Brussels sprout: biological and agrotechnical features, trends and results of breeding

Brussels sprout (Brassica oleracea convar oleracea L. var. gemmifera DC) is a highly valuable cole vegetable crop, which is grown widespread in Europe and cultivated in gardens in Russia. The breeding program for this crop has been carried out at VNIISSOK. The biological features, useful properties of Brussels sprout along with agrotechnical instructions for cultivation were given in the article. The modern trends in breeding program for the crop were shown. The description of cultivar ‘Hercules’ and heterotic hybrid F1 ‘Sozvezdie’ bred at VNIISSOK was given.