Allelopathic activiti of eastern galega seeds with oil crops

Relevanсe. The novelty of our research lies in the fact that for the first time the allelopathic interaction of eastern galega seeds with a wide range of oilseeds is being studied. The aim of this work is to study the allelopathic effect in the initial stages of plant ontogenesis. The objectives of the study were to identify cultures with a positive and negative impact on the growth and development of sprouts of eastern galega. The objects of research were eastern galega Magister, false saffron Alexandrite, saperda mustard Lux, spring rape Tavrion, hemp Nadezhda, spring cress Iskra, white mustard Lucia, abyssinian colewort Polet, ethiopian niger seed Medea, oil radish Fiolina, damascene fennelflower Yalita, hybrid sunflower P63 LE 10 (XF 3020), winter camelina Baron, spring camelina Velez, oilseed flax Istok. The experiments were carried out in two layouts in 2019–2020 on the basis of a separate division of the Federal research center for fiber crops in the Penza region.Methods. The evaluation of allelopathic activity was carried out using a method that involves the germination of plant seeds, followed by the calculation of the percentage of germination. The number of seeds and seedlings at different stages of ontogenesis was determined along with measuring the length of the root, stem and leaf.Results. At the initial stages of ontogenesis, a weak negative allelopathic effect on the eastern galega is exerted by the abyssinian colewort Polet — the number of fullfledged seedlings was -6,1% to the control. A positive effect on the germination and development of galega seedlings is exerted by damascene fennelflower Yalita (+8,3% to control), ethiopian niger seed Medea (+8,1 to control), oilseed flax Istok (+6,4% to control). In general, the length of the galega seedling was at the level of control with damascene fennelflower and ethiopian niger seed is 3,27 and 3,24 cm (-0,40 and 0,43 cm respectively). A significant decrease is observed in the variants with oilseed flax, spring camelina, winter camelina, spring rape, false saffron, sunflower, saperda mustard, white mustard, hemp, abyssinian colewort and spring cress — from 2,81 to 1,66 cm (-0,86–2,01 cm to control).

Dieter Eckstein, 1939-2021 and his rich legacy of dendrochronology in Slovenia and the world

Prof. Dr. Dieter Eckstein (1939-2021) was a leading scientist, teacher, mentor, leader, promoter and motivatorin the field of dendrochronology and wood biology. After graduating in wood science and receiving a PhD indendrochronology, he was professor of wood biology at the University of Hamburg. From 1995-2004, he was Director of the Department of Wood Biology, University of Hamburg, and of the Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Protection at the Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products in Hamburg, Germany. His work had a decisive influence on the development of wood anatomy, wood biology and dendrochronology and his laboratory was a reference point for dendrochronology worldwide. He supported dendrochronologists throughout Europe and around the world in their pioneering work to establish dendrochronology laboratories and develop dendrochronology in numerous countries, including Slovenia.

The unified system for storing and accessing geophysical data. Traditions and new approaches

The features of the development of data collection systems within the Information Processing Center (IPC) of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GS RAS) are presenting. Historical information is given, including technical details related to the systematization of the archive and the evolution of geophysical data formats. The historical, territorial features, as well as the experience of deploying such information systems within the Federal Research Center of the Unified State Social Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences and abroad are taken into account. A new concept of building an information system is proposed, which takes into account the requirements for scalability, reproducibility at various objects and the use of standard software. A lot of work was done to form a homogeneous archive of waveforms and an inventory of metadata for seismic stations, which resulted in the possibility of including the GS RAS in the international centers for processing geophysical information based on FDSN. Creation of a distributed collection and processing system using a cloud service allows abstracting from the territorial features of collecting and storing geophysical information, which increases the performance of the data access service and the degree of technical readiness of key system nodes.

The System of Continuing Education at the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM

From 1930 to 1991 our country built a well-structured system of agroengineering higher education institutions and faculties of mechanization that, for 90 years, effectively developed and operated solving the problem of training engineering personnel for the evolving mechanized agriculture. The collapse of the USSR caused dramatic changes in the country system of agricultural engineering education. As a result of numerous reorganizations and reforms in the Russian system of higher education, agroengineering universities ceased to exist independently and had to join agricultural universities. The mergers and integration of research institutions and the establishment of large federal research centers on their basis have made it expedient to implement a continuing professional education system (master’s, postgraduate, doctoral studies).The Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is developing the system of continuing professional education for training modern agricultural engineering personnel in the field of automation, robotization, digital technologies. A current target of the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is the implementation of Master’s degree programs.

