Relevance. The appearance on the market of water-soluble fertilizers, growth regulators, biological products requires a detailed study of these drugs to determine their effectiveness in increasing yields and optimizing costs. Therefore, the issue of developing environmentally friendly elements of the technology for growing varieties of table watermelon of different ripening periods with the use of new types and forms of water-soluble fertilizers becomes urgent.Materials and methods. The object of research is varieties of watermelon of domestic selection of early and medium ripening. The studies were carried out in 2018-2020 on the basis of the Bikovskaya cucurbits breeding experimental station (Bykovskiy district, Volgograd region). The methods of using the preparation Potassium Humate (liquid) were studied: Treatment of plants twice, Soaking the seeds before sowing. The passage of the main periods of plant growth and development, biometric parameters of plants, biochemical composition of fruits and productivity of table watermelon were determined. The purpose of the research: to determine the effectiveness of methods of using potassium humate (liquid) in increasing yields, to reveal their influence on the quality of table watermelon fruits of different ripening periods.Results. The experimental data obtained showed a fairly high efficiency of the use of humic fertilizer in the cultivation of table watermelon both in early-maturing varieties and in varieties of late ripening. The maximum yield of the late-ripening watermelon variety Ikar was obtained when using the preparation Potassium Humate for treating plants – 17.1 t/ha, which is 25.7% more than control. The same method of using the humic preparation was noted as the most promising in the early ripening variety of watermelon Triumph, where the yield exceeded the control values by 21.8% and the method of use was by 18.0% – soaking the seeds before sowing. Studies have determined that the use of the preparation Potassium Humate in the technology of growing table watermelon allows to obtain fruits of good quality with a content of nitrates significantly lower than the maximum permissible concentrations for this culture (MPC – 60 mg/kg).

Relevance. One of the problematic issues in crop production remains the quality of sown seeds. Vegetable plants during the period of generative development are demanding to the conditions of light and heat supply, but the conditions of most regions of our country cannot meet these requirements. Post-harvest refinement and pre-treatment of seeds is also not carried out at the proper level. There are no reliable informative tools for analyzing seed quality. Employees of the FSBSI FSVC, Agrophysical Research Institute and Argus-Bio LLC are developing a method of digital morphometry of vegetable seeds.Methods. The material for the studies was the seeds of various samples of varieties of the genus Allium: Allium cristophii Trautv., Allium schoenoprasum L., Allium fistulosum L. Digital images of seeds were obtained using the HP Scanjet 200 tablet scanner, BMP, TIFF, JPG save file format, 600 DPI resolution. Morphometric analysis of digital scanned images of seeds was carried out on the basis of the Agrophysical Research Institute using the serial software Argus-BIO, manufactured by Argus Soft LLC, St. Petersburg.Results. Analysis of the color characteristics of seeds (values of color components according to the RGB model) Allium cristophii Trautv. revealed a statistically significant decrease in all color channels in the row from the lower tier – the upper, which is an indicator of different levels of maturity. Seeds of various samples of Allium schoenoprasum L. in size (projection area) varied significantly within the species from 2.39 to 3.06 mm2 , in shape they also turned out to be unaligned: elliptical with an elongation factor of 1.99 to 2.21 relative units. Analysis of morphometric parameters of seeds of varieties Allium fistulosum L. made it possible to distinguish the influence of natural and genetic factors on these parameters: the factor of the year had a significant effect (from 43.5% to 45.4%), the factor of the variety – from 39.5% to 43.2%, on the main morphometric parameters of seeds. So, a new approach to seed quality analysis is presented, which includes rapid digital morphometry, data modeling and their integration with standard ISTA tests.

