4,000 kilograts per hectare
which made Saratov famous.
In 1939, 3,346,000 hectares were in sunflower. In 1941, with 85 percent
of the total world sunflower acreage, the Soviet Union produced 60 percent of
the world sunflower output. In 1947, after the very sharp reduction in acreage
of the 5 previous years, the area in sunflower rose to 2,754,500 hectares, with
an average yield of 790 kilograms per hectare, or a total production of 2,176,000
ttetric tons. The output was 79 percent greater in 1947 than in 1946, which has
been a disastrous year for oleaginous plants because of the unexpected drought.
In 1948, the ~;rea in sunflower was expanded to 3,392,000 hectares, and indica-
tions are that the 1949 output will exceed the 1948 total both quantitatively
and qualitatively. The Five-Year Plan calls for 3,700,000 hectares, frith an
average yield of 1,000 kilogram, per hectare, to be placed in sunflower by 1950.
Ukrainian SSR leads with 60 percent of the total Soviet output, it is followed
by Krasnodar and Stavropol krays, Grozny Oblast, the Crimea, the central regions
(Voronezh Oblast, the Middle Volga), 1Cabardinian and Dagestan ASSR, as well as
eastern and central Siberia.
Production of cottonseed in the southernmost belt of the Soviet Union and
of linseed and hempseed in more northerly regions follows sunflower seed pro-
duction in importance.
The cotton plant, which prior to 1917 was grown only in a narrow zone of
the Transcaucasus, has become, in the last 20 years, the most important textile
plant in the :.soviet Union. The USSR is now second only to India as the world's
leading producer of raw cotton and cottonseed oil. Cultivation of the cotton
plant is now distributed through Central Asia, the Transcaucasus, Dagestan ASSR,
the Crimea, and Ukrainian SSR. In the period 1934 - 1938, there were 2 million
hectares in cotton, with a total annual output of 1,424,000 metric tons of cotton-
seed. Dy 1940, cottonseed production had risen to 1,900,000 metric tons, fog;r
times the 1913 output. As in the case of sunflowers, the increases attained in
cottonseed production are due to extensive work on improving breeds, conducted
over an area of 137,000 hectares, utilizing local, American, and Egyptian
varieties. The improved strains include the following short-fiber varieties:
Schraeder 1306 (from Turkestan), Akgiura 182, Deccan 169, No 4495, 3751, and
143 U. Long-fiber varieties represent 77 percent of the total production and
include Tashkent 1t33S, 491, 10032, 2017, the Trionfo ~ossibly Pobeda or Triumf-
Victory] or Tlavroskiy, etc. Development of irrigation canals in the Aral de-
pression has contributed to a general unit increase in production (the irrigated
crops average 1,600-2,000 kilograms per hectare) and has also kept down the
danger of recurring droughts. As a result of a drought, the 1946 production
was 21 percent below the subsequent 1947 production, which, in turn, was still
below normal. In 1947, 1,467,000 hectares were in cotton. This acreage rose
in 1948 to 1,530,000 hectares. The 1950 goal is 3,100,000 metric tons of raw
cotton and about 2 million metric tons of seeds. These figures are higher
than the prewar level.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
STAT
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
During the war, flax production fell off sharply because the territory
occupied by the Germans wen completely nonproductive. Although flax produc-
tion has increased since the end of the war, by 1946 only half the 1940 acreage
of 2 million hPCtares was under cultivation. In 1933, there were 2,730,000
hectares in flax. The average for the years 1934 - 1938 was 2,351,000 hectares,
with a yield of 773,E metric tons of seed. Despite the drop in output, the
Soviet Union today remains the world's leading producer of flax. Although lin-
seed declined in importance in the period preceding the war, the continuing im-
portance of flax fiber has maintained Soviet production of flax and, consequently,
of linseed at a high level, fluctuating between 570,000 and 840,000 metric tons
a year and making the Soviet Union the world's second greatest producer of
oleaginous linseed. The area most adapted to the cultivation of flax takes in
all of central and southern European Russia and central Asia. At present, there
ie a tendency to concentrate the cultivation of flax in Stavropol Kray and in
the Uzbek and Tadzhik republics, and to favor varieties most adaptable to these
areas.
Experimental work in selective breeding has resulted in the development of
several equally valuable strains, among which the most important are: the
Afghans 1308/138, the Kagalniskiy 1531, the Americana 265, the Sibiryak DSO-166,
the Stavropol 79, the VIR-1647, 1650, and 1658. The oil content averages about
39.5 Percent. The specialized cultivation of flax for seed has again been in-
creasing in the last 3 years, with the following areas under cultivation: 1946,
198,000 hectares; 1947, 238,000 hectares; and 1948, 336,000 hectares. The over-
all yield for 1950 is set at 300,000 metric tons of seed (which includes seed
obtained from plants raised primarily for their fiber).
