Hops. Chuvash Republic
Hops (hămla
in Chuvash) is a perennial dioecious plant of the hemp family, a climbing plant
covered with cones.
The hop vine is depicted on the coat of arms of Chuvashia as a symbol of the traditional wealth of the Chuvash people.
Hops have a delicate hoppy aroma and
light golden and green cones.
The Chuvash
people have long been renowned for their skill in cultivating hops. It is a
traditional wealth of the Chuvash people and the republic. Hops grown on
Chuvash soil are ecologically clean and safe. Cultivating hops from green
sprouts to mature cones is a daily hard manual labor. Therefore, every cone is
valued like gold and is called green gold. Processed hops products are supplied
not only to breweries across Russia but also abroad.
Chuvashia
accounts for 90% of all hops produced in Russia. A significant advantage of
Chuvash hops is their environmental friendliness. The Chuvash Republic is the
northernmost hop-growing region in the world. Due to its location and
relatively cold winters, most overwintering hop pests are killed. While major
hop-producing countries may conduct up to 12 chemical treatments during the
growing season, Chuvashia requires only 2-3, which contributes to the
ecological purity of Chuvash hops.
There are
plans to increase the gross harvest of hops (from 192 tons in 2023) to 3.7
thousand tons by 2030, predicting more than a 19-fold growth. The area under
hop plantations is expected to increase from 133 hectares to 2 thousand
hectares. This area is sufficient for the aromatic hop varieties ripening in
Chuvashia, which are highly valued for their quality. Additionally, efforts are
being made to develop and adapt bitter hop varieties with high alpha acid
content, which are in high demand among brewers, to the local climate.
The Chuvash
Research Institute of Agriculture preserves 255 hop variety samples from
Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Germany, the USA, and other
countries in its live collection. New high-yielding varieties such as
"Favorite" and "Flagship" and varieties resistant to
adverse conditions such as "Pharaoh," "Forward,"
"Feudal," and "Fakir" have been developed.
Along with the RUSSIA EXPO, the flower festival is also coming to an end.
The "Future in Flowers" festival continues at the RUSSIA EXPO, where unique flowerbeds from all regions of our country can be seen at the "Space" pavilion until July 8.
The RUSSIA EXPO concludes on July 8, and with it, the flower festival will also come to an end.