This article investigates the possibility of obtaining genotypes of garden strawberry with enhanced fruit strength. The creation of species and varieties with the specified feature is expected to improve the quality, transportability and storability of berries. Experiments were performed in 2015–2020 at the collection and breeding plots of the Kokinsky testing station of the Federal Horticultural Research Centre for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery. 29 species of the domestic and foreign selection, 7 choice species, as well as the hybrid seedlings of 22 crossing combinations and 3 open pollination populations of garden strawberries, were investigated. The aim was to identify sources of increased trength and perspective crossing combinations, affording the highest yield of seedlings with firm fruits. The examination of the fruit strength was performed at the stage of optimal maturity. Berries crushing force was determined using a VR-04MS-2-BR balance by applying pressure to the fruits until the first drop of juice appears. The measurement results were converted into international units, i.e., Newtons (1 kg = 9.8 N). The phenotypic evaluation of varieties and species of garden strawberries based on the fruit strength revealed genotypes with the firmest fruits — Kleri, Darselect, Tenira, Selekta, Polka, Tzaritza, Aquarelle, Irma and the 3-366-9 selection. These varieties yield the fruits, which endure the crashing force of over 10 N. In the hybrid progeny, the fruit strength varied within a wide range, and its significant change within the crossing combinations and populations of open pollination was revealed. The Darselect, Cleri, Irma, Tzaritza varieties are the most valuable seed parents in the transmission of the high strength character. Within the research period, the best crossing combination yielding seedlings with fi m fruits were Alfa×Darselect, Festival Romashka×Darselect, Irma×Lyubava, 3-366-9×Kleri, Nashe Podmoskovye×Irma, Festival Romashka×Kleri and open pollination population of the Kleri, Darselect, Tzariza varieties. 42.2 to 60.3 % of hybrid seedlings yielded fruits with the crushing force of over 10 N, and an average value for the families amounted to 9.6–11.2 N.

17 live plant collections numbering about 5 thousand species and varieties of different climatic zones were the basis for the introduction and breeding tests in the Stavropol Botanical Garden. The species and varieties of Daylily Hemerocallis×hybrida hort. were chosen as the parent material. The Нemerocallis (or Daylily) belongs to the Xanthorrhoeaceae Juss. family. Known for a long time as medical and ornamental plants, daylilies have attracted significant attention in recent years because of their longevity, xerophytism and tolerance to winter conditions, relative sample unpretentiousness. Since 2009, the breeding of daylilies has been in progress in the Stavropol Botanical Garden aimed at creating decorative varieties for the steppe zone that are resistant to unfavourable abiotic and biotic stressors. It was revealed that the promising hybrid progeny has diverse colours of the flower with corrugated edge and petals. The petal edges are folded at a 90º angle and bent back, forming a turban. Prolonged flowering for up to 30 days and more is ensured by numerous generative shoots and flowers on the flower spike (12 to 26). Hybrid progeny matches the height, flowers colour, decorative effect of leaves, resistance to external environmental factors, diseases and pests, of the assumed model and is recommended for further study and evaluation of decorative. The studied hybrids are valuable parent material for further breeding work and can be recommended for gardening.

The research results of studies into different peach varieties grown on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory and distinguished by high biochemical characteristics are presented. The research was carried out to identify promising peach varieties with different ripening periods and relative resistance to abiotic environmental factors. This work aimed to assess the biochemical composition of Persica vulgaris (Mill.) fruits. The peach varieties listed below were the focus of this study. A high quantity of ascorbic acid (from 11.30 to 16.16 mg%) was revealed in the fruits of the following varieties: Amsden, Redhaven, Veteran, Early Red, Springold, Larisa, Lebedev, Mainred, Slavny and Stark Earley White. The low content of this vitamin (9.21-10.05 mg%) was measured in Madeleine Pouillet (very early ripening), Sunbeam (medium ripening) and Anton Chekhov (late ripening) varieties. This is significantly lower (on average 6.53 mg%) compared to other varieties and to the control Redhaven variety, for which the value was 2.38 mg%. The maximum content of total sugar (8.66-12.11 %) was detected for Lebedev, Earley Red, Redhaven, Larisa and Veteran, whereas the minimum content (6.15-7.33 %) was noted for Madeleine Pouillet, Amsden, Stark Earley White, Collins, Mainred, Anton Chekhov and Glorious. The free acidity of the fruit according to the experiment was at the level of 0.67–1.39 %. High acidity was noted in the Springold, Amsden, Collins, Sunbeam and Slavny varieties. The content of soluble solids ranged between 11.00-15.50 %. The sugar-acid ratio, which indicates the degree of sweetness of peach fruits, corresponded to 5.65-14.58 units. The tasting assessment of the fruit was between 3.5 to 4.8 (on a five-point scale). The varieties having high biochemical parameters of the fruit and are most resistant to weather and climate changes have been identified: Redhaven, Earley Red, Lebedev, Larisa and Veteran.

