Relevance One of the priority directions of selection is the creation of varieties that are most adapted to local conditions with high productivity. Methods The object of study – varieties and hybrids of pumpkin of three Botanical species: Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata and Cucurbita pepo. The purpose of the work is the creation and introduction into production of high-yielding varieties of pumpkin with high quality fruits, resistant to bio-and abiotic conditions of the lower Volga region. Research objectives: the study of varietal diversity and identification of genetic sources adapted to the conditions of the region; artificial hybridization, evaluation of the obtained source material on the main economic and valuable features, selection of the best hybrid combinations and testing them in comparison with the best zoned varieties. Results The collection identified genetic sources of productivity: Chino, Sviten, Kham, Creen Warted Habbard, Zukat, Arina, Madam; the quality of the fruit: Sorme poire, Burgess Buttercup Wintes, Malishka, Duchess, Konfetka. Using the selected genetic sources in crossbreeding, new hybrid combinations were obtained, after testing of which the source material for breeding was formed in the hybrid nursery. The table shows the characteristics of the best hybrid populations of pumpkin species S. maxima, S. moschata. The best zoned varieties of table pumpkin created in recent years. Izyashnaya – medium-ripe, shortleaved, high-yielding (17.0-26.0 t/ha), with high quality fruits (12.0-16.0% solids); Izobilie – yield (18.0-25.0 t/ha), drought-resistant; Romantika – medium-ripe, resistant to powdery mildew, yielding (16.0-20.0 t/ha), high quality fruits (10.0-15.0% dry-VA, 60.4 mg% carotene).

Relevance The Republic of Dagestan is the southernmost region in the Russian Federation. The climatic conditions of the Derbent district of the Republic of Dagestan are favorable for seed production without direct cabbage. Material and method In cabbage seed production in direct culture it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of cabbage biology. In the Republic of Dagestan near the city of Derbent, all the phasic processes near cabbage take place in a short autumn period and in early spring. Results Years of experience in the conduct of cabbage seed production made it possible to determine the optimal timing for planting varieties (parental hybrids) of white cabbage of different groups of ripeness and different varieties. The technology of direct seed farming of cabbage is presented.

Potatoes is the most important food crop, one of the main crops grown throughout the world. A way to improve the profitability of the potato industry is processing. The processing production requires special varieties of potatoes. Tests were carried out by the department of vegetable breeding «Agrarian scientific center of republic of Dagestan» in 2017-2018 with the purpose of study the effect of soil-climatic conditions of Dagestan highlands on dry matter and starch content in potato tubers for production of processed potato products. Processing of potatoes is one of the methods to increase profitability of industry. One of the quality indexes of the use of potato varieties for their processing is high level of dry matter and starch. As a result of the research, the following varieties were identified: high-yielding are Impala, Irbit, Zhukovsky Ranniy, Manifesto, Matushka, Nevsky, Primabella, Rosara, Silvana, Spiridon and Udacha; high dry matter content are Alena, Vektor, Dzhokonda, Desiree, Matushka, Nart, Primabella and Rossi; high in starch: Desiree - 23%, Vector and Primabella - 22.2% each. The results of the present investigation revealed that climate of the mountainous areas of Dagestan republic promotes the increase of dry matter and starch content in potato tubers by 3-4%.

Relevance. Currently, there is an interest in this country in vegetable varieties of Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. However, a small number of varieties adapted to different cultivation conditions prevents a wider distribution of this crop. The present work was aimed at creating new vegetable cowpea varieties adapted to the climatic conditions of southern regions of Russia.Materials and methods. The study was carried out in 1998-2018 in the Astrakhan Province (Astrakhan Experiment Station) and in 2012-2018 in Primorsky Territory (Far East Experiment Station). Vegetable cowpea accessions from the global VIR collection were studied.Results. Many years of breeding have resulted in creation of such varieties as ‘Astrakhanskaya krasavitsa’, ‘Kaspiyskaya zarya’, ‘Zhemchyuzhina Kaspiya’ and ‘Lyanchihe’, which were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2019. All varieties are characterized by earliness, high productivity, excellent quality of vegetable pods, high protein content in pods in the technical ripeness phase (29.5-33.5%), and by low demand to the soil fertility. ‘Zhemchyuzhina Kaspiya’, ‘Astrakhanskaya krasavitsa’ and ‘Kaspiyskaya zarya’ are tolerant to high temperatures, air drought and soil salinity. The growing season for these varieties lasts 62-68 days in the Astrakhan Province under irrigation, while technical ripeness of pods occurs in 46-50 days. The green pod yield is 16.1–28.2 t/ha and the seed yield is 1.91-2.71 t/ha. The ‘Lyanchihe’ variety tolerates humidity well; its growing season in southern Primorsky Territory is 97-110 days, and pods reach technical ripeness in 61-70 days. The green pod yield is 21.0-24.0 t/ha, and that of seeds is 2.38-2.64 t/ha. The released varieties will broaden the range of vegetable crops cultivated in this country and improve the quality of nutrition of the population.