Extended cultivation of hemp as a fiber plant (625,000-650,000 hectares in
the prewar period) has made the USSR the world's leading producer of both hemp
fiber and hempseed. Hempseed production from 1934 to 1938 averaged 25,100 metric
tons per year. Hemp is cultivated throughout the Soviet Union, but most inten-
sively in the western Ukraine, in the central region to the Volga, and in west-
ern Siberia.
The area in hemp declined during the war for the same reasons as flax, but
the acreage is now increasing again. There were 229,000 hectares in hemp in
1946. The 1947 total of 337,000 hectares is slightly more than half the pre-
war figure. Production of seed is continuing at the same level and will probably
not exceed 12,500 metric tons per year. The plan had set 506,000 hectares of
hemp as the 1948 goal.
Crucifer (Mustard Family)
Crucifer is the most important of the so-called minor crops (minor in
area rather than importance), and its cultivation is traditional in the USSR,
even though the output is small. Mustard seed, species Brassica 3uncea, variety
sareptana (hirsuta), and species Sinapis albs, are more widespread than other
cruciferous plants. Brassica?~uncea is found in Belorussian SSR, southeastern
Russia, Kazakh SSR, Central Asia, and elsewhere and includes Your distinct geo-
graphical groups and nine ecological types with an oil content varying from 31
to 42 percent. Experimental work has developed the varieties 189/191,'260/1407,?
and, more recently, variety No 2 which is not easily husked. Unit production
varies from 530 to 1,200 kilograms per hectare. Sinapis albs, which is culti-
vated throughout the Soviet Union up to 62-65 degrees north latitude and even
in more humid zones, has a high unit output, averaging 1,200 kilograms per
hectare (ranging from a minimum of 36D to a maximum of 1,700 kilograms per
~,,, V t ~~
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
STAT
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
_~
SEtb~O
hectare), with an average oil content of 22-25 percent. Selection has isolated
the varietiee99, 162, and Lunin. The two species of mustard seed plants covered
277,000 hectares in 1947. In 1948, 290,000 hectares yielded 200,000 metric tons
of seeds.
Colza and rape are cultivated on a smaller scale, depending on the climate,
the terrain, and the care given to the plants. Colza is localizes in the south-
ern belt of the USSR, where 97 percent of the total acreage is found. In 1937,
colza covered a total area of 65,800 hectares, with an average unit yield of
1,050 to 1,600 kilograms per hectare. In individual localities the yield has
frequently exceeded 1,800-2,100 kilograms per hectare and has even reached 3,750
kilograms per hectare. Despite its good qualities, colza has not been grown
much beyond the borders of the western Ukraine because of the severity of the
climate. Work on selection has centered on the development of cold-resistant
and easily husked strains. The oil content is 45.2 percent in the autumn va-
rleties and 34.6 percent in the spring varieties. The actual production total
is not known, but probably does not exceed 50,000 metric tons.
The rape, which is cultivated on a very small scale, is superior to both
colza and mustard because it can be easily husked.
Among other crucifers indigenous to the Soviet Union, Sinapis nigra,
Coringia orientalis, Eruca sativa, etc., are not utilized commercially. Be-
cause of its extreme adaptability, camelina was the only oleiferous plant,
acreage of which increased during the war, expanding from 102,000 hectares in
1940 to 259,000 hectares in 1945. Camelina's greatest expansion took place
in Kazakh SSR and Bashkir and Buryat-Mongol ASSR, more backward agricultural
areas. Camelina's natural adaptability and its great resistance to cold and
drought compensate, to some extent, for its low productivity (an average unit
yield of 500-600 kilograms per hectare with a maximum yield of 1,100 kilograms
per hectare). Two species of camelina are known: Camelina sativa (gold of
pleasure), a spring variety, and Camelina pilosa, an autumn variety. (Camelina
linicola must be distinguished from these species since it is a species of flax).
The oil content of camelina is not negligible, varying from 23 to 44.5 percent.
In 1947, there were 227,400 hectares in camelina; seed yield is about 100,000
metric tons.
