Editing Trofim Lysenko (section)

===Theory of stage development of plants===
To substantiate his developments in the field of plant growing, Lysenko put forward a theory of staged development of plants. The essence of the theory was that higher plants must go through several stages during their lives before producing seeds. To move to the next stage, certain specific conditions are required.

In 1935, Lysenko wrote:<ref name="Agrobiology"/>
{{blockquote|This theory proceeds from the fact that everything in a plant, each of its properties, characteristics, etc., is the result of the development of a hereditary basis in specific environmental conditions. The hereditary basis is the result of the entire previous phylogenetic history. The result of this biological history, which was created through the selection of adaptations to certain conditions of existence, are the demands that a plant organism throughout its individual history, starting from the zygote, makes for certain conditions of its development. These requirements are the reverse side of the adaptations developed in the historical process.}}

Based on this theory, Lysenko proposed vernalization of winter and spring grains, potatoes and other crops.<ref>{{cite web | title=Лысенко Трофим Денисович | website=Биографии выдающихся личностей  | url=https://www.biografija.ru/biography/lysenko-trofim-denisovich.htm | language=ru | access-date=2024-05-13}}</ref><ref name="washniil">{{cite web | title=Сессия ВАСХНИЛ-1948. О положении в биологической науке (стенографический отчeт) | website=Lib.Ru | date=2004-07-22 | url=http://www.lib.ru/DIALEKTIKA/washniil.txt | language=ru | access-date=2024-05-13}}</ref>

The provisions of Lysenko's theory on the staged development of plants, according to critics, were to some extent consistent with the level of knowledge of the 1930s, but not all of them were confirmed experimentally.<ref name="Heredity"/> The shortcomings of the theory of stage development were pointed out by [[Mikhail Chailakhyan]] among others.<ref name="Heredity"/> In particular, critics argued that even without preliminary vernalization, various plant varieties have a photoperiodic reaction and are delayed in development when the length of daylight hours is reduced.<ref name="Heredity"/>