Relevance. Lettuce (Latin: Lactúca satíva) is a species of annual herbaceous plant in the genus Lettuce of the Asteraceae family. As a vegetable crop, it is cultivated everywhere in the world, and its hydroponic cultivation technology has received special development in recent years. One of the common pathogens of lettuce is Pseudomonas cichorii, causing bacterial diseases of several important cultivated plants. In this regard, the study of the occurrence of this pathogen is important.Material and methodology. The study was conducted on the basis of the Department of Agrobiotechnology of the ATI of RUDN University. The samples were provided by a commercial manufacturer of lettuce grown on a flow-through hydroponic line under conditions of minimal microbial contamination. The study of phytopathogenic bacteria includes a number of stages: isolation of bacteria on semi-selective culture media and obtaining a pure culture of bacteria; setting a test for pathogenicity (virulence); studying the phenotypic properties of bacteria; determining the taxonomic position of the isolated strains by molecular methods. All studies were conducted in accordance with the standard methods of identification of phytopathogenic bacteria.Results. As a result of the work, the distribution of the species Pseudomonas cichorii in the hydroponic culture of lettuce in the Russian Federation was confirmed. Although, according to the EPPO database, P. cichorii was first described in Russia in 1965 by microbiological methods, but isolated bacteria are not available in microbiological collections to confirm this conclusion with appropriate diagnostic methods. Twelve isolates of P. cichoriiwere studied by a biochemical and phytopathological tests, and four isolates (01, 04, 06, and 12) that showed the greatest aggressiveness on host plants and tobacco leaves were identified by DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragment. The obtained DNA fragments showed a high similarity (99-100%) with the sequences of P. cichoriifrom the Genebank. Evaluation of the virulence of the isolated isolates on a number of other cultivated plants, and the uniformity of their biochemical characteristics showed that they represent a group of bacteria specialized in lettuce.

Relevance. One of the most important elements of the technology of cultivation of strawberries for increasing productivity and improving the quality of berries is the use of fertilizers that can regulate the growth, development, yield and quality of products.Methods. During 2016-2018, the impact of pre-planting application of complex mineral fertilizers on the yield and quality of strawberries in the Udmurt Republic was studied. The analysis of meteorological conditions during the growing season of the crop according to the research results is carried out.Results. The results of the use of complex fertilizers Azofoska, Perm-yagodnoye and Fusco-yagodnoye on garden strawberries when grown in the conditions of the Udmurt Republic are presented. It was found that the use of these fertilizers in comparison with the control (Azofoska) contributes to an increase in yield and has a positive effect on the quality of berries. The aftereffect of the studied fertilizers on the second and third year of fruiting of wild strawberries is noted. According to the results of research, the highest yield of berries of the garden strawberry was obtained in 2016 in the first year of fruiting when applying Chamfer-berry (1.33 kg/m2 ). The pre-planting application of the FaskoYagodnoye fertilizer provided a reliable increase in yield at all times of berry harvesting, and on average for three years by 0.13 kg/m2 with an NSR of 0.04 kg/m2 . The content of dry matter, water-soluble sugars and vitamin C in the berries corresponded to the characteristics of the Darenka variety and to a greater extent depended on the meteorological conditions of the growing season of strawberries.

Relevance and methods. Leek is one of the most promising onion crops for industrial cultivation in the Non-Chernozem zone, which has medicinal properties and high nutritional value. The results of studying the technological features of leek cultivation in the open ground of the Moscow region are presented. The studies were carried out in 2019-2020 on the territory of the “Vegetable Experimental Station named after V.I. Edelstein". We studied the influence of the feeding area of leek seedlings on the biometric parameters of plants and the quality of products. The object of the study is the variety Karantansky, experimental options: 1) seedling feeding area – 6 cm2 (control), 2) seedling feeding area – 8 cm2 , 3) seedling feeding area – 10 cm2 . The objects of research to study the content of ascorbic acid were leek varieties: late-ripening – Karantansky (standard), Bandit, Dobry Molodets, mid-ripening – Columbus, Hobot slona.Results. It is noted that the feeding area during the seedling period does not significantly affect the biometric parameters of leek plants: leaf area, plant weight, leek pseudostems diameter. Therefore, during the period of growing seedlings, from the point of view of rational use of the area in the seedling department, it is recommended to use the minimum feeding area – 6 cm2 . It was also found that the studied varieties accumulate ascorbic acid in different ways in various plant organs. The maximum content of ascorbic acid was noted in the leek pseudostems of the control late-ripening variety Karantanskiy – 23.6 mg%. The minimum values are for Dobry Molodets (11.8 mg%) and Hobot Slona (11.9 mg%).

Relevance. The research is aimed at developing elements of technology for cultivating milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.). Such elements as the timing and methods of sowing, the seeding rate, and weed control measures are presented here. The research was carried out on leached Chernozem soils of the Middle Volga region in a temperate continental climate.Results. The effectiveness of early spring ordinary crops, allowing to increase the content of oil– up to 33%, protein – up to 16%, was established. The methods used allow to increase the oil harvest from 1 ha by an average of 14%, in comparison with wide-row sowing, which is a significant indicator in the cultivation of the crop. The use of agrotechnical methods of weed control provided an increase in the yield of milk thistle seeds by an average of 0.16 t/ha, in comparison with the control.