The study of the dynamics of plant growth and yield of vegetable crops (carrot variety Absheron winter (Daucus carota subsp. sativus (Hoffm.) Schьbl.) and radish variety Virovsky white (Raphanus sativus var.radicula Pers.)) was conducted in the field conditions after presowing exposure to different temperatures: I option – sowing of seeds exposed to low temperatures (for 15 days the swollen for 24 hours seeds were kept at a temperature of 0±1°С); Option II - sowing of seeds exposed to variable temperatures (for 5 days, the swollen for 24 hours seeds were exposed to variable temperatures of + 20°C (8 hours) and 0±1°C (16 hours) and then 10 days at a temperature of 0±1°C; K1 – sowing dry seeds; K2 – sowing soaked seeds. The impact on the seeds of low and variable temperatures caused an increase in growth processes, both in radish and carrot. Both studied crops showed a tendency to increase the yield to a greater extent when exposed to swollen seeds with variable temperatures. Thus, the average weight of radish crops exceeded the control variant by 47.1% and carrots by 27.6%. The yield of root crops per m2 increased by 36.4% for radish and 30.0% for carrot. To increase the productivity of vegetable crops, we recommend using the studied methods of pre-sowing seed treatment in practice.

Relevance. One of the priority trends in berry crop breeding is to create highly adaptive and resistant to biotic and abiotic environmental factors varieties with high commodity and consumer quality of berries, not inferior to the best Western European varieties.Material and methods. The research was conducted in 2017-2018 at VNIISPK (Orel) on the selection plot of red currants, planted in 2012, with a planting scheme 2.8 x 0.8 m. The research object was the selection red currant family 2466 (♀Belaya Potapenko x ♂SS 1426-21-80) of VNIISPK breeding in the amount of 66 hybrid seedlings. The parent forms of this family were selected as sources of valuable economical and breeding characters. The variety Belaya Potapenko has a dessert taste of berries, and the selected seedling 1426-21-80 was taken due to its productivity and long racemes. The economical and biological characters of the hybrid seedlings were studied according to the “Program and methods of fruit, berry and nut crops variety investigation”, section “Currants, gooseberry and their hybrids” (1999).Results. The progeny of the crossing combination Belaya Potapenko x SS 1426-21-80 is characterized by high adaptability to soil and climatic conditions of cultivation that provides good development of the seedlings and their high productivity. When crossing white-fruit Belaya Potapenko with redfruit SS 1426-21-80, seedlings with white berries are absent in the offspring, which indicates that the paternal original form is homozygous for the dominant gene that controls the red color of the berries. Hybridological analysis showed that with medium weight of berries of parental forms, the manifestation of this trait in the offspring increased, the share of large-fruited seedlings was 18-37%, depending on the year of the study. The taste estimation of the off-spring of this family showed that a great amount of the seedlings had an intermediate sweet and sour taste, part of hybrids inherited sour taste from the paternal original parent. The hybrid family is valuable for the output of highly productive large-fruited seedlings with long racemes. Re-hybridization of the best seedlings with sources of high taste of berries is necessary to improve the taste.

Relevance Breeding for resistance is one of the priorities when working with late-ripening cabbage.The most significant damage to this crop in the south of Russia is caused by diseases such as fusarium, black rot, and from pests – tobacco trips. Methods The purpose of the research is development of heat-resistant hybrids of medium-late and late maturity of various areas of use with complex resistance. For 2 decades much attention was paid to breeding and immunological work on development of inbred lines with group resistance: to fusarium and polygenic resistance to black rot. The study of race-specific resistance for better protection against black rot began in 2013. At that, the progeny of the lines were eveluated, which were selected by hydathogenic polygenic resistance on the infectious background of cabbage during inoculation of plants with the Krasnodar population of the pathogen.Since specific resistance to a particular race inherited in white cabbage is recessive and it is very difficult to develop lines and hybrids resistant to several races, a strategy was chosen to increase resistance to this dangerous disease based on a combination of field resistance, stem resistance to the main race 1 and leaf resistance to one or two races. Results As a result of the work carried out in 2018, 44 lines of medium-late maturity with stem resistance to race 1 were selected, of which a significant part of the lines had leaf resistance to a particular race, including 4 lines resistant to races 1 and 4, 1 line – to races 0, 1,4, and 1 line – to races 0, 3, 4. The heat-resistant hybrid for processing Sudarynya was passed to State Variety Testing, it has one parent with stem resistance to race 1, leaf resistance to races 0, 1.4 and hydatode resistance, and the second parent has stem resistance to race 1 and hydatode resistance. Every year, hybrids are evaluated for thrips damage. According to the results of the evaluation of hybrids, lines with a high tolerance to tobacco thrips were identified. In 2017-2018 9 lines with complex resistance to fusarium, black rot and thrips (Ten211, Yas111, Eubi122, Hn861, Hn270-21, Hn270-24, Br272-22, Hn270-14p-1, 272-510) were selected, on the basis of which promising combinations of economically valuable traits were obtained.

