Background. Diverse nature and climate conditions in the North Caucasus invoke the importance of studying cultivar-specific responses of Jerusalem artichoke to cultivation in certain ecogeographic areas. Evaluation of Jerusalem artichoke accessions preserved at VIR is relevant for disclosing the crop’s variability in productivity and biochemical composition of its tubers and choosing cultivars promising for cultivation. The objective was to examine the biochemical composition of Jerusalem artichoke tubers maintained in the field gene bank at Maikop Experiment Station of VIR (Adygea, Russia).

Materials and methods. Nineteen Jerusalem artichoke accessions from Maikop Experiment Station served as the material for the study. They were grown as an annual crop: the tubers overwintered in the field, and were transplanted to new plots in the following spring. Tuber productivity was assessed in the plants harvested in 2021 and 2022. Biochemical composition was analyzed in the reproductions of the 2021–2023 harvests at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of VIR using conventional techniques.

Results. High productivity over two years was recorded for ‘Sakhalinskiy Krasny’ (2.2 kg/plant). Accessions with high content of bioactive compounds were identified: for inulin, ‘Australian’ (14.10 ± 1.41%), ‘Lola’ (13.73 ± 1.28%), ‘Topianka’ (13.43 ± 2.06%), ‘Waldspiendel’ (13.32 ± 1.60%) and ‘Zori Kavkaza’ (13.22 ± 0.93 %); for dry matter, ‘Tambovskiy Krasny’ (27.66 ± 0.60%); for total sugars, ‘Lola’ (19.02 ± 3.48%); for protein, ‘Avstraliyskiy’ (3.65 ± 0.67%). Cv. ‘Nakhodka’ maintained its potential for high productivity (2.68 kg/plant) under favorable growing season conditions.

Conclusion. Screening of VIR’s Jerusalem artichoke collection resulted in identifying accessions with high and stable tuber productivity, valuable biochemical composition, and high content of bioactive compounds (inulin, and ascorbic acid) and nutrients (protein).