In the beginning, there was a small yard, a few fruit plants and a man who worked on the railway during the day and returned to his garden in the evening. Ivan Michurin began his breeding experiments in 1875 on a rented property of about 600 square meters near Kozlov - today's Michurinsk. He did not have a higher education and did not graduate from high school, but turned self-education and practical experiments into a lifelong profession.
Michurin worked as a clerk, cashier, technician and watchmaker to support his family and buy seeds, tools and plants. In 1888, he acquired 13 hectares of land near the city. After the purchase, his family had only 7 rubles left, and for the first two seasons they lived in a hut on the new land. By 1893, there were already thousands of hybrid seedlings of pears, apples and cherries there.
From southern fruits to winter-hardy varieties
His most important conclusion came after years of unsuccessful attempts to transfer and graft ready-made southern plants. Instead of simply acclimatizing varieties, Michurin began to cross them with local and more hardy forms. In this way, he sought plants that would not only survive in a colder climate, but also bear fruit.
He worked with geographically distant species and developed methods for distant hybridization. Among the results were winter-hardy forms of cherries, almonds and grapes, as well as new varieties of apples, pears, plums, apricots, blackberries and currants. He also worked with tobacco and oil-bearing roses. In total, Michurin is credited with creating more than 300 varieties of fruit, berry and other crops.
One of his practical experiments is also curious. After assessing that the rich black earth soil "spoiled" the young hybrids, in 1900 he moved the plantations to poorer land to subject them to more severe conditions. His idea was to test the plants not in a comfortable environment, but where they actually had to be grown.
Late recognition
His first scientific publications were published only in 1906, when he was 50 years old. For a long time, his work remained outside the attention of official science, although the nursery he created gradually became known outside of Russia. In 1911, his achievements were presented at the World Exhibition in Toulon.
In 1913, the US Department of Agriculture offered him to move or sell his collection. Michurin refused. He chose to remain in Kozlov, where his work later received state support. In 1918, the nursery was nationalized, and he himself became its director. In 1928, a selection and genetic station was created on its basis.
His approach is summarized in the sentence: “We cannot wait for favors from nature; our task is to take them from her.“ His practical goal is also concentrated in it – not to observe nature from the sidelines, but to create plants adapted to a specific climate and the needs of people.
Michurin died on June 7, 1935. Years earlier, the city where he worked had been renamed Michurinsk - a rare case of a scientist giving his name to a settlement during his lifetime. After his death, his name was also used for Michurinism - a trend associated with the agrobiological ideas of Trofim Lysenko and the rejection of classical genetics. However, Michurin's historical legacy remains mostly in the gardens: in the attempt to create fruits that can withstand the place where they grow.
Sources: aif.ru, vm.ru