In recent years, interest in mountain savory is increasing and this is due to the rich biochemical composition, useful properties and decorative qualities of this plant. The materials were sortopopulyatsiya savory mountain. The study was conducted in the open ground in Moscow region (2012-2018) on experimental plots of the laboratory green, spicy taste and floral crops of FSBSI FSVC. The work on improving the source material by applying individual selection, the most aligned with economically valuable traits form ЧГ32-12 with high potential productivity of inflorescences and green mass, decorative, flavour and hardiness. Conducted testing and pre-multiplication of promising accessions, which was transferred into the "GOSSORTKOMISSIA" in 2018 called “Bobrik”. The yield of green increased in vegetation years in the first year of vegetation was 0,650 kg/m2, in the second – 3.0 kg/m2, and in the third year reached 5.4 kg/m2. Indicator sign "plant height" increased over the years of vegetation (11.4 cm, 25.5 cm and 40.2 cm, respectively). The values of the sign "number of shoots" in the first year of vegetation was 11.6 PCs., in the second year – sharply increased (255.1 PCs.), in the third year – reached its maximum (787.3). The accumulation of dry matter in the years of vegetation increased: the first year contained 20.08%; the second year – 26.95%; and the third year of vegetation – 29.71%. The content of ascorbic acid in the flowering phase in the second year of vegetation increased compared to the first year (8.21 mg/% and 5.87 mg (%). The amount of water-soluble antioxidants in the second year of the growing season has increased almost two times in comparison with the first year (to 22.7 mg/g and AAE 42.39 mg/g of AAE), in the third year there is a decrease in rate – 28.6 mg/g of AAE. Thus, the green of the mountain variety "Bobrik" is a source of biologically active substances, such as ascorbic acid and carotenoids, so the culture can be recommended for the use of young shoots and leaves in fresh and dry form, as a seasoning for salads, sauces, marinades, meat and fish dishes, as well as spicy and aromatic additives for the preparation of drinks.

Relevance. Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc fallaxare the three main lactic acid bacteria developing in the production of sauerkraut. The process of production of fermented foods, as well as their characteristics are determined by the fermenting activity of microorganisms used. Many food products (matured cheeses, sauerkraut, etc.) are canned products: for them, the term is significantly increased compared to the shelf life of the raw material from which these products are made. Their characteristic feature is not only high stability during storage, but also a pronounced flavor bouquet, due to the direct or indirect action of fermenting microorganisms.Material and methods. Microbiological methods of preserving fruits and vegetables are based on the formation of natural preservatives – lactic acid and alcohol, which accumulate as a result of fermentation of sugars by lactic acid bacteria or yeast. The intensity of lactic acid fermentation and the amount of accumulated lactic acid depend on several conditions: the presence of lactic acid bacteria, the content of sugars and other chemicals in the raw material, the addition of spice-aromatic plants, anaerobic conditions, temperature. Due to the accumulation of lactic acid, the development of other microorganisms, and then the lactic acid bacteria themselves, is suspended. The dynamics of development of lactic acid microorganisms and their consortia on the model media, pretreated by the culture of Leuconostoc mesenteroides species, at the main stage of step fermentation of white cabbage of the "Parus"variety are investigated.Results. Dynamics of development of monocultures of L. brevis, L. casei and L. plantarum and their paired consortia at the main technological stage at two stages of fermentation are investigated. It is established that a preliminary fermentation of a model medium with a culture of Leuconostoc mesenteroides generates adverse conditions for the development of L. brevis and L. casei in the monoculture (pseudotensorial) and in consortium with each other, but favorable conditions for the development of L. plantarum in pseudotensorial and in pairwise combinations with L. brevis and L. casei.

The article presents the analysis of breeding work with garden roses, carried out in the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens (NBG) from 1824 to the present time. There are three main historical stages, which have different breeding tasks, as well as methods of work: the first stage is connected with the work of N.A. Hartwiss, the second stage – N.D. Kostetsky and the third one – V.N. Klimenko, Z.K. Klimenko and K.I. Zykov. The most significant breeding achievements of the NBG’s rose breeders are indicated. Based on the analysis of the results of the introduction study of garden roses in the NBG, the main features of garden roses cultivation in the Southern Coast of the Crimea (SCC) are specified and the requirements for cultivars created for these conditions are determined. It is established that currently in the breeding work with roses in the NBG, there are four main directions. The first direction is the creation of cultivars with multiple long flowering, the total duration of which can exceed 200 days. A cultivar must endure difficult xerothermic conditions of the Southern Coast in July – August without losing of decorative value. The second task is the selection work with garden groups that are difficult to cultivate in the more northern areas. Among them, under conditions of the SCC, there are highly promising garden groups of miniature and climbing roses. The third direction of breeding is to increase resistance to major fungal diseases affecting roses under the conditions of the SCC. The basic breeding methods to achieve this objective are given. The fourth research line is the creation of cultivars with a strong aroma. These cultivars can be used in aerophytotherapeutic rosaries, arrangement of which in the SCC is relevant in connection with the development of the resort industry.