The response of ten spring barley varieties bred by FRC “Nemchinovka” to increasing nitrogen nutrition has been studied. A positive effect of nitrogen fertilisation on the yield growth and the main elements of barley yield structure was found. The varieties Nadezhnyi, Raushan and Zlatoyar were highly responsive to more intensive nitrogen nutrition.

In model experiments under forest ecosystem conditions, samples of partially decomposed forest litter and soil from a 0–10 cm layer containing 14C-labeled organic matter were selected. The label was introduced in the form of low molecular weight water-soluble organic substances of individual nature – glycine, uracil and glucose together with unlabelled plant litter in nylon bags. The experiment was carried out in the late autumn period on the territory of the Malinsky forestry, 20 km south-west of Moscow, on a medium loamy sod-podzolic soil. For the study, samples were taken from two selection periods – 40 days after labelling and after two years. The selected samples were extracted and separated into soil organic matter fractions containing 14C in their composition, followed by radiometry. The results showed differences in the transformation and incorporation of radiocarbon of the studied products – glycine, uracil, and glucose into different fractions of soil organic matter of low molecular weight water-soluble substances, depending on their nature. 

Monitoring of Erythronium caucasicum Woronow (Caucasian kandyk), family Liliaceae on the territory of the Stavropol upland has been carried out since 2010. The Caucasian Kandyk is a glacial relic, listed in the Red Books of the Russian Federation, Stavropol Territory and other regions. In our region, this is an endangered species, status 1 (E), having point ranges (protection category III). The research work was carried out on the dynamics of the Russkiy Les Protected Area and Stavropol Botanical Garden: in artificially created forest formations and on the exposition site Rare and Endangered Species. Observation points for the condition of the Caucasian kandyk are located in one (III) natural-climatic zone of insufficient moisture. The aim of the research work is to determine the current state of the Caucasian kandyk under different ecological and biological conditions. The research work was carried out on stationary sites (1 m²) and during the route survey. The age structure, the renewal index, and the main morphological parameters of plants (height, leaf length and width, flower diameter, etc.) were used to evaluate the state of populations. As a result of the observations carried out in 2010–2022, the population with of 10 ha was found to be growing in natural habitats. The exception was 2021: we assume that unfavorable weather conditions of previous years (drought 2018–2020) and terrain (slope of Stavropol Mountain) affected the absence of plants throughout the territory. In 2022, the population has recovered. In the lower part of the Russkiy Les, on an area of four hectares, the population is stable; on an area of three hectares, it is declining. On the territory of the Stavropol Botanical Garden in the oak-hornbeam-ash forest, the area occupied by kandyk has increased in comparison with 2013, the plants are blooming and fruiting, the advantage of young, pregenerative individuals was noted. In the ornamental group, where the composition of tree and shrub species does not correspond to that of broad-leaved forests, there are no juveniles in its natural habitats, and a low renewal index is noted. On small plot beds, the species is insufficiently stable, there is no fruiting, the plants are in a depressed state. 

