Relevance. Growing plants in artificial conditions (closed agroecosystems) requires precise regulation of plant growth factors, starting from the first stages of ontogenesis. One of the parameters is the presence or absence of light in the period of seed germination. For most types of cabbage the standard method is germination in the dark, but for freshly harvested seeds (at rest) light exposure is necessary. According to the literature, the mechanisms of the effect of light on seed germination are complex and ambiguous, so the issue needs detailed research.Methods. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to study the germination of seeds of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenck) and Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. chinensis), taking into account the light factor and the simultaneous analysis of antioxidant activity as a marker of changes in metabolic processes.Results. The experiment has revealed a significant increase in the antioxidant activity of the microgreens during germination in the dark compared to germination in the light (in broccoli by 5.5 times, in Chinese cabbage by 4.8 times). Later on, after the seedlings are moved to the light, the differences between the light and dark versions practically disappear. After germination in the light, the antioxidant activity of microgreens in comparison with the original (dry seeds) decreased by 3-3.5 times, while in the dark – on the contrary, increased by 1.5-1.6 times. The final results of germination (germination energy and seed germination) practically do not differ in the versions. In the case of dark germination, the height of microgreens is greater (due to etiolation and stretching in the absence of light), however, later on, the differences in the versions are smoothed out. The biomass of microgreens in the version of light germination on the 4th day after sowing seeds in broccoli is by 9.1% higher, in Chinese cabbage – by 10.5%. In case of Chinese cabbage, differences remained until the end of the experiment (on the 18th day from sowing seeds), in case of broccoli they were smoothed out. Comparison of two kinds of cabbage has showen that broccoli in the closed system of the synergotron forms a much higher aboveground biomass than Chinese cabbage (on the 4th day after sowing – by 37%, on the 18th day – by 75.4% in the dark version).

Relevance. Significant harm to the culture of tomato, speaking about the middle Russia open ground plantations, is caused by fungal diseases, among which the most common are Fusarium wilt, late blight, alternariosis. To reduce the harmfulness of diseases, it is important to create stable and precocious hybrids that can give most of the crop before the mass development of diseases occurs. The complex system of protection includes preventive measures, the use of growth regulators possessing protective and stimulating action, application of biological preparations and fungicidal treatment. In terms of epiphytotic diseases, the most effective are chemicals, among which the increasing use get multipurpose products, involving several antifungal ingredients.Methods. The article presents the test results of the Uniform fungicide (321,7 g/l Аsoxystrobin + 123,7 g/l to Мefenoxam) against root rot of open ground tomato culture, grown in Moscow region. The estimation of biological and economic efficiency of Uniform application depending on the rate of consumption and multiplicity of treatments was carried out. The tomato Donskoy F1 hybrid, grown on drip irrigation, was used in experiments. Threefold background mode treatment of plants against late blight was carried out by fungicide Revus Top: at the onset of the first symptoms of the disease and hereinafter with 14 days intervals. Flow rate was 0.5 l/ha with solution consumption reaching 200 l/ha. Treatment of tomato plants by Uniform fungicide was performed by watering at the root under the flow rates of 0.9 l/ha and 1.5 l/ha and solution consumption of 200 l/ha. First application of seedlings was performed when planting, the second – 20 days after the first. The area of experimental plots was 20 m2, area of account plots was 10 m2. The repetition of account monitoring was fourfold.Results. The best results were achieved when using Uniform at the rate of 1.5 l/ha by root watering during transplanting and repeatedly at 20 days intervals. An increase in survival rate of seedlings, reduction of incidence of root rot by 81.2-86.9% and tomato yield increase by 29.7% to control under the influence of Uniform treatments were observed.

