Relevance. Inbreeding is the most widespread method of obtaining starting breeding material and plays a central role in heterosis breeding programs of most crops. Beetroot inbred lines possessing economically valuable characteristics require constant maintenance via self-pollination. However, self-pollination leads to depression of a number of traits. Thorough theoretical studies and practical developments are needed to preserve valuable beetroot lines. We aimed to study the root and leaf rosette variability resulting from beetroot self-pollination. We also investigated the inheritance of monogermity in beetroots.Materials and methods. Experimental work was carried out at the All-Russian Research Institute of Vegetable Growing – branch of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Scientific Vegetable Center" (FSBSI FSVC), 2011-202], Moscow Region. The object of the study was inbred beetroot lines originated from beetroots of foreign selection. The research data were obtained via field observations and measurements.Results. It has been experimentally shown that the constant signs of self-pollinated beet lines of 1 year of life are the position and height of the leaf rosette. Stabilization and maintenance of separate fertility at a high level is carried out by selection. A negative correlation was noted between the signs of the degree of separateness and the height of the leaf rosette of the plant, the proportion of the neck of the root crop in its diameter, the mass of the root crop and the proportion of the root crop in the biomass of the plant in the offspring of the fourth generation of the inbreeding. The decrease in the productivity of the seed plant occurs at the beginning of the process of creating self-pollinated lines – in the first generation.

Relevance. An important feature that determines the technological qualities of varieties and hybrids of beetroot is an erect, compact leaf rosette that persists until the end of the vegetation of plants. In this regard, much attention is paid to the selection of resistance to diseases affecting the leaves of plants, including Cercospora beticola Sacc. When creating resistant to Cercospora interline hybrids based on CMS, the selection of parent components plays an important role. In agroclimatic conditions of the Moscow region, Cercospora on industrial beetroot rarely reaches an economically significant threshold of harmfulness. However, in 2019, epiphytic development of Cercospora on summer first-year crops was observed in the block film greenhouse of the «Federal Scientific Vegetable Center», which allowed to assess the promising breeding material.Material and method. Phytomonitoring on beetroot plantings and sowing of the experimental production Department of the «Federal Scientific Vegetable Center» growing was carried out by methods of visual diagnostics and microscopy. Cercospora lesion in the breeding nursery was evaluated on an 11-point scale, the ranking of samples into five groups of resistance - according to the degree of disease development (R%). Analyzed: 28 sterile lines (А); 13 fertile lines of fixers (В); 25 lines of pollinators (С) and 38 hybrid F1 (АхВхС).Results. It was found that more than half of the studied lines were receptive to Cercospora. The share of relatively resistant lines was 13%. Most of them (8%) are ms - lines « obtained by pollination of CMS with mf-lines В. A close relationship (r=0.86-0.89) between the index of lesion of fixators and the degree of disease development of ms- lines was revealed, in some simple combinations a positive effect of heterosis on resistance to Cercospora relative to mf-В was noted. In the submitted sample F1 hybrids mainly observed between the nature of inheritance according to the degree of disease development (R, %), mixed effects the base line stability of pollinator mf-С (r=0,32) and a closer correlation of the stability of hybrid offspring the F1 with the resistant parent ms-line А (r=0.55). As a result of the evaluation, the most resistant to Cercospora ms- and mf-lines and derived from them hybrid F1, among which only 9% were included in the group of relatively resistant to C. beticola.

Relevance. The value of table beetroot as an indispensable vegetable crop in a rational human diet is beyond doubt. It is possible to fill the shortage of production of this crop in the Russian Federation by increasing yields, which is facilitated by a number of factors. It is believed that the yield depends more on the variety, but the role of the medium in identifying varietal characteristics is also of great importance. In this regard, the varieties and hybrids recommended for production, along with high potential productivity, should be characterized by a wide range of adaptive properties (environmental resistance) to the stressful effects of environmental conditions. One of the effective methods to determine the adaptability of varieties to the conditions of a particular region is their simultaneous assessment in a number of geographically remote locations, which allows expanding the range of their use.Materials and methods. Research work on the environmental testing of six varieties of beetroot was carried out in 2020 according to generally accepted methods on the basis of the branches of the FSBSI Federal Scientific Vegetable Center. As a standard, the Bordo 237 variety was used - recommended for cultivation in all regions of the Russian Federation. Ecological assessment of the environment as a background for selection and assessment of the adaptive ability of varieties was carried out according to the methodology of A.V. Kilchevsky and L.V. Khotyleva.Results. According to the totality of all parameters, the most adaptive for cultivation in different regions of the Russian Federation, according to the combination of yield and marketability, it is possible to recommend the varieties of beetroot Karina and Bordo 237; according to the mass of commercial root crops - Karina and Gazpadynya. The varieties characterized by the greatest responsiveness to the improvement of growing conditions were: Lyubava, Gaspadynya, Dobrynya. The most informative background for identifying the potential productivity of varieties is the environment on the Biryuchekutsk station, on the ecological stability of the complex of signs – the Voronezh station. The most typical environments for growing beets on the grounds of "yield" and "marketability" are the conditions of Biryuchekutsk station, by weight of commercial root crop – Voronezh station.