Poppy is a traditional oleiferous plant in the USSR, and its cultivation,
while not extensive, is still important. Of the eight species and 20 varieties
found in the USSR, Papaver somniferum is most extensive, especially in the
Ukrainian, Belorussian, Kazakh, and Kirgiz SSR, Voronezh, Kuybyshev, Novosibirsk,
and Omsk oblasts, Krasnoyarsk and Altay krays, Mordvin and Bashkir ASSR, and
the Far East. At one time, the plant was cultivated for opium (in the Asiatic
zone) as well as for its oil, but at present its use as a narcotic has been
virtually eliminated in these areas and the use of opium is restricted to me-
dicinal purposes.
The peanut, the soybean, and the castor oil plants are oleaginous plants
which have recently been introduced into the Soviet Union and subsequently de-
veloped on a large scale. The peanut is cultivated in south and southeast USSR:
in Ukrainian SSR, the Caucasus (Georgia 4,100 hectares, Azerbaydzhan 4,000 hec-
tares, Armenia). end in Tadzhik and Turkmen SSR, Although the plant,
was 3ntrod.uced only ~.hout 20 years a?o. .by '1938 there .were 22,.700
hectares in peanuts. Its .cultivation. has:::noW, been extended to include
the Transcaucasus, Krasnodar Kray, Uzbek SSR, etc. Selective breeding of
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
BE~'~fIC4E9
STAT
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
lE~~~6~6D
new conditions. The following types hnve been developed: Spagnolo `possibly
0344; Valencia No 0433 and 112; Tashkent No 1;~No 104, 107, 123, 153, Aurora,
JavaL~~i"j~i;~he results of this experimental work have been rather satisfactory ,
and e].~~ ve averaged 1,000 to 1,200 kilograms or more per hectare, with an
oil content-of 40-59.5 Percent. As a result of the sharp decrease in output
during the war, it is difficult to assess the present output.
Soybeans, grown primarily in the Far East and recently cultivated with
170,000 hectares in 1933 to 220,000 hectares in 1946 and 274,000 hectares in
1947.
Taking 1,000 kilograms per hectare as the average unit yield (experimen-
tally, double this amount has been obtained as a maximum), the total current
seed production approximates 200,000 metric tons. Selective breeding, begun
in 1930, has been directed toward development of early-maturing varieties
which will permit extension of soybean cultivation farther north. Elite types
include: Krushula, Steppe, Yechov Precoce ~iossibly Skorospelost'-early matur-
i~ 1153, Harbin No 7, 8, and 118, Staro-Ukrainka and Sinelnikovo Precoce
ossib],y Skorospelost'-early maturing?
Castor Oil Plants
The castor oil plants Ricinus communis persicus and Ricinus communis
sanguineus have developed along lines similar to the soybean. The most wide-
spread types are Kruglik 5, Donsk, 1721, Caucasian, Tashkent 351, 3D, and
Sanguigno Precoce ~ossib],q sanguineus Skorospelost'-early-maturing sanguineuy.
Generally, the early-maturing varieties are inferior to Italian varieties, in-
cluding some developed by the author. The oil content of Soviet varieties
ranges from 40 to 50 percent. Cultivation of the castor oil plant is concen-
trated in the southern and eastern regions: the Ukraine beyond the Dnepr, the
northern Caucasus, and the Kazakh, Kirgiz, Tadzhik, Uzbek, and Turkmen SSR.
Despite the recent introduction of the plant into the Soviet Union, by 1941
the USSR has begun to export castor oil and, at present, is second only to
India in area under cultivation. In 1937, 237,900 hectares .were in castor
oil plants. During the war, there was a sizable decrease in acreage, and in
1947 o~Y 50a~ hectares were in castor oil plants. It is doubtful that this
acreage was increased in 1948 as called for by the plan. Unit production of
seed varies from 1,000 to 1,800 kilograms per hectare. Consequently, the to-
tal Soviet output must be set at a minimum of 50,000 metric tons:.