The world assortment of strawberries includes about 15 thousand varieties, lines and shapes. Breeding work continues in various directions, but the priority remains the creation of varieties characterised by high productivity, large-fruited and marketable fruits that meet the requirements of industrial cultivation. It is possible to increase the efficiency of breeding in this direction by finding and using new sources and donors of valuable traits. The aim of the research was to study the characters of productivity and quality of strawberry fruit in order to identify new breeding sources. The research was carried out at the strawberry genetic collection located in the Moscow region, at the Department of Genetics and Breeding of Garden Crops of the Federal Horticultural Centre for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery. The subjects of the study were strawberry plants of 33 varieties of different genetic and geographical origin recommended in the scientific literature for industrial cultivation. The variety samples were studied according to the Program and methodology of variety studies of fruit, berry and nut crops. Microsoft Excel was used for statistical data processing by single-factor analysis of variance and grouping of varieties based on NSR0.5. When studying strawberry varieties grown under field conditions using traditional technology, the highest productivity was noted in the varieties: ‘Rozana Kievskaya’ (431.5 g/bush), ‘Troitskaya’ (392.7 g/bush), ‘Al’fa’ (322.4 g/bush), ‘Irma’ (318.2 g/bush), ‘Kokinskaya Pozdnyaya’ (300.2 g/bush). The sources of large fruit are identified in the varieties: ‘Kokinskaya Pozdnyaya’, ‘Festival’naya Romashka’, ‘Irma’, ‘Arosa’, ‘Troitskaya’, ‘Florence’, ‘Jemma’, ‘Vima Kimberly’, ‘Tsaritsa’, ‘Nelly’, ‘Vityaz’’, ‘Asia’, ‘Selekta’, ‘Сlery’, ‘Vima Zanta’, ‘Urozhaynaya TsGL’, ‘Rozana Kievskaya’, ‘Al’fa’, ‘Alba’, ‘Venta’, ‘Tsarskosel’skaya’, ‘Bryanich’, ‘Borovitskaya’, ‘Tago’. The highest hardness of fruits was observed in the varieties ‘Arosa’ and ‘Vima Kimberly’ varieties. The varieties ‘Kubata’, ‘Nelly’, ‘Florence’, ‘Asia’, ‘Alba’, ‘Irma’, ‘Tago’, and ‘Lakomaya’ showed a high level of the trait. As a result of the study, sources of high potential productivity (“large fruit” and “number of ovaries per bush”) were identified: ‘Rozana Kievskaya’, ‘Troitskaya’, ‘Al’fa’. The varieties ‘Florence’, ‘Vima Kimberly’, ‘Asia’, ‘Arosa’, ‘Irma’, ‘Nelly’ are recommended as sources for fruit quality (“large fruit” and “fruit hardness”).

Felted cherry is a valuable fruit crop due to its high adaptability and nutritional value of the fruit. In the territory of Russia, felted cherry is a cultivated plant. All natural populations are feral plants that entered the European part of Russia more than 150 years ago through the Primorsky Krai. The aim of the study is to assess the variability and conjugacy of fruit and leaf characters in a population of felted cherry. The subjects of the study were the wild felted cherry trees growing near the island of Patmos, Chemalsky district, Republic of Altai. Fruits and leaves were collected from 8–10-year-old plants in the first decade of July. For the research, 30 fruits and leaves each were randomly selected from the middle part of the shoots and their characteristics were estimated: fruit length (mm), fruit diameter (mm), fruit weight (g), sugar (°Bx), leaf length (mm), leaf width (mm). Fruit length and width were found to have a very low level of variability and were within 5–6%, mainly fruit length from 11.12 to 12.79 mm and fruit diameter from 10.90 to 11.39 mm. For the research, 30 fruits and leaves each were randomly selected from the middle part of the shoots and their characteristics were estimated. This population can be recommended for further research on resistance to moniliosis and possible introduction into industrial production.

Effective management of phytophagous pests and improvement of crop protection measures can be based on the study of the life cycle under specific conditions. In this respect, a number of issues relating to the biological features of plum moth development under modern conditions require clarification and further study. The life cycle of phytophages is determined by two main parameters: heat availability (the sum of the effective temperature) and the duration of daylight hours. The amount of heat required to complete the different stages of otogenesis is characterised by the sum of average daily temperatures. The article presents the results of observations on the development of Grapholita funebrana (Treitschke, 1835) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in 2017–2020, in the Prikubansky zone of the central horticultural subzone of the Krasnodar Territory. The research objectives included gaining new knowledge about adaptive responses, dynamic processes occurring in the G. funebrana population under conditions of increased abiotic effects in the conditions of southern Russia. In the course of the research it was established that the changing climatic conditions observed in recent years have an impact on the flight of the first butterflies of the overwintering generation and on the set of sum of effective temperatures (SET) necessary for the onset and mass flight of the phytophagus. The specified number of calendar days and the sum of effective temperatures required for the development of the overwintered, first and second summer generations are shown in comparison with the average annual indicators. Several peaks were noted during the mass flight period of phytophagus, due to the interruption of the flight period in spring with wind, precipitation, low temperatures, and in summer with high temperatures combined with atmospheric dryness. Several peaks have been observed during the mass flight period of the phytophage, due to the interruption of flight in the spring by wind, precipitation, lower temperatures, and in the summer by high temperatures combined with atmospheric drought.

