The traditional production of linear material  and hybrids in the selection of red beet is a time-consuming,  long-term process due to the two -  year cycle of plant development, self-and cross-incompatibility,  inbred depression. Significantly  reduce the life cycle of the plant allows the vernalization  at different stages  of  development, including during  the  "steckling". Cultivation  of plants with the use of steckling culture in the selection of red beet has not yet found wide application and has not been studied enough, in this regard, in 2009-2018 on the basis of the Federal  State Budgetary  Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Vegetable Center”. The material of the study was inbred offspring I1-5, which were studied in several series of independent  experiments using different schemes of growing stecklings and roots (one-year and biennial  cycles).  It is shown that the use of culture of steckling and protected ground for breeding schemes to create lines of red beet is advisable, as it accelerates the  process of  evaluating the  heterogeneity of inbred progenies for earliness, index, root, the manifestation of cytoplasmic  sterility, and also allows you to get a wider range of different  inbred forms due to the high variability  in the offspring. The probability of a valuable fully-sterile ms-forms  higher in the group of early maturing plants with a large mass stecklings and promising self-compatibility  mf-lines - among small fractions of mid and late inbred offspring. The continuous use of steckling culture should be recommended only for the preliminary evaluation  of breeding  material on sign of cytoplasmic sterility, followed by the reproduction of selected promising inbred offspring in the open field ("halves method"),  and at later stages of  the breeding process as a  rapid assessment of crossing combinations on sign of cytoplasmic sterility when checking mf-forms on the fixing ability. The alternation  of the culture of stecklings with the traditional biennial cycle of culture in conjunction with the techniques of recurrent selection and use of different backgrounds  (field, greenhouse),  can improve the performance of the selection and get aligned according to the main economic-important  signs of promising inbred offspring in a shorter period of time.

It is necessary not only to possess the technology to grow seeds but also to have knowledge of plant biology in particular crop, and sowing qualities of its seeds. The particular place where seeds are forming on the mother plant has much influence on qualities of sowing seed material. The influence of the development of red beet plant bush on seed productivity, monogermity and sowing qualities of seeds was estimated in Rostov oblast. The main stalk pruning and application of plant growth retardants had an effect on the structure of red beet bush. In variants given in seed plants, the third type of branching prevailed due to lack or oppression of main stalk. Consequently, the seed yield and proportion of single fruit formation rose. It was also shown that due to treatment of plants with growth retardant ‘Floron’ at the stage of waxen maturity significantly improved the seed germination as compared with control variant. As a result of the study it was shown that the mechanical pruning of main stalk and application of growth retardants had affected on the structure of seed red beet bush increasing the yield mono-seed compounds as well as had improved the yield and seed quality of monogerm red beet.

The field experiment has revealed that application of green manure and mulching of seedlings by organic matters and zeolite-containing clay increases the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and improves agro-physical parameters of soil. As consequence the yield of red beet has increased up to 14-34%, the root weight has increased up to 11-16 g, and the standard output has increased up to 3-7%. The improvement of biochemical and phytosanitary quality of roots was revealed.

Phenotypic characteristics defining the CMS in plants of red beet have been studied. The level of sterility varied from 5 to 100 %. Four groups of anthers were sorted out where each group distinguished by certain color, diameter, the number and size of pollen grains inside. The increase of sterility of plants provoked the decrease of pollen diameter, pollen viability in fertile flowers; along this the speed of pollen tube growth is reduced.

The problem to choose and use ecologically plasticiable cultivar accessions is one of the most important stage of the program for adaptive vegetable production. The right decision of the problem leads to rational utilization of material and natural resources, decreasing the expenses and charges. For successful development of vegetable breeding the cultivar adaptive specifications is necessary to know. Vertical zonation along with hydrothermal condition had an essential effect on yield of red beet. Not being depended on maturity type of cultivar accession their yield increased by 1.9-3.2 t/ha successively from plains towards mountain zone, corresponding to pre-mountain and mountainous regions in Chechen Republic. On average, for tree-year study the highest yield was 45.8 and 45.1 t/ha in cultivars ‘Bona’ and ‘Tsilindra’ respectively, not being depended on the zone of cultivation. The cultivars ‘Donskaya Ploskaya’ (flat), and ‘Odnorostkovaya’ were sources of ecological resistance, while the cultivars ‘Boltardy’ and ‘Detroit’ were sources of productivity. The cultivars ‘Boltardy’ and ‘Gribovskaya Ploskaya’ that had been responsive on regulated environmental factors and resistant to unregulated environmental factors were of multipurpose usage and intensive-cultivation type. The ‘Bordo 237’, Dvusemiyannaya TCKHA’, ‘Odnorostkovaya’ and ‘Tsilindra’ were distinguished from other by accumulation of dry matter and total sugars in all zones of cultivation. On cultivation zone change from steppe towards pre-mountain and mountainous region, the tendency was revealed that dry matter, total sugars and vitamin C content had increased, while the nitrate content had only depended on cultivar features.

