Increasing the competitiveness of the agro-industrial complex is inextricably linked with the development of science that ensures the development of innovative methods, the introduction of new knowledge and achievements of agricultural science in production. In order to provide scientific support to the vegetable-growing industry in 2017, the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Vegetable Center” was founded. The main directions and tasks of the Center are presented in the article. Brief results of research work for the current year are given: 47 new varieties and hybrids have been created; more than 200 gene sources and 30 donors of especially valuable features were allocated, 28 patents for selection achievements, inventions and utility models were obtained. The publication activity of the center for 2017 is 159 publications in the RINC system, as well as 22 articles in the journals included in the Web of Science, Scopus and RSCI databases. Citation of FSBSI FSVC articles on the RINC database -1075.

Research staff All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Growing – Branch of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Federal Scientific Vegetable Center in collaboration with Russian state agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev agricultural Academy conducted research (2014-2016) on the effect of fertilizers and plant growth regulators on changes in the quality of onions of the Pervenets F1, Bennito F1 hybrids and Poisk 012 F1 during storage. As a result of research, the greatest effect was obtained from the complex application of N90P90K90 in combination with trace elements (tenso-cocktail) and a growth regulator Zircon. This system allowed to obtain high biochemical parameters of onions. At the end of the 7 months of storage (October-may), the highest dry matter and sugar content and the minimum nitrate content was observed in Pervenets F1 onions, as well as in hybrid Bennito F1. In the latematuring hybrid onions Poisk 012 F1 at the end of storage, the dry matter content decreased to 6,8-7,3%, sugars to 3,6-4,1%, vitamin "C" to 3,2-4,9 mg%, and nitrates increased to 92,1 mg/kg, which led to a decrease in product quality and large losses of onions from diseases and natural losses (up to 48-59%). The main reason for these losses was the lack of maturity of bulbs,low solids and sugars during harvest. It is obvious that for long-term storage it is necessary to use bulbs with a dry matter content of at least 10%. It was found out that feeding of onions during the beginning of the formation of food organizations with potassium nitrate, treatment with a growth regulator of Zircon and a complex of microelements of tenso-cocktail contributes to better preservation of the quality of onions.

Vegetable root plants is a valuable, essential components of a balanced diet person. The basis of the modern methodology of breeding work on root crops is to meet the requirements of the market, so the breeders are faced with the task of creating varieties and hybrids of root crops with an attractive appearance and a sufficiently high nutritional value, suitable for new technologies of cultivation and processing. The regular meeting of the methodical Commission of the edible plants in the FSBSI Federal Scientific Vegetable Center in the framework of the international scientific-practical conference "Methodology of selection and seed growing of vegetable root plants." The conference was attended by scientists, breeders, seed growers, experts from Russia and CIS countries. The participants of the conference exchanged information on the achievements, development and application of various methodological approaches in the selection and seed production of vegetable root plants, contributing to the creation and introduction of domestic competitive varieties and hybrids, which will solve the problem of import substitution. The need to create a new source material on the basis of the collections of recent years for breeding on technology, alignment of the external parameters of varieties and hybrids of all vegetable root plants, as well as to improve the methods of seed production, especially for the reproduction of seeds of higher categories and lines of hybrids. The changed scientific and technological conditions of conducting the selection and seed-growing process require improving the efficiency of breeding development, the complexity of selection and genetic research, the use of biotechnological methods, MAS technologies, phytotrons, greenhouses and other facilities to accelerate the selection process.

The vegetable production is one of the main factors for food security, as vegetables play an important role in the structure of nutrition. The Federal Scientific Vegetable Center creates competitive varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops that meet market requirements to meet the needs of domestic producers and thereby contributes to food security. As a result of national breeding program, the varieties and hybrids adapted to different growing conditions, with resistance to local races of pathogens, temperature stresses, and ground frosts were developed to provide the sustainable production of vegetables with high nutritional and medicinal qualities. The varieties and hybrids F1 of white head cabbage that have been created for the last 5 years are distinguished from foreign ones by taste qualities, appropriate pickling characteristics with increased sugar, and decreased cellulose contents. The local onion varieties combine long shelf life, early maturing, well bulb formation, high dry matter content (18-20%) and ability to form the bulb for one year. Breeders have developed bee-pollinated and parthenocarpic hybrids of cucumber well adapted to local growing conditions and suitable for open field cultivation in different regions of Russia. Parthenocarpic heterotic hybrids of the multi-propose use, corresponding to the modern variety model with high productivity, early-ripening, bunch ovary disposition, resistance to abiotic stresses, and most harmful diseases. The carrot and red beet varieties with high nutritional qualities, long shelf-life, ecological plasticity that are widely used for seed production have been created. The varieties of Solanaceae crops have been developed to cultivate in Non Chernozem zone, Far East, Western Siberia, the Middle Belt of Russia and the south of Russia, are also suitable for different greenhouse complexes located in different light zones of the Russia. Wide application of varieties produced through national vegetable breeding programs can provide the population with our own products of high quality.