The problem of increasing soil fertility is one of the main tasks of agriculture in the Udmurt Republic and the Non-Chernozem region. The most acceptable way of solving this problem is biologisation, which provides for a decrease in the amount of chemicals and an increase in the amount of biologicalagents. If there is a lack of fertiliser, the use of green manure or straw alone will not solve the problem. On acidic soils, a complex action on the soil is needed, starting with liming and the use of optimal doses of mineral fertiliser, which help to increase land productivity and crop rotation in a short period of time.

Since 1971, the Udmurt Research Institute of Agriculture has been studying different fertilizer systems in 8-field crop rotations (1 – fallow; 2 – winter rye; 3 – potato, corn; 4 – spring wheat; 5 – clover; 6 – clover; 7 – winter rye; 8 – barley). Factor A are backgrounds: 0 – “zero” [10]; I² – lime per one hydrolytic acidity (4.9 t/ha CaCO₃) in the first rotation + two hydrolytic acidities (7.5 t/ha) in the second rotation; Н⁵С – manure 40 (first rotation) + 60 t/ha (2d‑5th rotations) + green manure (6th rotation); L²M⁵GM – lime + manure + green manure similarly. Factor B are options. Options without fertiliser and NPK are considered. Lime reduced soil acidity to a neutral level, slightly increased in the 4th rotation. The content of P₂O₅, K₂O, and humus reached the highest level in the 5th rotation on manured backgrounds, resulting in 3.23 and 3.31 tce/ha in six rotations (18.3 and 22.0% more than without fertiliser). In lime and manure systems, mineral fertiliser increased crop rotation productivity by 32.4–35.7% on average over the entire period. Optimal doses for 3.0–4.0 t grain units/ha were 40–50 kg NPK/ha. Reducing the doses from 40–60 to 10–30 kg/ha of NPK in the last two rotations led to a decrease in crop rotation productivity (2.74–2.84) by 0.41–0.49 t grain units /ha. The lime-organomineral fertiliser system in the 3d, 4th and 5th rotations with “the addition of micronutrient fertiliser (zinc for winter rye, cobalt for potatoes, copper for spring wheat and barley, boron and molybdenum for clover)” [9] provided the highest crop rotation productivity – 4.67; 4.25; 3.32 t grain units/ha, with the highest increases – 2.05; 1.12; 1.05 t grain units/ha or 78.2; 35.8; 46.2%, respectively, in rotations. Manure can only be replaced periodically with a pea-oat mixture.

Perennial legumes are the most beneficial crops in the organic grassland farming. These crops include sainfoin, which should take its rightful place in forage lands, especially in modern conditions of increasing aridity. Three species are cultivated in Russia: Onobrychis viciifolia Scop., O. arenaria (Kit.) DC and O. transcaucasica Grossh. The cultivation of sainfoin is of great ecological importance due to its special ecological properties and chemical composition. It has a deep and highly branched root system, capable of absorbing nutrients from deep soil layers. The root system of sainfoin absorbs minerals from hard-to-reach soil compounds, so it is little responsive to fertilisation, and can be successfully used in organic grassland farming. Unlike other leguminous grasses, with the exception of the birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin does not cause bloat in ruminants. This is due to the presence of condensed tannins (CTs) in the plant in the amount of 30–80 g per 1 kg of dry matter. СТs increase the amount of non-degradable protein in the rumen, which prevents bloat in ruminants, reduces methane emissions and nitrogen compounds in urine, which in turn reduces the impact of greenhouse gases on the heat balance of the Earth. СТs have shown in vivo anti-parasitic activity against helminths in sheep and goats, improving feed nutrient utilisation and increasing animal productivity. Sainfoin fixes atmospheric nitrogen in an amount up to 150 kg/ha and does not require the application of nitrogen fertilisers, which can pollute groundwater and atmospheric air. Enriching the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients due to their biological accumulation in the upper soil layer, sainfoin contributes to soil fertility. sainfoin provides yields from 4 to 7 t/ha of dry matter with a productive longevity of herbage for 4–7 years reducing the cost of reseeding.