The protected cultivation technology, through which the various inbred generations with the combination of economic valuable traits and different level of sterility can be produced, is used in order to accelerate the breeding program. However, there is a negative effect of inbreeding depression and self-incompatibility can often occur and cause the loss of valuable breeding forms. The aim of the work was to study the influence of steroidal glycosides capsicoside (SGC) on exhibition of CMS, and morphobiological parameters of 13 inbred generations that were produced from fertile plant and partly sterile plants with level of sterility 10% and 50%. The seeds were soaked for 24 hours in water solution of SGC with concentration 10-3%, and in water control. Then the seeds were dried up and sown in the greenhouse. The stecklings and roots obtained were vernalized at 3-5Co. Mother plants were grown under 18 hour photoperiod in greenhouse with supplementary lighting. Inbreeding seeds were obtained in individual cloth isolators. It was shown that for all generations the treatment with SGC improved the seed germination (4-8% more), increased the root index and its length (12-24% more), decreased betanin content (22-48% less) in comparison with control. The action of SGC on the other morphological and biochemical traits such as height of leaf rosette, leaf number, plant and root weight, head size, number of generative buds, and nitrate content was defined by the level of sterility of mother plant. The most expressed effect for all traits mentioned was seen in inbreeding generations of sterile plants with high level of sterility. After action effect of seed treatment with SGC on development of seed plants from inbreeding generations, not depending on sterility level of mother plants, showed the positive influence on plant habitus of seed mother plants, decreasing the plant height, but increasing stem number and functional parameters of microgametophyte in fertile plants. This caused the improved seed formation 1.6-2.2 times higher during inbreeding process and increased the portion of plants with high productivity. The SGC had no effect on exhibition of CMS trait. Thus, the SGC is worth using in valuable highly inbreeding forms inclined to self-sterility, in order to enlarge the genetic variation and output of divers generations. However, it should be taken into consideration that the complicated effect on the plant traits can be noticed in inbreeding generation of red beet and may have an effect on the result of selection process at the root stage.

Results of study of the collection accessions of red beet with different level of bolting resistance are presented. Nature of inheritance of this trait in progeny, and also its connection with other biological and economically valuable characters and properties is shown. Bolting resistant accessions and possibility of its use in breeding are described. The promising initial material is selected and recommended. The most rational solution of the bolting problems in the beet is the development of resistant varieties and hybrids. For this purpose, the early-spring and under-winter planting are used, as well as the seed germination at low (30C) temperatures. The availability of the various initial material studied by modern methods of researches plays a key role. When the collection accessions of beet were studied in the VIR Polar branch (The Murmansk Region), the following genotypes were identified: 1 – non bolting, 2 – weak bolting (less than 10% of bolting plants), 3 – moderately bolting (10-50%), and 4 – high bolting (more than 50% of bolting plants). As a result of screening of a gene pool, the genetic sources of bolting resistance of beet were identified. At its crossing with bolting accessions the dominance of the trait «bolting» and monogenic nature of its inheritance are confirmed. For the purpose of beet breeding for bolting resistance, the symphycarpous varieties characterized by complex biological and agronomic characters (increased yield, cold tolerance, quality of production and resistance to blackleg) are the most usable. The cultivars Banko from Sweden (donor), Podzimnyaya A-0474 (VNIISSOK) and Polyarnaya ploskaya-249 (Polar branch VIR) are recommended as a genetic sources of bolting resistance.

The success in the development of the Institute is associated with seed production and marketing of vegetable varieties of VNIISSOK’s breeding. The affiliated organization, the North-Caucasian experimental station is a structural subdivision of the All- Russian research institute of vegetable breeding and seed production. The stuff of this experimental station work on the problem of seed production of onion, root, cucurbitaceae and leguminous crops in condition of the North-Caucasus.

The optimal combination of soil treatment and herbicides application in condition of the light chestnut soils of the Volgograd region is suggested.

Relevance. In the transition to highly productive and environmentally friendly, in particular, organic agriculture and production of safe and high-quality products, which is a priority direction of strategies of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, one of the necessary links is the creation and control of optimal conditions of plant nutrition, i.e. provision of plants with nutrients in the right combination throughout the vegetation. Achievement of such conditions is possible through soil and plant nutrition diagnostics, which in turn allows to establish the ability of crops to assimilate nutrients from the soil and adjust the doses of mineral fertilisers as top dressings.Material and Methods. On alluvial meadow soil in the conditions of the non-Black Earth region of Russia, the effectiveness of root feeding with macronutrients (NPK) was studied according to the results of plant and soil diagnostics of table root crops nutrition when grown on organic and mineral fertiliser systems. Plant and soil diagnostics of mineral nutrition was carried out according to the methods of Zerling V.V. (1990) and Magnitsky K.P. (1972). Two crops were tested during the experiment: red beet variety Mulatka and garden carrot variety Losinoostrovskaya 13.Results and Discussion. Root fertilizers on the basis of nutrition diagnostics on the basis of soil and leaf petiole analysis made significant changes in the dynamics of basic nutrients in the soil, there was an increase in nitrate nitrogen and mobile potassium in comparison with the control variant, with natural soil supply of mobile phosphorus (more than 250 mg/kg), which had a positive effect on the root nutrition of plants. At the main application of mineral and organic (biocompost BIUD) fertilizers, root fertilizers according to nutrition diagnostics the carrot yield 51,2-63,9 t/ha with standard 87,4- 94,6%, red beet 41,7-54,2 t/ha with standard 80,7-92,3% were obtained. Root feeding of carrots by soil diagnostics N52K14 on the background of biocompost gave 24.9% increase to the control, by plant diagnostics N17 gave 16.6%; red beet by soil diagnostics N65K45 – 30% increase, by plant diagnostics N54K30 – 23.7%