[1] G. D. Karpechenko specialized in plant cytology and created several hybrids.

Among his contributions is his seminal work on allopolyploids, culminating in his creation of a fertile offspring of radishes and cabbages, the first instance of a new species obtained through polyploid speciation during experimental crossbreeding.

[2][3][4] He worked at the Institute of Applied Botany near Leningrad, but collaborated with geneticists in other countries, notably Øjvind Winge in Denmark and Erwin Baur in Germany.

[5] He also travelled abroad to the John Innes Horticultural Institution in London.

[5] He was arrested by the NKVD under the false grounds of belonging to an alleged "anti-Soviet group" centered on the well known Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov who was his colleague at Leningrad.