Relevance. One of the types of agricultural raw materials for the food industry is the root chicory, the product from the roots of which is produced in pure form, as well as is an important component in the production of tea and coffee drinks, confectionery. Its value is determined by the content in the roots of inulin, fructose, intibin and chicory. Despite the great economic importance and economic profitability of chicory cultivation, in recent years, the local processing industry is not provided with this type of raw material and is forced to buy the product from dried root crops in other countries, such as Ukraine, Italy and India. Modern agricultural production is in dire need of new varieties of root chicory, combining high yields and chemical and technological qualities, having the form of a root crop suitable for mechanized harvesting, and adapted to cultivation in soil and climatic conditions of the Non-chernozem zone. Purpose of work: to assess the nature of the impact of ultraviolet radiation in the time mode on watermelon seeds using cytogenetic analysis.Material and methods. The article describes the results of the test in the control nursery of a new sample of chicory root with 0428 selection of Rostov OSC.Results. As a result of breeding work, a promising sample of root chicory. It was isolated early maturing, with high yields and economically valuable properties, root crop truncated, suitable for mechanized harvesting by commercially available machines.

Researches conducted on lands Nikolayev state agricultural research station IIA NAAS in 2017- 2018. Soil of an experimental plot is chernozem southern weakly eroded clay loamy on loess’s, it is noted by high contents potassium, average – phosphorus and it is not enough provided by nitrogen. Climate of region – continental, is characterized sharp and repeated by fluctuations annual and month temperature of air, greater spare of heat and aridity. Agrotechnic in experiment was generally accepted for southern Steppe of Ukraine. Scheme of experience included three factors – a sowing periods: II ten-day period of October (winter), II ten-day period of November (underwinter), I ten-day period of April (spring); variants of fertilizers: without fertilizers (control), recommended dose (N60P60) and N30Р30 broadcast + N30Р30 with irrigated water; the modes of irrigation: 80-70-70% of minimum moisture-holding capacity and 90-80-70% of minimum moisture-holding capacity. It is shown that hyssop – valuable spicy-aromatic culture, which on their own biological particularity, requirements to soil-climatic conditions can be successfully grown in southern Steppe of Ukraine, providing high harvest of floral mass for use in medical pharmacology. Most productivity variety Marquis (at a rate of 28.4-28.5 c/hа dry cheese) provided in variant, where contributed 50% dose of fertilizers broadcast and 50% with irrigated water and winter sowing period of culture. Maximum contents of essential oil has fixed in same variant at mode irrigation 80-70-70% of minimum moisture-holding capacity, where it has formed 0.85 %. Contents of ascorbic acid in plant raw material varied from 100.4 before 104.9 mg%.

Relevance. Garlic is one of the most valuable food products and the increase in its production is associated with the growing needs of the population, the processing industry and medicine. Garlic is very responsive to the use of fertilizers, which are an integral part of the cultivation of individual crops and are aimed at obtaining high and stable yields with good quality products.Methods. The purpose of the research is to study the productivity of winter garlic, depending on the application of various norms of fertilizers. The studies were conducted in the arid zone of the Stavropol Territory. The objects of research were varieties of winter garlic Lyubasha, Leader, Jubileyny Gribovsky, the rate of mineral fertilizers. Potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, ammophos were used as mineral fertilizers.Results. As a result, it was established that with the use of fertilizers, the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the formation of the yield of garlic increased. The largest vegetative mass of garlic was formed when using the N120P95K50 in the food system; the highest values for plant height and leaf area were obtained, the difference with respect to control, was between 5-18 cm and 9-45 cm2 , respectively. The largest mass of the bulbs was obtained when making garlic N120P95K50 – 51-85 g, which exceeded the control by 15-18 g. Garlic plants grown with the use of N80P95K50 were the least affected with diseases - the degree of development of the diseases was less than with control, by 0.2-1.5%. The use of fertilizers in the cultivation of garlic contributed to an increase in crop yield: the highest indicators were obtained when applying N120P95K50 – 19.4-21.3 t/ha, which was more control, by 0.4-3.2 t/ha. Most of the nutrients in the bulbs accumulated when using N80P95K50: the dry matter content exceeded the control, N80P95K75 and N120P95K50 by 3-10%, sugars – by 0.3-1.4%, essential oils – by 0.02-0.1 mg/100 g, vitamin C – 2-8 mg per 100 g wet weight. The amount of nitrates in garlic bulbs was lower than the MPC by 3-33 mg/kg.