During the phytosanitary inspection of a lot of stored potatoes of cv. Zhukovskiy ranniy in the Orel region of Russia, tubers showed signs of lesions in the form of local darkening of the flesh without apparent softening and fungal structures on the surface (coremia). A pure culture of the pathogen was isolated and the morphological characteristics of the conidial sporulation structures in the extracted isolate were described; the average sizes of vegetative mycelium, conidia, conidiophores and coremia were given. Pathogenicity testing of the isolate on leaves and tuber discs showed symptoms in the form of localised chlorosis and necrosis. Subsequent identification of the isolate by PCR and sequencing showed that the isolate analysed was most closely related to the species Cephalotrichum asperulum of the genus Cephalotrichum. The resulting sequence was deposited in GenBank (accession number ON364353). Although these fungi are described in the literature as endophytic, this study emphasises their parasitic effect on the potato plant with certain semeiologies. This is probably the first report of C. asperulum causing local necrosis of potato leaves and tubers during storage in Russia.

In Russia, as in other countries around the world, the number of companion animals is increasing and the demand for veterinary services consequently. Increasing demand leads to the emergence of new services and goods, including medicines. The number of medicines used to treat small animals runs into the thousands. However, not all medicines are widely used in veterinary practice. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), following the approach of the World Health Organisation, has introduced the practice of defining essential medicines to identify the most important medicines in veterinary medicine. This enables veterinarians to achieve an optimal level of expertise in the pharmacotherapy of the most common and important diseases of dogs and cats through self-education, and assists regulatory authorities in monitoring the supply of essential medicines to the veterinary industry, including the implementation of import substitution work, assist veterinary clinic managers in compiling a list of medicines that must be available, contribute to the quality of veterinary education, in particular by improving the quality of teaching the subject “Veterinary Pharmacology”. As part of the study, two lists of essential and complementary medicines for cats and dogs used in Russian veterinary practice were compiled with with the help of experts from the veterinary industry. The lists are divided into sections reflecting the main areas of veterinary pharmacotherapy.

The use of probiotics is recommended for sustainable growth, increased resistance and efficiency of feed assimilation. Currently, there are commercial probiotic products prepared from the bacteria Bacillus sp., Lactobacillus sp., Enterococcus sp., Carnobacterium sp. The use of the probiotic supplement “Enzimsporin” in fish farming is in its infancy. However, information is available on the effectiveness of its use in rainbow trout. In this regard, an urgent task is to study the effect of the probiotic “Enzimsporin” on the morphophysiological parameters of the juvenile hybrid of Lena sturgeon and beluga (Lenbel) under existing cultivation conditions. At the initial stage, the fish were divided into 8 groups of 50 fish each according to the principle of pairs of analogues. Large and small individuals were divided into four groups: control and experimental with a dose of Enzimsporin of 1 g/kg, 1.5 g /kg and 2 g/kg of feed, respectively. The duration of the experiment was 60 days. Total catches were made at the beginning and end of the experiment, and intermediate catches were made every 15 days, individually weighing 25–35% of the total number of fish in the pool. The physiological state and immune status of Lenbel were assessed by hematological and cytochemical parameters. Blood for analysis was collected from the caudal vein of fish in vivo. Leukocyte composition and the proportion of immature cell types were determined in Pappenheim-stained peripheral blood smears under a digital microscope. The phagocytic activity of fish neutrophils was evaluated by a lysosomal cation test using a cytochemical method with bromophenol blue. During the two months of the experiment, the main hydrochemical parameters (pH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonium), water temperature and the dissolved oxygen content were within the technological norms. The best absolute and relative growth rates were obtained in the experimental groups receiving a probiotic at a dose of 1.5 g/kg of feed. These fish had high indicators: absolute and relative growth, absolute and relative growth rate, mass accumulation coefficient. The best survival rate was recorded in the group of small yearlings of Lenbel at a probiotic dose of 2 g/kg of feed. In large fish, the maximum survival rate (80%) was recorded at a dose of 1 g/kg of “Enzimsporin”. There is significantly more lysosomal cationic protein in the blood neutrophils of the experimental groups – activation of cellular immunity.

