The article offers a comprehensive review of the 185-year history of the development of the “Horticulture and Viticulture” journal, founded by the Russian Society of Horticulture Enthusiasts, the first public organization of gardeners. A list of changes in the title of the journal, the names of its editors-in-chief, a retrospective of the journal concepts, its periodicity and thematic content are given. The materials published in the journal are reviewed: directions of research in the field of horticulture and nursery farming in Russia and abroad; breeding achievements; works of outstanding horticulture scientists; exchange of information and opinions between scientists and agricultural producers; development and application of innovative technologies in improving plant performance and quality of agricultural products. The publication offers an analysis of the state and prospects of the development of modern science and the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. The article examines current trends in publication selection and outlines the prospects for the future development of the journal.

The article presents research findings on the weight of black currant berries. The research focused on the varieties and selected forms of black currant (Ribes nigrum L). Nara variety, adapted to local conditions, was used as a control. Studies were carried out in 2020–2022 at the plots for genetic collection and competitive trials of selected forms of black currants at the All-Russian Research Institute of Lupin (Bryansk region). The planting scheme involved a spacing of 3×0.8 m on grey forest soils. The observations were carried out using conventional methods. The varying weather conditions during the study period allowed for a more objective evaluation of the genotypes in terms of their adaptive capabilities and facilitated the selection of large-fruited and resistant forms. The most favourable meteorological conditions for berry weight development were observed in 2022. During this period, the average berry weight of the studied gene pool was 2.5 g. Among the examined varieties, Dobrynya (3.5 g), Debryansk (2.7 g), Chara (2.6 g) and Selechenskaya 2 (2.6 g) demonstrated the largest berry sizes with variation coefficients of 20%, 28%, 7%, and 17%, respectively. Large-fruited forms having an average berry weight exceeding 3 g and high stability (V=3%) were selected from the hybrid family 6-12- 224×6-26-207 – 7-3-227 (3.6 g), 7-3-213 (3.4 g), 7-19-100 (3.6 g) and Selechenskaya 2×Treasure – 6-20-67 (3.5 g). These genotypes represent valuable parent material for further breeding aimed at increasing berry weight. New large-fruited sources with a combination of important breeding traits (large fruit, high vitamin C content, resistance to powdery mildew and bud mite), namely,7-19-100, 7-3-227, 7-18-250, 7-13-232 and 7-17-150, were identified. The variety Dessert Olkhina exhibited the smallest berries (0.8 g) with a variability of 20%. The influence of weather conditions on the weight of berries was established, revealing a positive average correlation between berry weight and precipitation levels from May to July (r=0.52) and the hydrothermal index of the growing season (r=0.56).

The development of new varieties of cherries with a combination of economically important traits, along with the high nutritional value of the fruit, is an important trend in breeding research, which renews and expands the variety range of cherries. The agrobiological and consumer properties of seven new varieties of sweet cherries of Dagestan breeding (FSBSI Dagestan breeding experimental station of fruit crops) are presented: Bela, Dagestan red, Bigarro Krainsky, Garnet, Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Lezginka and Nike. The research was carried out using conventional methods for a variety research and biochemical methods of analysis. It was determined that the cherry varieties Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Pomegranate, White and Nike are highly resistant to spring frosts, with the subfreezing of flowers being less than 18.3%. The fruits of the varieties Nike, Bela, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo are the most resistant to dehiscence, since the index of dehiscence during ripening at high humidity for these varieties varied within 13.5–18.2 %. The susceptibility of new varieties to Coccomyces and monilial blight is insignificant (no more than 1.2 points). Varieties Bigarro Krainsky, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Nike are characterized by the highest content of soluble solids (12.4–16.3%) and sugars (11.01–12.02%) in fruits. Bigarro Krainski, Bela and Lezginka exhibited the highest vitamin C content (9.24– 9.70 mg %). With the exception of the Bela variety (5.0 g), all new varieties of cherries are characterised by large fruits (7.5–9.5 g). Tasting indicators were rated as high (within 4.7–5.0 points on a five-point scale) for the Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Nike varieties. The average yield was the highest for Nike, Bela and Garnet (8.0–9.6 t/ ha). The study showed that new cherry varieties obtained a combination of economic and biologically valuable traits, along with improved consumer properties compared with the control varieties. Therefore, they are recommended as valuable parent materials for breeding programs and the expansion of commercial cherry orchards in Dagestan in order to obtain high-quality fruit products.