Tasks that were posed have been well proven and realized concerning the breeding program for beetroot in monsoon climate of the Russian Far East. The new breeding accessions suitable for further variety development with high immunological, productive and marketable characteristics, increased biochemical parameters, and resistance to highly moist soil and pathogens were developed. The biological and morphological features of growing seed plants in beetroot have been studied using the effective elements of selection with combination of promising agricultural techniques for tilling. Technological methods for early generation and marketable seed production have been improved. The favorable agricultural and climatic areas were found to cultivate seed plants of beetroot and produce the high quality seeds that preserved all biological and horticulturally valuable traits. The varieties of beetroot, such as ‘Uspekh’ (variety type Bordeaux), ‘Primorskaya Cylidricheskaya’ (variety type Granat), ‘Primorskaya 4’ (variety type Bordeaux), breeding accessions ‘POOS 22’ (Bordeaux, Primorskaya) were developed and included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements.

The experiments were performed during the two successive seasons of 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 at the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Growing, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan. The experiment was aimed to study the efficiency of 117 different beetroot accessions for productivity and storability. To study the storability, 20 beetroot roots without any external sings of diseases were taken in two replications from each variety accession and left to be stored. The wet fresh weight of beetroots placed into storage varied from 132 g to 320 g depending on the shape and the size of roots. Beetroots were stored in polypropylene bags, which were placed on barred shelves 30-35 cm high. The storing temperature in autumn and spring period of time fluctuated from 3-5o to 6-8°, but in winter period it was 1-2°. The observed results showed that the gross yield of beetroot accessions ranged from 25.0 to 105.4 t/ha, marketable yield – 16.7 to 74.9 t/ha, marketability – 33.8 to 97.2%. Storability of beet roots mostly depended on accession genotype with different natural decrease of weight and root rot diseases. Natural decrease of weight varied from 0.0 to 12.3%, total losses from root diseases were from 0.0 to 90.0%. The analysis carried out showed that the link between yield capacity and storage characteristics was weak, R= -0,042-0,144. The correlation between storability and root rot was R = -0,516-0,644, that was stronger than it was in natural decrease of weight, R = -0.115.

When working with pollen, it is important to keep its functional parameters for some time. To do this, you need to choose the best conditions to preserve pollen germination. The influence of different method of pollen storage of inbred plants of beetroot on its functional characteristics, at germination on artificial nutrient medium under conditions in vitro. When storing pollen in eppendorf tube for the second-third day, the pollen germination decreased by 3-10 times compared to the initial value, after a week of storage, pollen was in conglomerates, a lot of burst pollen. When stored on the sprigs for the seventh to eighth days, the decrease in pollen germination was no more than 30% of the control, and the growth rate of the pollen tube in most samples remained approximately at the control level. For a comparative analysis of the germination of pollen of inbred plants beetroot when evaluating a large set of samples, it is recommended to store flowering twigs in paper bags at a reduced temperature (10-12°C). This is important when working with a large set of samples where it is not possible to compare them at the same time.

Potato and table beet are traditional crops in vegetable growing in Russia. It is important to produce high, environmentally friendly crops. The effect of mineral fertilizers to reduce the accumulation of heavy metals (HM) in beetroot and potatoes was studied in the experiment on ordinary chernozem. The soil was supplied with Cu, Zn and Pb, as a mineral fertilizer, Azofosca (N16%, P16%, K16%) was also used in the experiment. Salts of heavy metals and fertilizer were introduced in accordance with the developed scheme of experiment: 1. Control; 2. Cu100Zn100Pb100; 3. N60P60K60 + Cu100Zn100Pb100. In the soil, the total stock of metals and their mobile forms were determined, and the content of metals and yield were defined in plants. The results of the study showed that for gross forms MRL exceeded in all metals studied, and in mobile forms of Cu and Pb. With the joint application of HM to the soil with fertilizer, the mobility of metals decreased. In the root crops, the excess of MRL for Cu, Zn and Pb was observed. With the joint application of HM with fertilizers, the content of Zn and Pb in the root crops decreased below the MRL. Beet was more likely to accumulate HM than potatoes. The yield of beetroot and potato beets varied greatly in terms of experiment options. Thus, the introduction of HM into the soil significantly reduced the yield of beets. The introduction of fertilizers together with HM contributed to an increase in yield, but for beet, the yield level here was also lower than in the control variant. When growing roots in technogenically transformed conditions, the potato is characterized by sufficiently higher yield stability and does not accumulate toxic amounts of HM on a fertilized ground.