Relevance. Abiotic stress, as heat, significantly affect plant and floral organs growth and development, fruit set, productivity, the quality, and survival of crops. Heat injury occurs when plants are exposed to these temperatures for a long period of time. Depending on the intensity and duration of exposure to the high temperatures, photosynthesis, respiration, membrane integrity, water relations and the hormone balance of the plants may affected.Material and methods. In this study used the commercial pepper cultivar “NW Bigarim” (HT37) released in South Korea and accessions “Kobra” (HT1) and “Samchukjaere” (HT7) selected as heat tolerant and susceptible, respectively. Total chlorophyll index and photosynthetic activities measured using a SPAD meter (Konica, Japan) and portable photosynthesis measurement system (LI-6400, LI-COR Bioscience, Lincoln, NE, USA), respectively.Results. To evaluate the positive effects of high temperature regime (40/28°C day/night, 14/10-h light/dark cycle) on the response of photosynthetic parameters in pepper plants with different heat susceptibility, we measured the total chlorophyll content (CHL) and photosynthetic activities such as photosynthesis (Pn), stomatal conductance to H2O (Gs) and transpiration rate (Tr) in a heat-tolerant (HT1) and -susceptible cultivars (HT7) in comparison with released cultivar (HT37) at fruit development stage. Heat-tolerant cultivars showed higher and more stable index of the CHL, Pn, Gs and Tr than those in heat-sensitive cultivars for 14 days of heat treatment (HT) period. However, the initial index of Pn, Gs and Tr showed significant alteration among pepper plants regardless of thermotolerance rate before HT on day 0 and day 7 after recovery at normal treatment condition (NT) except for CHL, meaning that plants response to high temperature regime is different from that in normal condition. These results suggest that constant high rates of Pn, Gs and Tr as well as of CHL in heat stress condition periods confer to avoid from heat injury during reproductive growth stages.

Relevance. Development of valuable sterile lines of sweet pepper using nuclear-cytoplasmic male sterility is associated with the search for stable sterility maintainers in collection material.Material and methods. The purpose of the research is to optimize the identification of the desired genotypes and accelerate the development of sterile lines using artificial climate chambers. The research material was a sterile line msTol55, which under the conditions of a film greenhouse showed partial fertility at the beginning or at the end of the growing season. The place of cultivation is artificial climate chamber, a film spring greenhouse.50-day-old seedlings were planted in pots on 10.01, the period of growing plants in the chamber - until 20.04, then the adult plants were transplanted into a spring film greenhouse. According to the traditional technology, the cassette seedlings of the same line were planted in the greenhouse on 15.04. The number of tested plants is 16-20 pcs. Growing mode in the chamber: 12 hours were illuminated with DRLV lamps, while the temperature was at the level of 26-28°C, from 20.00 to 8.00 the lamps were not illuminated, the temperature was 14-15°C. The actual sterility / fertility of the flowers was determined by the level of contamination of the fruits at the beginning of their formation.Results. The maintained temperature regime for growing in an artificial climate chamber made it possible to identify sterile (30%) and partially fertile plants (70%) in the first 2 weeks of flowering. When adult plants were transplanted into a spring greenhouse, the number of sterile plants increased to 56%. When growing the line msTol55 in a spring greenhouse using the usual technology, partial setting of seeded and little seeded fruits on 60% of the plants was observed from the third decade of May to the second decade of July, then all plants set only non-seeded fruits. Based on the results obtained, it is advisable to identify the breeding material for the Rf gene in the ACC, since the proposed growing regime serves as a provocative background and allows for more effective control over the manifestation of sterility.

On 2-4th of September, 2013 the International «XV EUCARPIA Meeting on Genetics and Breeding of Capsicum and Eggplant» was held in Torino (Italy). The problems of utilization of genetic resources, evaluation and release of breeding material were discussed. Achievements in the field of molecular genetics and biotechnology of pepper and eggplant are presented.