Other Oleaginous Plants ,
The perilla (beefsteak plant), lsllemantia (mint family), sesame, and other
oleaginous plants are also considered important despite their cultivation on e
relatively small scale. .-~
Although the perilla is indigenous to t}~e Soviet Far East, the value of
its seed (oil content varying from 44-47 percent to as high as 54 percent) was
scarcely appreciated before 1933? This labiate plant has been cultivated in
the Ukraine, Krasnodar Kray, Ordzhonikidze, and the Transcaucasus. Selective
breeding hen produced ouch improved stra'!ns as No 30, 141; 501, 1220, Novita
~~ossibly Novinka - novelty, Produttiva possibly Plodovitost'. - fertility],
. Oriente ,possibly Vostok - ens], etc. ,
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
_~
RE~f~~O
The lallemantia (mint family), known since ancient times in Armenia and
Iran, is indigenous to southeastern Russia, where it now grows wild. For a
short period (1890 - 1900), lallemantia seemed to be a rival of the sunflower,
but serious attacks on the plant by weevlls and the dodder relegated it to a
minor position. At its peak, cultivation of lallemantia extended into the
Transcaucasus, Kuban, Crimea, and as far north as Kursk?and Voronezh oblasts,
but its unstable yield and the lack of markets to absorb its output limited
its distribution. Cultivation fell off from about 1925 and continued falling
through 1936 - 1937. By 1938, only 16,000 hectares were under cultivation in
Krasnodar Kray and the southern Caucasus. Experiments have demonstrated the
possibility of introducing this labiate plant almost everywhere, even as far
north as Leningrad, Ivanovo, and Chuvash ASSR. A capacity for early maturing,
extreme adaptability, and increased immunity to disease combine to make the
cultivation of lallemantia possible even in the north.
Podoba conducted the first (in Russia) studies~on lallemantia and its
selective breeding in 1877. In 1928, the Don Plant'Selection Station iso-
lated four elite strains of the plant: No 2, 59277, 22, and 24. Accord-
ing to Vakulin, ?where are at least five varieties of the species: Lallemantia
iberica-subrosca, albs, angustifolia, sulphurea (C. Koch), and vulgaris, with
oil content of the seed varying from 29.56 percent to 32.03 percent. Shaparov
indicates a wider range for oil content, 24-38 percent. The oil dries better
than linseed oil and since 1939 has been utilized in the preparation of linoleum.
Lallemantia's greatest defect is a low and unstable unit yield, normally between
200 and 600 kilograms per hectare and never exceeding 1,400 kilograms. In
1941, the plant was cultivated on 29,500 hectares in the following areas:
Krasnodar Kray 23,000 hectares, Rostov Oblast 4,000, Stavropol Kray 2,000,. and
Saratov Oblast 500. Recently, lallemantia has been introduced into Azerbay-
dzhan SSR. In the postwar period, the production of lallemantia has been re-,
duced, but not neglected.
Sesame (especially the varieties asiaticum and palestinicum) has also
been cultivated in Russian Turkestan since ancient times. The expansion of
cotton in the last 20 years has driven sesame from the irrigated areas and
has made it a dry crop. The area is sesame is concentrated in Uzbek SSR and
the southern Caucasus and varies from year to year according to the demandfor the
oil, which is used primarily in pastries. In 1931, 100,000 hectares were in
sesame, but the acreage decreased to 61,300 hectares in 1938 end was even lower
during the war years. The plant offers fine possibilities for selective breed-
ing, and several improved strains have been developed. These include the
Tashkent 122, the Don 23, No 2058, the VNIIMK 889, 1, 6, and 81.
The safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is generally found in the same geo-
graphic area as sesame: the northern Caucasus, the Kazakh, Kirgiz, Tadzhik,
and Uzbek SSR, end farther north in Ukrainian SSR and in the central steppe
regions. Although safflower has been known and used for many years, large-scale
utilization of the plant was undertaken only after 1930. Genetic improvement
has been conducted, and the strains 291 and 2919 (at the Don Plant Selection
Station), Tashkent 51, and Krasnokutskaya have been developed. The present
cultivated area of 35,5 hectares seems almost negligible. Unit production
of 200-1,100 kilograms per hectare, although low, is nevertheless higher than
sunflower in the driest regions. One of the safflower's greatest advantages
is its adaptability to grid conditions.
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), found in central and southern Russia and
the northern Caucasus, is also utilized for its oil.
In 1.939, chufa (Cyperus esculentes) was grown on 1,350 hectares in the
northern Caucasus.. Unit yield was 1,500 to 4,500 kilograms per hectare.
a
0
=7-
Rl~~
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
Oleiferot~.s Trees
Among oleiferous trees, the walnut is most important because of the large
area over which it grows. Cultivated or wild, it is found in the Ukraine, the
Crimea, the Caucasus, and throughout Central Asia, with its greatest concentra-
tion in the Fergana watershed. Seslavin and Alekseyev determined the distribu-
tion of Asiatic walnut orchards for 1936 as follows: Kirgiz SSR 43,848 hectares,.
Tadzhik SSR 40,000, Azerbaydzhan SSR 3,000, Kazakh SSR 2,000, Uzbek SSR 300,
Turkmen SSR 100, and Abkhazian ASSR 10,000, a total of 99,248 hectares.