Relevance. Today special attention is paid to potato anthocyanins as components of functional food. Increasing interest is generated by research on the use of anthocyanins for the benefit of animals and people in addition to their significant role in the life of plants.   The research goal was to identify the quantitative and qualitative composition of anthocyanins in the tubers of valuable potato hybrids of Primorsky selection.   Five promising potato hybrids (Solanum tuberosum L.) belonging to different groups of maturity and involved in the comparative variety testing by FSBSI “FSC of Agricultural Biotechnology named after A. K. Chaiki” were used as the research object.   The research was carried out under the conditions of field and laboratory experiments in Primorsky kray, Russia, in 2018-2023. The anthocyanins were divided by the method of high-performance liquid chromatography. The anthocyanins were identified by the method of second-order mass spectrometry.   Results. The research evaluated the potato hybrids for the content of anthocyanins in the tissues of the tubers – skin and flesh. The following specimens were determined to have a high content of anthocyanins both in the skin and flesh: Pri-15-12-14 (petunidin-3-arabinoside: 310.0 and 91.1 mg/kg; cyanidin-3-glucoside: 149.8 and 39.8 mg/kg) and Pri-14-52-2 (petunidin-3-arabinoside: 360.0 and 143.0 mg/kg; cyanidin-3-glucoside: 80.4 and 81.2 mg/kg). The selected specimens were characterized by purple and blue-purple skin. Genotypes Pri-14-52-2 and Pri-15-12-14 had tuber flesh with purple pigmentation. Hybrids Pri-15-12-14 and Pri-14-52-2 had the highest total content of anthocyanins in the flesh – 130.9 and 224.2 mg/kg, respectively. The conducted research identified eight different anthocyanins in the tubers of the studied potato specimens: delphinidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-ramnosil-5-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-ramnosil-5-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside, and petunidin-3-arabinoside. The tubers with pink and red skin were determined to contain pelargonidin-3-glucoside. Petunidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside colored tuber skin purple. The selected group of specimens might be recommended for use as functional food and in goal-oriented breeding.

. Heterotic selection is now widely used in crop production. The superiority of heterotic hybrids over varieties in many respects has long been known. However, the widespread use of heterosis in melon growing is hampered by the high cost of seed material, due to the lack of lines with male sterility. The aim of this work was to evaluate heterotic hybrids of watermelon obtained on the basis of a line with male sterility isolated at the Bykovskaya Experimental Station.Materials and methods. The studies were carried out in 2020 and 2021. at the Bykovskaya melon breeding experimental station - a branch of the FGBNU FNTSO. The object of research is heterosis hybrids of watermelon. The heterosis hybrid of watermelon Barkhan was used as a standard. Classical breeding methods were used in the work: incubation and hybridization.Research results. The assessment of watermelon hybrids according to the main economic characteristics revealed the best combinations in comparison with the standard. According to the content of dry matter, four hybrids of watermelon stood out, the excess over the standard ranged from 0.6 to 1.9%. The indicator of the average weight of the fetus in one LIR hybrid was at the level of the standard and amounted to 6.5 kg. The remaining hybrids exceeded the Barkhan standard by 1.2-4.0 kg. The average yield of the studied hybrids ranged from 19.0 to 22.5 t/ha. The calculation of such indicators as the degree of dominance, the effects of true and hypothetical heterosis made it possible to identify three combinations with high rates.Conclusion. Thus, it was found that the yield in heterotic hybrids of watermelon is inherited according to the principle of overdominance. Inheritance of traits dry matter content and average fruit weight ranges from minus overdominance to overdominance in various combinations. According to the complex of economically valuable traits, three combinations of table watermelon were distinguished: LKn, LMr and LFT.

Relevance. The production of onions and its preservation for the year-round provision of the population is an important strategic task. In March-May, there is often a shortage of onions due to high storage losses and incorrect determination of the optimal timing of implementation.Methods. Studies on the effect of fertilizers and plant growth regulators on the preservation of onion hybrids were conducted in 2014-2017 at the ARRIVG-branch of the FSVC. We tested 3 hybrids of onions grown in an annual culture on 6 variants of plant nutrition backgrounds. Harvesting of onions (turnips) was carried out manually, followed by drying in a greenhouse and laying for storage in a vegetable storehouse at a temperature of -1...0°C and a humidity of 80-90%.Results and discussion. The optimal duration of storage of new hybrids and the terms of sale of products when stored in cooling conditions for onions. Data on the shelf life and implementation of onion hybrids, depending on the nutrition background, are presented. Mathematical descriptions of the dependences of the total losses of 3 modern hybrids on the duration of storage and the influence of fertilizers and growth regulators are obtained, which is of great practical importance for the agricultural and industrial complex. Conclusions. A positive effect on the preservation of onions of treatments of vegetative plants with solutions of potassium nitrate (10 kg/ha), Zircon (0.25 l/ha) and Tenso Cocktail (0.7 kg/ha) against the background of N90P90K90 was revealed. The maximum yield of marketable products after 7 months of storage at -1...0℃ and 80-90% humidity in Bennito F1 was on the N90P90K90 + KNO3+ Zircon + Tenso Cocktail variant-89,6%, losses from diseases 2,8%; Poisk 012 F1 on the variant with the use of Zircon against the background of N90P90K90-52,1%, losses from diseases 31,2%; Pervenec F1 on the N90P90K90 + KNO3 variant- 91,4%, losses from diseases 1,4%. Pervenec F1 was distinguished by the best preservation during three-and seven-month storage. In general, the use of micro-fertilizers and a growth regulator had a positive effect on the preservation of onions.