Many factors influence milking performance. The milking machine is one of the most important components of a milking unit. Irrespective of its design features it is intended for extracting milk from the udder under vacuum. A promising area for the prevention of mastitis in cows is the use of silver and zinc nanoparticles. In the preliminary phase, no significant differences were found in all indicators. It was found that the number of cows suffering from mastitis during the milking period with the experimental liners decreased, while the qualitative indices of the milk remained unchanged.

The aim of the study was to analyse the association of polymorphic variants of the LCORL gene for SNP A503G with egg quality in chickens of the Pushkin and Tsarskoye Selo breeds. The sample consisted of chickens of the combined productivity direction of the Pushkin (n=107) and Tsarskoye Selo (n=90) breeds of 2021 year of hatching. The birds were kept in individual cages on the basis of the bioresource collection of the RRIFAGB “Genetic Collection of Rare Endangered Breeds of Chickens” (Pushkin, St. Petersburg). The poultry were genotyped by PCR-RFLP. Biophysical properties of the eggs were evaluated in hens at 35 weeks of age. A comparative analysis of the qualitative characteristics of the eggs revealed some differences between the breeds. For examle, the eggs from the Pushkin breed hens differed from the eggs of the Tsarskoye Selo hens in high egg weight (p ≤ 0.001) and shell (p ≤ 0.01), shell thickness (p ≤ 0.01), PPF values (p ≤ 0.01), but had a thinner shell membrane (p ≤ 0.01). The analysis of the SNP A503G association with the LCORL gene showed that the eggs from the Pushkin chickens with the AG genotype had high mean values for shell thickness (p < 0.001), shell weight (p < 0.05) and yolk weight (p < 0.01). For chickens of the Tsarskoye Selo breed, significant associations were obtained for chickens with the AG genotype on the basis of yolk weight (p ˂ 0.05).

The article presents the results of research on the viticulture industry in the Republic of Dagestan in terms of dynamic changes in the retrospective period of indicators characterising the development of the industry in the region. The aim of the research was to carry out a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the development of viticulture in the Republic in order to identify the main trends characterising the development of the industry in the context of the implementation of the strategic goals of the region in this area. The analysis was based on the use of quantitative, statistical and comparative methods, as well as methods of analogy, synthesis and generalisation of the data obtained. The relevance of the research is based on the need to assess the achievement of the regional strategic objectives in the field of restoration and development of viticulture in the Republic and to elaborate further measures for the development of the industry. The scientific novelty lies in the systematisation and assessment of the state of viticulture in the Republic of Dagestan using an integrated approach to analysis, including the assessment of the entire set of indicators of the production process, from the production cycle to the assessment of consumer prices for grapes. The results of the study, in the context of positive trends in the development of the viticulture industry in the Republic of Dagestan, showed that there is significant potential in the region for increasing the production capacity of the viticulture industry and increasing the volume of products for sale both within the Republic and mutual trade regions, as well as for export.