Relevance. Pepper is sensitive to chilling temperatures in all growth stages and low temperatures are main factors affecting plant growth, fruit growth and development and productivity. Evaluation and identification low temperature (LT) tolerant pepper genotypes at different growth stages is actual in breeding program for developing new cultivars. In present study we investigated the effect of the leaf cold damage within 25% (LCD) after chilling treatment in seedling stage on vegetative and reproductive traits of pepper accessions with different cold tolerance.Material and methods. In this study two pepper accessions “PE-J-2” and “Neokgwang” selected as chilling tolerant and susceptible in juvenile stage (3-4 true leaf stage), were used respectively. The seedlings of the selected pepper accessions with 25% visual cold damages of leaf green part (become lightly yellowed-whited or desiccated-dried) and control non-treated (NT) were grown in a glasshouse condition (D/N 30-32/22-24°C) for 10 weeks to evaluate the effect of LCD on pepper accessions vegetative and reproductive parameters after chilling pre-treatment. In pepper plants the vegetative parameters such as plant height (PH), leaf length (LL) and width (LW), number of internodes (NI), length of main axis (LMA), plants fresh weight (PFW) and roots fresh weight (RFW), and reproductive the number of flowers (NFL) and fruits (NFR), fruit set ratio (FS), fruit length (FL) and diameter (FD), total yield per plant (TY) were measured. The experimental design of this study was completely randomized. Statistical analysis was performed using the SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina, USA).Results. According to the research result several accessions were identified: the accessions screened in juvenile stage as cold tolerant cannot always manifest good some agronomical traits performance at growth stages and it may range depending on the genotype specific features. The seedlings with LCD within 25% may significantly affect the vegetative and reproductive parameters of pepper plants. The phenomenon was recorded more distinctive in the correlations between some vegetative and reproductive parameters among NT and LCD plants.

The article presents a brief history of the establishment of the Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Seed Production of Solanaceae Crops of FSBSI FSVC. The process of development of tomato, pepper, eggplant and physalis breeding is shown from the beginning of the establishment until the present time. Practical selection of Solanaceae crops in FSBSI FSVC is directly connected with the name of Academician VASKhNIL A.V. Alpatyev, who is the founder of scientific research on thermophilic crops. On the basis of conducted scientific researches the technique of creation of cold-resistant, early-ripening cultivars of tomato was developed, including influence of certain conditions on parental forms and hybrid material from its first generations to increase adaptability to new, not characteristic conditions of selected material. Subsequently, this technique was applied to the breeding of sweet pepper, eggplant and physalis. Interspecific hybridisation was used to enrich the gene pool of Solanaceous crops. As a result of distant hybridization, the following cultivars were created: the original tomato cultivar Severyanin with large parthenocarpic fruits on 1 and 2 racemes; an anadrous mutant for use in breeding; ultra-rapid, short-stage forms for obtaining heterosis effect; the cultivar Vkusny with increased content of dry matter in fruits. On the basis of interspecific hybrid of Ph. ixocarpa x Ph. angulata, the cultivars Dessert and Lakomka, characterized by high yield and resistance to diseases, high content of sugars, pectin and absence of bitterness, are created. Types of pepper Capsicum chinense, C. frutescens and C. annuum were used to create resistant forms to viral diseases. Involvement of wild eggplant species (Solanum aethiopicum, S. macrocarpon) to the breeding process allowed to obtain hybrid combinations with flavonoids content 1,3 times higher and phenolcarboxylic acids 1,6–1,7 times higher than in S. melongena.The development of theoretical bases ofSolanaceae crops breeding for resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors, as well as for high quality production, allowed to create a series of cosmopolitan cultivars, which at present are in demand, both in production and as a source material. The current scientific priorities are to use innovative biotechnology and molecular marking methods to accelerate the breeding process and improve selection efficiency.

The nucleotide sequences of two strains of CMV isolated from cucumber and ageratum in the Primorsk region and one strain from pepper isolated in the North Korea have been studied. The phylogenetic linkages among isolated strains and strains of CMV from Genbank were revealed. The intragroup position of the isolated strains of CMV widespread in the Far East was specified.