Relevance. Common dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is an annual plant of the celery family (Apiaceae). It has alternated variously repeatedly pinnatisected simple leaves character- ized by a number of morphological features including color, presence of waxy bloom, size and density of the final segments, size and shape of the leaf blade. Leaves on different nodes of the same plant can be variable. Environment conditions of plant cultivation also affect some morphological characteristics of the leaf (inc. size of the leaf and its final segments). But, under the same conditions each variety of dill possess a certain set of morphological features that determine the variety identity. In recent years, dill varieties with new morphological features of the leaf blade have emerged, and it is important to evaluate and classify the existing morphologic diversity of the plant.Methods. Several methods are currently used to describe morphological features of dill leaves structure: developed by VIR (All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources), UPOV, the plant approbation manual, description of leafy vegetables in “Cultivated Flora” compendium. There are similarities and differences between the methods in description of characteristics and their grouping according to the extent of the characters. In this study the current methods for description of the morphological features of dill leafs were compared. The described morphological evaluation of the dill varieties was carried out at 2016–2018 in open field in the Research Institute of Vegetable Crop Breeding (LLC), in the “Gavrish-Slobodskoy” Plant Breeding Center (Pavlovskaya Sloboda, Istrinsky district, Moscow region).Results. As a result, it was revealed that the UPOV method more comprehensively describes the morphological characteristics of dill leaf blade. This method can be extended in the following direction: Establish groups according to the length of leaf, using leaf blade length without petiole: small leaf blade – 5-12 cm, medium – 12-25 cm, large – 25- 40 cm; Establish new character: a density of leaf segments (in parts of the 2nd order) and identify the following groups: thin (up to 5 segments), medium density (6-15 segments), and dense (16 or more segments) arrangement of the segments; Establish new character: segment length, grouping it according their actual length: up to 1 cm – short, from 1 to 1.5 cm – medium, and more than 1.5 cm – long leaf segments. According to the evaluated leaf morphological characteristics: size, color, presence of waxy bloom, “leaf patterns”, the dill plants are very diverse. Two dill morphotypes can be distinguished by presence or absence of waxy bloom, 3 morphotypes by the leaf shape (diamond-shaped, elongated, triangular), and 27 morphotypes – by location and size of the final leaf segments.

The work presents the results of the study of the antioxidant activity of fruits (clapper seeds) of aromatic plants, (Apiaceae, Lindl.): dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.). The plant materials for determining the total content of antioxidants were collected during an ecological-geographical experiment at the Gunib and Tsudakhar experimental bases of the Mountain Botanical Garden of the Dagestan Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, at altitudes of 1100 and 1730 meters above sea level, simulating the conditions of mountain-valley and upper mountain climate zones, respectively. Determination of the total content of antioxidants in aqueous solutions was performed by the amperometric method on “Tsvet Yauza 01 -AA” instrument. Studies have shown the variability of accumulation of antioxidants, depending on the type, variety, height above sea level of the place of growth of the sample. In terms of the total content of antioxidants, the effect of the cultivation area substantially exceeded the inter-variety differences. In the studied species, intervarietal differences appeared more clearly in A. graveolens, which correlated with the latitude of the range and the ecological amplitude of growth of these species in natural habitats. The obtained data on the study of antioxidant activity in some aromatic medicinal plants allow to evaluate their biological value, to recommend more distinguished samples for cultivation. Plant materials with a high accumulation of antioxidants that can neutralize the harmful effects of oxidative stress can be used as a source of natural polyphenols, natural antioxidants in food. This methodical approach, demonstrated in the work, can serve as a methodological basis for studying the “genotype x environment” interaction and express assessment of varieties, clones, populations, and other units of accounting for the stability and sustainability of the parameters studied, including the content of antioxidants.