Since controlling currant gall mite (Cecidophyopsis ribis Westw.) is a challenging and ineffective task, developing genetic resistance to the pest is one of the main priorities in breeding programs for Ribes nigrum both in Russia and abroad. The task was assigned at the FSBSO “Federal Horticultural Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery” to combine efficiently the positive economic and biological traits of previously developed varieties with resistance to phytophagous pests in hybrid progeny. The study evaluates the genetic collection and hybrid material of black currant for resistance to currant gall mite, as well as identifies the most promising parent pairs for mite-resistant progeny. The research objects included 107 varieties of various genetic origins, 30 of which were of foreign breeding. An assessment of the genetic collection carried out for ten years (since 2012) during the seasons of mass manifestation of the currant gall mite and reversion, is presented. Approximately 1,200 seedlings, planted in 2017, were studied. The methodologies for studying fruit, berry, and nut crops were used to assess the degree of incidence of the currant gall mite. The statistical processing of experimental results was performed using the Microsoft Excel program. As a result, the genetic sources and donors of resistance to the currant gall mite were identified (Barmaley, Dar Smolyaninovoi, Kipiana, Svityazyanka, Chernooka, Wonderful Moment, Ben Hope, Big Ben, etc.). The promising combinations of crosses were identified based on the yield of seedlings resistant to Cecidophyopsis ribis: Ben Hope×Kipiana, Ben Hope×Dar Smolyaninovoi, Kipiana×Dar Smolyaninovoi, Barmalei×Dar Smolyaninovoi, Ben Tirran×Kipiana, 9-28-1/02×Bryansk Agate, Dar Smolyaninovoi×33-27-1, 33-27-1×Kipiana. In the progeny of these parental forms, the selected forms were identified (3-63-01, 3-63-02, 9-197-3, 3-16-1, 7-28-01, 8-123-1), which combine resistance to the currant gall mite with large fruits and tolerance to fungal diseases.

When propagating black currant by lignified cuttings in order to obtain high-quality planting material in one growing season in the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, solutions of biogenic ferrihydrite nanoparticles were used in three modifications with the addition of traditional growth hormone (indolyl-3-acetic acid): control (soaking cuttings in water); treatment of cuttings with indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA); IAA+ferrihydrite (IAA+Feh); IAA+Co-doped ferrihydrite (IAA+Feh_Co); IAA+ferrihydrite doped with Mn (IAA+Feh_Mn). The object of the study is blackcurrant plants of the Selechenskaya variety. The area of the assimilation surface and the pigment composition of the leaves were assessed in dynamics. Before planting, black currant cuttings were soaked in nanoparticle solutions (exposure 12 h), then, during the growing season, four times (with an interval of 14 days) exogenous treatment of the leaf surface of rooted cuttings with the same solutions of nanoparticles, but without the addition of IAA, was carried out. The results of studying the concentration of pigments in leaves and biometric observations in the dynamics of the growing seasons of 2021 and 2022 are presented. It has been established that the maximum concentration of chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids in black currant leaves by the end of the growing season was affected by the use of solutions of ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt and manganese with the addition of IAA. Thus, the concentration of chlorophyll a, b increased by 1.3 and 1.6 times, respectively, in the variant with cobalt-doped ferrihydrite nanoparticles compared to the control. In our studies, the values of the assimilation surface of leaves depended on the climatic parameters of the year of study and on the content of photosynthetic pigments in blackcurrant leaves. Between the area of the leaf blade and the concentration of chlorophyll a, a direct relationship was noted (r=0,87), a close relationship: in 2021 between the area of the leaf blade of black currant and the amount of precipitation (r=0,83-0.94), in 2022 between the area of blackcurrant leaf blade and air temperature (r=0,85-0,93). It has been established that the best conditions for the formation of the assimilation surface of blackcurrant leaves of the Selechenskaya variety are created by soaking cuttings and foliar treatment of vegetative plants with ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt and manganese.