In the studies of 2014-2016 years on rich medium-loamy alluvial soils of the Moscow region in the cultivation of hybrids of onions Pervenets F1, Bennito F1 and Poisk 012 F1 in drip irrigation conditions in an annual crop, the best yield of Repka 45.1 t/ha, 47.9 t/ha and 59.9 t/ha, respectively. The greatest effect was obtained from the complex application of N90P90K90 (main) in combination with plant fertilization with potassium nitrate and Zircon growth regulator during the period of intensive growth of vegetative mass and the beginning of bulb formation for late Bennito F1 hybrids and Poisk 012 F1, and for the medium-unrided hybrid the Pervenets F1 system was the best N90P90K90+Zircon. This system allowed to obtain a high yield of standard products (up to 93%) with good bio-chemical quality of the onion. New technologies of cultivation of onions in an annual crop with the complex use of drip irrigation, fertilizers and new hybrids of intensive type, allow in the conditions of the Central non-Chernozem zone to obtain the yield of onion-turnip at the level of 50-60 t/ha, with the output of standard products 80-93%. The best biochemical quality indicators of bulbs were obtained with the complex application of fertilizers with the growth regulator Zircon, with the cultivation of hybrids Pervenets F1 and Bennito F1, and hybrid Poisk 012 F1 is not mature enough in the Moscow region. From the conducted research it can be concluded that the studied hybrids of onion Pervenets F1, Bennito F1 and Poisk 012 F1 when grown in annual crops in terms of Non-Chernozem zone of the Russian Federation use better fertilizing than the main fertilizer.

The results of the research work carried out during the period 2015-2017 are outlined. on the practical selection of pumpkin in the conditions of the Volgograd Transvolga. The results of studying the assortment of pumpkin varieties of domestic and foreign breeding in collection nurseries are presented. The most promising samples adapted to local soil and climatic conditions have high productivity (Sviteny, Chino, Marina di Chioggia, Silber Bell (USA), Kham (Laos), image (Spain), Local (Kazakhstan), Gribovskaya winter, Teshchenka , Zucchini Malchugan, and the quality of the fruit: (Chino, Chirimen nankin (Japan), Cachi JNTA (Argentina), Mantova Uyghur (Kazakhstan), Duchess, Vega F1, Sweetie, Pampushka, Green Warted Habbard (USA). A new hybrid material was obtained, an estimation of its productivity of consumer achestv, stability to bio- and abiotic factors. accessions selected promising superior standards major ecological and morphological and economically valuable traits. The characteristics of the best selected hybrid combinations are given in comparison with the standards. The most productive are hybrid combinations: Marina di Chioggia x Zorka, Zorka x Sweet banana, Silber Bell x Elegant, Sweet x Elegant, Local (Kirghizia) x Zorka, zucchini Mountain Anchor. The yield of these samples exceeds the standards by 13.3-92.2%. The quality of the fruit is distinguished by the hybrids: Marina di Chioggia x Zorka, Zorka x Marina di Chioggia, Pampushka x Elegant, Zorka x Sweet banana, Silber Bell x Elegant, Zaslavia x POOS6-07, Zorka x Oreshek, Altair x Elegant. The content of dry substances in the fruits of these samples is 2.0-8.8% higher than the standards.

The results of the research work on inheritance of resistance to root-knot nematode in eggplant hybrids F1 was presented in the article. The breeding of early-maturing, resistant to root-knot nematode varieties and hybrid may cover all population’s demand on eggplant fruits in spring time and preventing the loss in yield caused by root-knot nematode in Republic of Uzbekistan. The breeding program for these varieties and hybrids requires the knowledge of inheritance of these resistance traits. The line Mk/03 out of 100 accessions had been selected as a line bearing resistance to root-knot nematode, while the line Al/03 and Cc/03 were sensitive and used as second parental component for further crossing. It was shown that resistance to root-knot nematode in eggplant hybrid F1 was inherited as dominant trait. The type of crossing did not affect degree of dominance. Among combination studied 50-80% of plants did not show any sign of damage, whereas only 20-46.6% of plants were weakly damaged with score 1-2. The degree of dominance was very high for all cases and achieved hp=-0.74, -0.9, i. e. the hybrids F were very close to parental accession insensitive to root-knot nematode. Our study showed that if one of the parental accessions has high resistance to root-knot nematode the first progeny with sensitive accession always shows resistance, and not depending on type of crossing the dominance of resistance can be observed.