Relevance. Eating a natural product of seedlings can completely replenish the body with missing vitamins, but there are problems in obtaining seedlings – damage to seeds by a complex of phytopathogens. Obtaining high-quality soy seedlings is an urgent task.The purpose of the research is to identify the main problems associated with the manifestation and removal of pathogenic microbiota in the production of vegetable soybean seedlings.Material and Methods. The seeds of domestic and foreign soybean varieties served as the material. Patent No. 2349098 of the Russian Federation. The determination of germination and infection of seeds was carried out according to GOST 12038-84 in 4 repetitions. Methods of disinfection of seeds: ultraviolet radiation and ozonation.Results and Discussion. It was revealed that the Hidaka variety has a high seed contamination of 48.7%, and low germination. The varieties Sibiryachka and Lydia have high germination, pathogen infestation is 6 and 8%, respectively. The contamination of the seeds of the Bar variety was a minimum of 2.7%, this variety was taken into further work. Pathogens from the genera Mucor spp., Fusarium spp., Alternaria spp., Pythium spp., Penicillium have been isolated. The phases of water consumption of vegetable soybeans have been determined, which makes it possible to determine the weight of the seed in a specific period of time and use the data for pre-sowing seed treatment. Ecological methods of disinfection of seed material have been tested – treatment with ultraviolet radiation, the use of ozone washing and ozonation of water. An analysis of the percentage of the yield of healthy and affected seedlings, depending on the method of seed treatment, showed that the untreated option has the lowest number of healthy seedlings – 10.76%. UV treatment of dry seeds and treatment in an ozone sink allowed to increase the yield of healthy seedlings to 14.24 and 14.30%, respectively. UV treatment of soaked seeds allowed to increase the yield of healthy products by 62%, and the option of using an ozone sink with further use of ozonated water allowed to obtain the maximum yield of healthy seedlings – 20.04%, which is 2 times higher relative to the control.

Relevance. Salvia officinalis L. is an important essential oilseed crop with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Providing the pharmaceutical industry with raw materials of Salvia in full is possible due to the expansion of production areas and the availability of the maximum amount of highquality seed material of new promising varieties.Methods. In 2019-2022 in the conditions of the North Caucasus branch of VILAR on a new variety of Salvia Fioletovy aromat II year of vegetation by staging small-scale experiments were conducted to study the systematic application of organomineral fertilizer – EcoFus and growth regulators of different mechanism of action – Zircon, Epin-extra, retardant Hardy to increase seed productivity and seed quality. The area of the experimental plots was 12 m2. Treatment with EcoFus was carried out at the beginning of regrowth, and with bioregulators – during the budding phase. The consumption of the working solution is 300 l/ha. Control variants of medicinal crops were treated with water.Results. Application of EcoFus in the phase of regrowth contributed to the activation of the intensity of photosynthesis and increase in the accumulation of plastic substances, which allowed plants to enter the generative phase earlier, the budding phase came 2-3 days earlier than in the control. Subsequent treatment of budding plants with growth regulators led to earlier and more friendly flowering, the time of seed ripening was reduced by 3-4 days. The highest efficiency was observed in the variants of joint application of EcoFus with Zircon or Hardy, where the number of inflorescences on plants increased, seed setting and seed productivity increased by 37-42%, seed quality also improved – weight of 1000 seeds increased by 9-10% and germination by 6-7%.

The development of classical methods of soaking and growing seeds to the method of hydropriming and its further improvement based on the introduction of new knowledge and integrated approaches are shown. Priming is a controlled hydration of seeds (saturation with a limited amount of water), which causes the activation of metabolism, the initiation of germination (preventing the appearance of a root) and ensuring the subsequent reversibility of this process (by drying) while maintaining a stimulating effect. P.A. Genkel, who presented a thorough theoretical justification and detailed experimental confirmation of the effectiveness of pre-sowing soaking and subsequent drying (often multiple times) to increase drought and salt tolerance of plants. For a complex of methods for influencing seeds with water and osmotic solutions, W. Heidecker proposed the term priming, which is widely used in the English language, but at first did not take root in Russian literature. The characteristic of the internal reasons for the decrease in the viability of seeds, associated primarily with the aging process, during which the depletion of nutrient reserves, the accumulation of growth inhibitors, mutagens, reactive oxygen species and other harmful substances, the denaturation of proteins and nucleic acids, the oxidation of unsaturated lipids and external (abiotic and biotic), and their interactions. The article provides information about agents and methods, technical solutions and priming techniques. The role of water, conditions, factors, parameters, fundamental morpho-anatomical, physiological and biochemical substantiation of the germination process are described. The shortcomings of priming and ways to overcome them are outlined on the basis of an in-depth study of the metabolic processes occurring in the process of priming and subsequent germination in order to understand the mechanisms for increasing the sowing and productive properties of seeds. The necessity of maximizing the practice of applying priming, especially in difficult environmental conditions, was noted.