The intensification of Russian horticulture in modern conditions is impossible without a comprehensive assessment of fruit crop varieties, including already introduced ones, to identify the most ecologically adaptive and productive genotypes for cultivation. The purpose of this study was a comprehensive assessment of the biological potential of newly-introduced plum varieties and the peculiarities of their implementation under the conditions of the North Caucasian horticultural region, intending to select the best ones to expand the regional assortment. The research focus was the plum varieties of Italian breeds: Big Stanley (Prunus domestica L.), Blue Moon (Prunus domestica L.), August Delight (Prunus domestica L.), Dark Sunlight (Prunus domestica L.), Crimson Glo (Prunus cerasifera L.) of different

ecological and geographical origin. The August Delight, Blue Moon, Crimson Glo and Dark Sunlight varieties are earlymaturing and start bearing fruits in 3 years and Big Stanley in 4 years. These varieties have a restrained spread, respond positively to alternative methods of crown formation and are technologically advanced. According to the ripening time of the fruits, the varieties can be divided into distinct groups: August Delight and Blue Moon are middle-late, while Big Stanley, Crimson Glo and Dark Sunlight are late. Under the research conditions, the August Delight, Blue Moon and Big Stanley varieties developed large fruits of 44.6-52.4 g, while very large fruits, between 75.5 and 78.9 g, were found in the Crimson Glo and Dark Sunlight varieties, respectively. Under extreme weather conditions, Crimson Glo (19.5 t/ha) and Dark Sunlight (22.3 t/ha) varieties were characterised by higher yields, while for the Big Stanley, Blue Moon, August Delight varieties, the yield was at the level of the control group (15.0-16.2 t/ha). Newly-introduced varieties have several agronomic characters, allowing them to be recommended for expanding the regional assortment and plum supply of late varieties. This strategy can provide an increase in the arrival duration of fresh fruits by 26-30 days.

Peony lactiflorous (Paeonia lactiflora Pall) is one of the most common ornamental plants in commercial and amateur horticulture. The popularity of this species is explained by its adaptability to low temperatures in winter, high decorative value and the possibility of obtaining new sustainable varieties. This article presents data on 12 promising peony lactiflorous introduced varieties of the ornamental plant genetic collection of the Orenburg branch of the Federal Horticultural Research Centre for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery (FRC of Horticulture) (Akron, Albert Crousse, Betty Groff, Madame Emile Lemoine, Madame de Verneville, Maestro, Ruth Clay, Sarah Bernhardt, Tulagi, Valencia, Waikik, Cruiser Aurora). The research was performed in 2018–2020 using conventional methods. To evaluate the influence of the genotype and climatic factors on the real seed production, the data were statistically processed, including a two-way analysis of variance. Upon evaluating the decorativeness, commercial-biological characteristics, introduced stability, it was established that these varieties are suitable for landscape gardening in the Orenburg region. Considering the set of metrics (high decorative value, phenological resistance, introduced prospects, commercial-biological value, varietal features), the Madame Emile Lemoine (double-flowered shape, diameter of 17 cm) and Akron (Japanese flower shape, diameter of 16 cm) varieties offer the combination of the most favourable characteristics for the steppe zone of the South Urals owing to their distinct flower scent, folious shoots, abundant flowering lasting for 13 days and over 3 flowers in the flower spike. The above varieties are characterised by the greatest real seed production (1,727.33±91.8 and 1,767.56±90.8 seeds/bush, respectively), high decorative value, stable phenophase, adaptivity to the sharply continental climate. Thus, further breeding work is recommended. The described peony lactiflorous varieties are promising and recommended for landscape gardening.