Relevance. In accordance with the needs of the market, in 2008, a variety of zucchini Russian spaghetti with two-colored fruits was created. We faced difficulties in maintaining a high percentage of two-color forms in the variety population. To solve this problem, we studied the possibility of using markers of young zucchini leaves in the selection of forms with different fruit colors in technical ripeness.Material and conditions. The experience was started in 2005 to 2018 in the open ground on the basis of FSBSI FSVC. In the breeding nursery, research was conducted annually on 30 plants. The color of the fruit was taken into account only in the phase of technical ripeness. The best plants were propagated by incest. In the nursery breeding varieties of Russian spaghetti were sown by family. During 4 years in each family, at different stages of development, 50-100 plants were studied according to the color of the fruit and other economically useful characteristics.Results. For eleven years, incuchination and selection were carried out on two-color forms of zucchini Russian spaghetti to achieve homozygosity and, accordingly, to align the material with the color of the fruit. Some regularities of the influence of the number of integrirovanii on the color of the fruit has not been observed. Continuing to observe the plants, it was possible to establish a relationship between the color of the fruit in technical ripeness and the pattern on the lower (first) leaves. On plants with a marble pattern, the leaves were mostly green (reticulated); with yellow spots on the leaves – two-colored and with completely yellow leaves – yellow fruits. By selecting plants with yellow spots on the leaves in the early stages, in the phase of the 3-4-th real leaves, we were able to increase the percentage of plants with two-colored fruits in the population of the variety to 95.5-100%. All this greatly simplified the original seed production of zucchini Russian spaghetti.

Relevance and methods. In some Umbelliferae crops, the ratio of the parameters of the seed (the relative length of the embryo) has a significant effect on the ability of seeds to germinate. We studied 10 coriander samples, which showed significant differences in the degree of severity of the main morphological parameters, including the length of the seed, endosperm and embryo.Results. The indicators of the hybrid 5/19 and the variety Stimul significantly exceeded the average value of the population in the length of the seed at 1%, and the sample of the local population from Azerbaijan had the lowest indicator at the 5% level of significance. The endosperm length of the hybrid 5/19, the variety Stimul and the sample of the local population of Egypt exceeded the level of the indicator on average in the experiment. According to the length of the embryo, the Nectar variety, hybrid 5/19 and samples from Egypt and Azerbaijan were at the level of the average value for the experiment. The largest embryo (1.063±0.04) was distinguished by the Commander variety. Four samples significantly exceeded, and the hybrid 11/19 were lower than the average value. Depending on the variety, the coefficient of variation of indicators varied for the length of the embryo (13.9-19.1%), the length of the endosperm (16.4-20.4%) and the length of the seed (15.7-22.1%). The maximum value (0.377) of the IZ/E index, which characterizes the ratio of the size of the embryo and endosperm, was observed in the Commander variety. A close correlation was found between the length of the seed and the length of the endosperm, the correlation coefficient varied from r=0.640 in the Stimul variety to r=0.981 in a sample of the local population of Egypt. A weak or medium correlation was observed between the length of the embryo on the one hand and the length of the endosperm (0.026-0.393) and the seed (0.090 – -0.132) on the other. For the IE/S index, which characterizes the ratio of endosperm size to seed size, the limits (0.893-0.988) of variability were significantly lower. The maximum index (0.988) was found in a sample from Egypt.

Relevance. One of the significant problems in the technology of obtaining root chicory is the protection of root vegetables from the defeat of root rots. The most common lesions of root vegetables chicory various pathogenic species of fungi causing phomosis (Phoma rostrupii Sacc.), gray rot (Botrytis cinerea (R.) Fr.J), wet bacterial rot (Erwinia carotovora (Jones) Holt.). An important place in solving this problem is the breeding of new varieties that are resistant to major diseases and adapted to the conditions of cultivation in the soil-climatic conditions of the chicory-seeding zone. This requires, first of all, to determine the range of donor varieties of the sign of resistance to root rots, both during the growing of culture, and during long-term storage.Material and methods. In 2018-2020, studies were carried out to assess gene sources of different ecological and geographical origin (including against a provocative background) in the Non-Black Earth Zone of the Russian Federation and to isolate donors of resistance to root rot from them. Research on the Rostov Vegetable experimental station on chicory.Results. Studies have shown that the defeat of root vegetables chicory root rots genetic sources were very different from each other, so Harpachi, Luxor did not affect the. root rots neither on the usual nor on provocative backgrounds.

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.