Relevance. A wide range of pharmacological effects of tansy and Echinacea purpurea determine the continuing interest in the study of these cultures. Medicinal crops contain not only a large number of biologically active substances, but also trace elements necessary for normal growth and development. Agronomic bio-enrichment of medicinal raw materials allows you to increase productivity, manage product quality in the direction of enhancing the pharmacological action. Thus, the aim of the work was to study the effect of various doses of zinc acetate on the productivity of two medicinal crops of tansy and Echinacea purpurea.Material and methods. Studies were conducted from 2012 to 2018 on meadow-chernozem soil of the southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia. As objects of research, perennial medicinal crops were chosen – Tanacetum vulgare L. and Echinacea purpurea L. Zinc fertilizers were applied in the background (N125, N135P45K45) used in acetate form.Results. The introduction of zinc fertilizers into the soil contributed to an increase in the yield of medicinal crops in the conditions of the south of Western Siberia. It was revealed that the maximum yield was observed on the variants of 0.75 MAC Zn (Tanacetum vulgare L.) and 0.5 MAC Zn (Echinacea purpurea). Thus, tansy was more responsive to the use of micronutrient fertilizers. The studies established a high correlation relationship (r = 0.88–0.99) between yield indicators and doses of zinc added. The obtained optimal doses of zinc fertilizers (60 and 21.4 kg / ha) can be recommended for growing these crops in order to increase their productivity.

Relevance. Cabbage is one of the most popular products, which is mainly fermented with the addition of various vegetables. When fermentation is not only the original nutrients such as vitamin C, amino acids, dietary fibers, etc., but also develop functional microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria. Fermentation has an important effect on the quality and taste of cabbage, so it is important to study the fermentation process, microbial diversity and changes in nutrients and chemical elements in the fermentation process. L. mesenteroides is considered to be the dominant species on heterofermentative early stages of fermentation. However, there is little information on the diversity of species and strains of Leuconostoc involved in fermentation of sauerkraut. Studies that used traditional biochemical methods to study fermentation of sauerkraut showed that four main types of lactic acid bacteria were involved in the fermentation process: Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus brevis. Taking into account the importance of two-stage fermentation of vegetable raw materials in order to create optimal conditions for the development of the "main" pool of lactic acid microorganisms at the first stage, it becomes urgent to conduct a complex of studies aimed at reproducing the "natural" process in which the main role is played by bacteria of the genus Leuconostoc mesenteroides at the second stage – monocultures of lactic acid microorganisms and their consortia.Methods. The paper studies the dynamics of the type of interaction of lactic acid microorganisms in paired consortiums on model media pretreated by the culture of the species Leuconostoc mesenteroides, at the main stage of step fermentation of white cabbage of the "Parus" variety.Results. It is established that the sum of the criteria, the consortium "L. mesenteroides \ L. casei + L. plantarum" demonstrates the most pronounced advantage compared with monoculture cultivation of appropriate format of pseudotensorial; despite the pronounced synergy in the cultivation of the consortium "L. mesenteroides \ L. brevis + L. plantarum", the dynamics of the comparison index on the rate of increase in the concentration of microorganisms indicates the need for additional research.

In recent years, the transition to the digital economy (platform, gig-economy, it-economy) has been actively developing all over the world. The article analyzes the effectiveness of the use of digitalization by foreign countries, shows the contribution of the digital economy to the GDP of countries, as well as provides an overview of changes in the legal field and in the manufacturing sector, aimed at digitalization of the industry. For the transition to the digital economy, regulatory documents have been prepared, and each state program plans to create a separate section on the development of the digital economy. According to analysts, digital transformation is one of the main factors of global economic growth, and the digitalization of the economy in the Russian Federation will increase GDP by a third by 2025. Digitalization of agriculture will increase production, improve the quality and safety of food products. Blockchain technology will track the entire history of each product, and smart contracts will simplify access to the international market for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. Due to the absence (maximum reduction) of the number of intermediaries, consumer prices for products will decrease, and the price of producers, on the contrary, will increase. By 2024, it is planned to increase productivity growth by 2 times in the "digital" agricultural enterprises. All this will be achieved due to lower production costs, higher yields, increased gross margin, expansion of the market, attracting highly qualified specialists and investors in the agricultural sector. As a result of the project, a significant multiplier effect is expected in other areas, which will improve the economic performance of the country as a whole.