In 2018–2020, in the Federal Research Centre of Horticulture in the Leninsky district of the Moscow region, a research study into the growth, production and biochemical processes of ungrafted and grafted cherry trees was performed. The planting plan was 5×2.5 m, the age of the trees — 17-19 years. Three varieties of cherries (Rusinka, Volochaevka, Apukhtinskaya), grafted on clonal rootstock (AVCH-2, Moskoviya Izmailovskiy) and own-root, propagation-grown by herbaceous cuttings, were selected as the study objects. Biochemical studies involved determining the total antioxidant status of the alcoholic extract, the chlorophylls (a and b) and carotenoids content, the total of phenolic compounds, rutin and quercetin in the leaves. The study aimed to assess the agrobiological and biochemical parameters of grafted and own-root cherry varieties and to identify the optimal growing technique for promising ones. It was found that the variety, rootstock and breeding method influenced the growth and development of cherry trees. The linear and radial growth improved for the trees grafted on the AVC-2 and Moskoviya rootstocks and the height and crown volume thinned for the own-root trees and in those grafted on the Izmailovskiy rootstock. Depending on the variety, stock and growing technique of seedlings, the productivity of trees ranged from 3.5 (Rusinka, own-root) to 11.6 kg/tree (Apukhtinskaya, own-root). The advantage of own-root trees compared to grafted ones was revealed for Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties. The Rusinka variety showed the highest productivity when grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock (5.5 kg/tree). To increase the yield per garden when cultivating the Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties, it is beneficial to use own-root seedlings grafted on the Moskoviya and Izmailovskiy rootstocks. For the Rusinka variety, the optimal result can be achieved when growing seedlings grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock. The biochemical studies allowed the influence of rootstock on the photosynthetic, antioxidant systems and the synthesis of phenol compounds in the cherry leaves to be determined. It was shown that the antioxidant activity and the accumulation of phenol compounds in the leaves were the highest for the own-root plants of the most winter-hardy Rusinka variety and the Rusinka/Izmailovskiy graftedrootstock combination. The chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were the highest in the leaves of the Apukhtinskaya variety own-root trees, Apukhtinskaya/Izmailovskiy and Rusinka/Izmailovskiy grafted-rootstock combinations with increased productivity. Notably, the biochemical values decreased for all varieties grafted on the AVC-2 rootstock.

Synthetic sex pheromones have found wide application in plant protection as a mean of early detection of pests that allows observation of the phenology of insects to optimise protective measures. Insect sex pheromones can be applied for different purposes in protecting crops such as monitoring, determining the species composition and combating harmful species (by using sex pheromones for disorientation). The present work studies the species composition, dynamics of the number of basic pests of an apple tree, synchronisation of the seasonal and circadian activity of phytophages of an apple tree in the central zone of the Krasnodar Territory. The results of the field assessment of the male complex disorientation method of apple and eastern moths are presented. It was shown that the species-specificity of sex pheromones in the apple orchard depends on the faunistic diversity of Lepidoptera species with similar pheromone systems that develop at a given point in space and time. It was revealed that the behaviour of this complex changes during the season and over years, depending on the climate and natural dynamics of insect populations. The quantitative ratio and species-specificity of pheromones will probably be different in ecosystems with various species composition and different geographic zones. A novelty of this research is the division of the studied Lepidoptera phytophage species into three groups according to a decrease in the absolute species-specificity in the forest biotope in comparison with the garden one. The most widespread and coinciding in terms of summer synchronicity are apple (Cydia pomonella L.), plum (Grapholitha funebrana Tr.), eastern (Grapholitha molesta Tr.) and pomegranate moth (Euzophera bigella Zell.). The disorientation method, applied using a complex system of dispensers with apple and eastern moth pheromones, showed that installing 500 dispensers/ha allowed 99.3 % efficiency to be achieved. Fruit damage amounted to 1.2 % and 2.7 % in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The duration of the disorienting effect of the pheromone formulations lasted for over 4 months.

This work presents the research results of artificial infection of garden strawberry plants of the Elsanta variety with the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum nymphaeae from the Colletotrichum acutatum complex. Three different ways of infecting strawberry plants were analysed: by injecting the plant rosette, spraying with a spore suspension, and infecting the soil. The study showed that the plants of this variety are susceptible to the C. nymphaeae species. The most susceptible parts of plants were identified: leaf blades, petioles and strawberry rosettes. The most obvious symptoms of infection, caused by C. nymphaeae, were found in case of injecting into the rosette. In this work, the most sensitive and valid laboratory methods for isolating and identifying the causative agent of strawberries anthracnose on the planting material were determined: isolation of the pathogen using the deposit method on the 2 % PGA nutrient medium with the addition of 4 % citric acid and identification by the real-time PCR method using the “Fitoscreen set. C. acutatum complex-PB” (CJSC Syntol, Moscow). The C. nymphaeae species from the C. acutatum complex is a pathogen harmful to strawberry plants, causing rapid damage to leaf blades, petioles and rosettes. In the conducted experiment, the root system of strawberry plants was not affected, and there was no infection in the soil.