For plants, light is a determining factor in growth and development. The use of artificial lighting in greenhouses has a huge impact on the yield, cost and timing of the receipt of vegetable products. The development of light culture in the country allows greenhouse complexes to use their greenhouses year-round, significantly increase plant productivity, receive most of the harvest in the winter months of the year and sell it at a higher price. The use of artificial light made it possible to increase the yield of the cucumber crop to 200 kg from 1 m2 or more. From the economic point of view, the cucumber culture is most effective in greenhouses. Russia is a cucumber country, more than half of the protected ground area is occupied by this crop. And photoculture in greenhouses began with the cultivation of a cucumber crop. Today we say with confidence that artificial lighting in greenhouses is more efficient than natural lighting. So to get one kilogram of vegetables using artificial lighting, it is necessary to spend 4.5-5.0 thousand J/cm2, and in the case of using natural light – 5.0-6.5 thousand J/cm2. This can be explained by the fact that in the conditions of using artificial lighting in cultivation facilities, we strive to create the most comfortable growing conditions for plants. An increase in the yield of cucumber crops under artificial lighting occurs mainly due to an increase in the lighting power per unit area of greenhouses to 220 W/m2and more. However, this is not the only way to increase yields. One of the most important criteria for increasing yields and improving the quality of fruits is the choice of the grown hybrid. Cucumber hybrids for cultivation under light culture conditions will be discussed in this work.The methods used in agronomic science were used. The information base of the research was made up of reference materials from specialized publications on the subject under study (catalogs of breeding companies); materials received from participants in the greenhouse vegetable market (breeding companies, greenhouse plants); own research, articles and reviews in specialized journals.Correctly selected cucumber hybrids provide a significant increase in yields in greenhouses, an improvement in fruit quality and a balanced cultivation technology in specific conditions. An assortment of recommended cucumber hybrids for cultivation under photoculture conditions is presented, an analysis of their advantages and disadvantages is made, and the main requirements for hybrids for these conditions are formulated.

Relevance. The action of viral phytopathogens changes the quality of the male gametophyte, which ultimately leads to a decrease in plant productivity. So, information on the features of the variability of morphofunctional characteristics of the microgametophyte becomes topical. Taking into account the expression of a part of the plant genome in pollen, the male gametophyte can be used as a reliable system for assessing the response of genotypes to the action of viral pathogens. Presuming that the problems of variability of characteristics of the male gametophyte in conditions of viral pathogenesis have not been enough studied, as well as the main factors determining the variability have not been identified, the aim of the research was to study the effect of viral phytopathogens on the male gametophyte characters in tomato.Material and methods. Hybrids F1 and varieties of tomato were used in the experiments. Plants were grown in a greenhouse. They were inoculated with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) or tomato aspermia virus (TAV) in the 4-5 leaf phase. To determine the quality of pollen, flowers of control and infected plants were collected; pollen was isolated and sown on a nutrient medium. The preparations were analyzed under microscope. The viability of the pollen and the length of the pollen tubes were assessed, and the ratio of these indicators was calculated.Results. Infection of plants with viruses changes some functional characteristics of the male gametophyte. The responses manifested as stimulation, inhibition, or neutral effect. The main sources of variability in characters of pollen were the genotype and viral agents. In viral pathogenesis, unequal indicators of pollen grains were found in terms of the rate of germination and growth of pollen tubes (PT). Analysis of the heritability coefficients of the ratio of pollen viability and PT length (experiment / control) revealed positive dominance and overdominance in 70% of cases. Genotypes have been identified that combine a high level of viability when infected with different viruses. The prospect of their use in further research is proposed.