The long-term analysis of the entomocomplex of plum orchards, carried out in Krasnodar Territory, revealed variations in the quantitative composition of entomofauna of harmful species and the level of their harmfulness. It was established that, in the period from 2005 to 2021, the rotation of dominant and secondary species occurred. The main species included plum Grapholitha funebrana Treitschke and oriental Grapholitha molesta Busck fruit moths, plum black Haploca minuta Christ. and yellow Hoplocampa flava L. sawflies, plum aphid Hyalopterus pruni Geoffr. and twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch. Associated species included plum gall Acalitus phloeocoptes (Nal.) and hawthorn Tetranuchus viennensis Zacher. mites, fruit-tree Tibicina haematodes Scopoli and citrus flatid Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) planthoppers and leaf roller moths of Tortricidae family. The group characterised by a limited distribution area includes the Californian Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Comst. and Turanian Diaspidiotus prunorum Laing. scales, plum Sphaerolecanium prunastri Fonsc and European brown Parthenolecanium corni Bouche. scales, seed wasps Eurytoma amygdali End., brown marmorated stinkbug Halyomorpha halys (Stål) and secondary insects (unequal bark beetle Xyleborus dispar F., fruit tree bark beetle Scolytus rugulosus (P.W.J. Müller), wood leopard moth Zeuzera pyrina L). When considering the structure formation of phytophage complex according to phylogenetic specialization, taking into account trophic relationships, it was established that the proportion of polyphages is 2.5 times higher than that of oligophages and 8.5 times higher than that of monophages from the total number of registered pest species. In the past decade, a reduction of pesticide load in plum agrocenoses has been observed due to the wider use of agrotechnical methods and the inclusion of bioregulatory and biological insecticides into protection systems, which contributed to the preservation and increase of beneficial fauna. Entomophages constitute 7–10% of the total number of entomoacrocenosis dominated by Hymenoptera and Coleoptera classes and mites of Acari subclass. The long-term monitoring of species composition, rotation of dominant and secondary pest species and entomophages, variations in their number and harmfulness, seasonal dynamics, trophic relationships of plum entomoacrocenosis under varying environmental conditions and increasing intensification of agricultural production expand the possibility of phytosanitary optimisation strategy of perennial agrocenoses in the south of Russia. This contributes to the preservation of regional biodiversity, as well as to the stable production of high-quality ecologically safe products with minimal negative impact on the environment.

The subtropical zone of the Black Sea coast of Russia is favorable for peach growing, but the crop is susceptible to a number of diseases that adversely affect the productivity and quality of fruits. The main method of peach protection is chemical, however, the long-term use of fungicides entails a serious environmental burden on the agrocenosis as a whole and leads to the emergence of resistance of phytopathogens. Thus, the study of the effectiveness of the drugs use that increase the natural plants immunity is an extremely relevant scientific area. In a field experiment, the influence of the growth regulator Stimmunol EF® in different application rates on the peach resistance to the main diseases of fruits and leaves, as well as crop yield, was investigated. The studies were carried out in peach orchards (Red Haven cultivar) of the Federal Research Centre the Subtropical Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, Sochi) according to standard methods in 2021-2022. The assessment of the Stimmunol EF® immunostimulating effect on peach in relation to leaf curl was carried out against an average infectious background (development of the disease in control 31.2 % in 2021 and 33.4 % in 2022). Standard treatment (Delan®; Skor®) reduced the intensity of leaf curl development by 4 and 5.7 times, in the first and second years of the experiment, respectively. Stimmunol EF® restrained the development of the disease at the level of the standard. The biological effectiveness of Stimmunol EF® against leaf curl reached 70.3-72.4 % at the peak of the maximum development of the disease (in May). The intensity of clusterosporiosis development was at a high level and reached 37.5-49.8 % in July. The use of fungicides in the standard restrained the development of the disease by 4.2 times. With the use of Stimmunol EF® (100 ml/ha), the development of the disease decreased by 3.8 times in 2021 and 2.9 times in 2022. Biological efficiency was 74.2 % and 66.4 % at the maximum rate of application of the drug (100 ml/ha); 67.8% and 48.5% – at the minimum (50 ml/ha), respectively, in the first and second years of research. The biological efficiency of the standard was 76.7-75.2 %. The intensity of fruit rot development in the control ranged from 13.6-17.1 %, in the standard it did not exceed 6.1 %. Stimmunol EF® inhibited the fruit rot development only at the maximum application rate of 100 ml/ha (maximum biological efficiency was 58.4 %). The yield of peach when treated with growth regulator Stimmunol EF® increased by 132.8-176.2% relative to the control.