Rich in high quality protein, vitamins, carbohydrates, organic acids and trace elements seeds, green fruits and young leaves broad beans (Vicia faba L. var. major Harz) has long been used in the food, and the culture of beans are promising in biological agriculture and horticulture. The aim of this work was to study the structure of seed production of different varieties of broad beans in the South Central zone of the region. At the Botanical garden BelSU (Belgorod) to study the structure of seed production of different varieties of broad beans (Belarusiskie, Velena, Russkie chernie, Aquadul) and determined the biochemical composition of seeds. Optimal height of attachment of the first fruit for mechanical harvesting (20-25 cm) characteristic of plants of all studied varieties. Weight of the fetus, according to the coefficient of variability, equal to 45%, distinguished by a strong variability on grades with a maximum grade of Velena. The length of fruit ranged from 9 to 13 cm and were characterized by moderate variability (V=20%). Seeds production is determinened not only by size of fruits of beans, but and its important components such as 1000 seed weight. Protein content in the seeds at 30% different varieties of broad beans domestic breeding. Contents of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and iron is higher in the cotyledons than in the skin. Dark purple color of the seed varieties of Russian black is due to the biosynthesis useful for human organism anthocyanins in seed peel.

The main directions of basic and applied researches in plant breeding and seed production of vegetable crops are presented up to 2020. The ways of improvement of organizational effectiveness are proposed.

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.

The standard methods of analysis don’t meet all modern requirements to determine the seed a quality. These methods can’t unveil inner deficiencies that are very important to control seed viability. The capabilities of new instrumental method to analyze the seed quality of root vegetables were regarded in the article. The method of micro-focus radiography is distinguished from other existing methods by more sensitivity, rapidity and easiness to be performed. Based on practical importance the visualization of inner seed structure, it allows determining far before seed germination the degree of endosperm development and embryo; the presence of inner damages and infections, occupation and damage caused by pests. The use of micro-focus radiography enables to detect the degree of seed quality difference for some traits such as monogermity and self-fertilization that are economically valuable for breeding program in red beet. With the aid of the method the level of seed development, damage and inner deficiencies in carrot and parsnip can be revealed. In X-ray projection seeds of inbred lines of radish significantly differed from variety population ones for their underdevelopment in the inner structure. The advantage of the method is that seeds rest undamaged after quality analyzing and both can be used for further examination with the use of other methods or be sown; that is quite important for breeders, when handling with small quantity or collectable plant breeding material. The results radiography analyses can be saved and archived that enables to watch for seed qualities in dynamic; this data can be also used at possible arbitration cases.

The optimal scheme and plant density of non-seedling tomato culture for seed production purposes in condition of Dagestan Studied were determined.

Анализ изображений является доступным методом преобразования качественных переменных в количественные. Рассмотрена разработка в области компьютерного анализа изображений, которая улучшает понимание морфологии семян с точки зрения параметров их радиальной разнокачественности: размера, формы и цветовой гаммы. Цель работы - измерение геометрических показателей и анализа цветовых признаков семянок лука Кристофа (Allium cristophii Trautv.) в цветовом пространстве RGB, и выявление особенностей, обусловленных разноярусным расположением в соцветии. Проанализированы разнокачественные семена A. cristophii из биоколлекции Всероссийского НИИ овощеводства. Измерение морфометрических и оптических параметров семян осуществляли путем анализа их изображений с помощью программного обеспечения "ВидеоТест-Морфология". Проведенный анализ показал, что длина и ширина семянок с нижнего яруса составили 3,301 и 2,681 мм, со среднего – 3,295 и 2,605 мм и с верхнего яруса – 3,265 и 2,58 мм соответственно. Средний размер семянок с нижнего яруса находился на уровне 2,99 мм, среднего – 2,95 мм и нижнего яруса – 2,92 мм. Выявлено статистически значимое снижение показателей по всем цветовым каналам (RGB) от нижнего яруса к верхнему. Ярусное расположение цветков на соцветии является причиной неодновременного созревания семянок Allium. Оперативная легкость, низкая стоимость коммерческих компьютерных технологий, неразрушающий анализ семян и сортировка подчеркивают потенциал этого метода для применения в семенных лабораториях. | An image analysis is an accessible method of transforming qualitative variables to quantitative variables. There has been examined the development in the field of computer image analysis that improves the understanding of seed morphology in terms of their radial heterogeneity parameters: size, shape and color range. The aim of the work was to measure geometric indicators and to analyze the color characteristics of Persian onion (Allium cristophii Trautv.) seeds in the RGB color space, and to reveal the peculiarities determined by the multi-tiered arrangement in the inflorescence. The heterogeneous seeds A. cristophii from All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Growing biocollection of the Federal Scientific Vegetable Center were analyzed. The morphometric and optical parameters of the seeds were measured by analyzing their images using the VideoTesT-Morphology software. The analysis as carried out showed that the length and width of the seeds from the lower tier were 3.301 and 2.681 mm, from the average – 3.295 and 2.605 mm and from the upper tier – 3.265 and 2.58 mm respectively. The average seed size from the lower tier was 2.99 mm, the average size was 2.95 mm and the lower tier was 2.92 mm. A statistically significant decrease in the indicators over all color channels (RGB) from the lower tier – to the upper tier was revealed. The tiered arrangement of flowers on the inflorescence is the cause of non-time maturation of Allium seeds. Operational ease, low cost commercial computer technology, non-destructive seed analysis and sorting, highlight the potential of this method for application in a seed laboratory.