Since 1936, there have been fluctuations in walnut acreage, with prewar
increases canceled out by wartime losses. As a result, the present Soviet
walnut acreage is probably 100,000 or more hectares. Oil content of walnuts
is very high (j6 to 73 percent), but production varies from year to year.
Cultivation of olive trees is limited to regions with Mediterranean cli-
mates (southern shore of the Crimea, Transcaucasus),, and the use of olive oil
is scarcely knoxn. Valuable local strains include the Nikitskiy Sad No 1, 3,
5, 6, 7, the Nagiyskiy, the Lomashenskiy, the Novo-Athos, etc.
The distribution of the almond tree is quite different from that of the
walnut tree since the former is found on a large scale in the Central Asiatic
republics, but is almost nonexistent in the Crimea or the Transcaucasus.
In 1930 - 1931, two varieties of the tong tree (Aleurites Fordii and
Aleurites cordata) were introduced into ttie subtropical regions of Georgian
SSR. By 1939, the tong tree grew on 15,000 hectares. Selective breeding of
the tong tree has recently been undertaken, and the following improved strain
has been developed: VIR No 2 (Aleurites Fordii), with a 50 percent oil con-
tent. Aleurites cordata is richer in oil content, with 68 percent.
Conclusions
If wartime damage to flax, peanuts, sesame, perilla, lellemantia, and
other minor oleaginous plants is taken into account, the current production
of vegetable oils is relatively favorable. At present, the-.total area in
oleaginous plants is barely 1,100,000 hectares. Selective breeding of the
crucifers, labiates, and poppy is continuing, with emphasis on early-maturing,
frost-, drought-, and parasite-resistant varieties. Attempts are also being
made to adapt these plants to mechanized cultivation, to husk them more easily,
and to increase their oil content. Other experiments seek to adapt the plants
to various ecological conditions and to solve technical problems in the organi-
zation of work (mechanization, crop rotation, manuring, etc.). A system of re-
wards for attainment of high cultivation and yield quotas has also been set up.
In 1947, total production of vegetable oil was 124 percent of the 1946
figure, which, in turn, was considerably greater than the 1945 total. Based on
the figures already presented for individual crops, total Soviet output of oil
seeds in 1948 is estimated as about 4,500,000 metric tons, distributed as follows:
sunflower 2,713,600 metric tons, cotton 1,071,000, mustard 200,000, soybeans
200,000, flax 104,160, camelina 100,000, castor oil plants 50,000, colza 50,000,
hemp 12,500, and minor crops 50,000, a total of 4,551,260 metric tons'.
If the average oil yield of the plants listed above is considered to be
about 15 percent of the seed yield, the total vegetable oil production in 1948
would be about 675,000 metric tons, which is lower than the prewar total.
Varon's investigations have resulted in the same conclusion. While not yet
satisfying domestic needs, the Soviet Union has gone a long way toward making
iip its fat and oil deficiencies. If the present rate of increase in vegetable
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7
-,
TED
oils is maintained, by the end of the present Five-Year Plan the Soviet Union
may be able to export a certain amount of seeds and seed oils, with possible
repercussions on the international market.
STAT
(All references are in Russian unless otherwise indicated.)
1.
B. Borkovskiy, Selective Breeding of Oleiferous Plants, 1933?
2.
P.'Seslavin, V Alekseyev, The Walnut in Central Asia, 1936.
3.
I. Mikhailov, P. Slavgorodskiy, "4echanization of the Culture of the
Principal Oleaginous Plants, 1937?
4.
A. Yermakov, V. Bylinkina, A. Kupche, et al., Biochemistry of Cultivated
Plants, Vol 2, 1938?
5.
K. Shiftin, 0. Pavlenko, et al., Biochemistry of Cultivated Plants, Vol 7,
1940.
6.
N. Basilevskiy, V. Maleyev, N. Shaipov, et al., Cultivated
Flora of USSR
,
Vol 7, 1941.
7.
G. Haussmann, Rural Vanguard, No 1-4, 1942 (Italian).
8.
G. Haussmann, Annual Report of the Torino Experimental Ins
cultural Chemistry, Vol XV, A, 1945 (Italian).
titute of Agri
-
9.
B. Savelev (Vice-Minister of Agriculture USSR), Soviet Agr
onomy, No 8-9,
1946.
10.
D. Vakulin, Soviet Agronomy, No 9, 1946.
11.
Report of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Pravda, 28 Feb 1947,
11 Apr 1947, 26 Apr 1948. '
12.
H. Varon, Oleaginous Plants, No 10, 1948 (French).
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310522-7