Intercultural Philosophy: A Polylogue of Traditions

This article provides an overview of the Seventh International Readings on the History of Russian Philosophy, entitled “Intercultural Philosophy: A Polylogue of Traditions”, which were held at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences – a branch of the Federal Research Sociological Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The path of the intercultural philosophy began around the 1980ies and 1990ies in Germany and Austria as a criticism of Western-centrism in philosophy and as an ideological alternative to the Western style of thinking. In this conference, an attempt was made to transfer the principles and methods of intercultural philosophy (philosophy of polylogue) to the history of Russian philosophy. This article also offers a summary of the structure of the conference, the content of its plenary lectures as well as the reports on the intercultural subjects and polylogue methodology, including their applied aspects. The main parts of the plenary sessions, roundtables and seminars that were held within the conference are also analyzed. It is pointed out that the process of formation of intercultural philosophy has not been completed yet; its terminology has not been established; and, eventually, the methods and results have not received wide recognition. However, the period of declarations and of manifestos is coming to an end. The conference contributed to the popularization of intercultural philosophy and the philosophy of polylogue in Russia. Relying on the experience and traditions of non-Western thinking, it offers a solution to the problems facing modern humanity, it indicates a number of possible ways to overcome the crisis situations in culture and society, and it also provides some answers to the “eternal” philosophical questions.

The study of onion source material in the light-brown soils of the Caspian Sea arid zone

In the conditions of the Astrakhan region there have been studied onion accessions of various ecological and geographical origin from the world collection of the Federal Research Center N. I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources. The aim was to search and isolate sources and donors of agronomic traits for breeding work. Over three years of study (2017-2019), 117 onion samples were evaluated, of which 14 most promising accessions were identified based on the results of phenological, morphological and biometric observations and counts. The most productive samples with the yield from 52.3 to 64.1 t/ha in the conditions of the light-brown soils from Australia (Selfed), Hungary (Zillani), USA (Red Mom), Canada (Nothern) have been selected. Of these, the most adaptive to the conditions of the arid zone are Nothern, Selfed, Zillani, Red Mom (adaptability coefficient 1.19...1.46). According to the index form (1.0), the following specimens were identified: Vertus (Denmark), Southport (Canada), Zillani (Hungary), Jetset (Netherlands), Encore (USA), Kyrmyz (Abkhazia). Varieties with the complex of agronomictraits are the most valuable source material for onion breeding in the arid zone of light-brown soils of the Astrakhan region: Selfed (Australia), Zillani (Hungary), Red Mom (USA), Nothern (Canada).

The Genetic Landscape of Fiber Flax

Genetic diversity in a breeding program is essential to overcome modern-day environmental challenges faced by humanity and produce robust, resilient crop cultivars with improved agronomic characteristics, as well as to trace crop domestication history. Flax (Linum usitatissimum), one of the first crops domesticated by mankind, has been traditionally cultivated for fiber as well as for medicinal purposes and as a nutritional product. The origins of fiber flax are hidden in the mists of time and can be hypothetically traced back to either the Indo-Afghan region or Fertile Crescent. To shed new light on fiber flax genetic diversity and breeding history, in this study, we presented a comprehensive analysis of the core collection of flax (306 accessions) of different morphotypes and geographic origins maintained by the Russian Federal Research Center for Bast Fiber Crops. We observed significant population differentiation between oilseed and fiber morphotypes, as well as mapped genomic regions affected by recent breeding efforts. We also sought to unravel the origins of kryazhs, Russian heritage landraces, and their genetic relatedness to modern fiber flax cultivars. For the first time, our results provide strong genetic evidence in favor of the hypothesis on kryazh’s mixed origin from both the Indo-Afghan diversity center and Fertile Crescent. Finally, we showed predominant contribution from Russian landraces and kryazhs into the ancestry of modern fiber flax varieties. Taken together, these findings may have practical implications on the development of new improved flax varieties with desirable traits that give farmers greater choice in crop management and meet the aspirations of breeders.

Resistance of oat breeding lines to grain contamination with Fusarium langsethiae and T-2/HT-2 toxins

Fusarium disease of oats reduces yield quality due to decreasing germination that is caused by then contamination of grain with mycotoxins produced by Fusarium fungi. The aim of this study was to characterize the resistance of naked breeding lines of oats to fungal grain infection and to contamination with T-2 and HT-2 toxins. Thirteen naked oat breeding lines and two naked varieties, Nemchinovsky 61 and Vyatskiy, as well as a husked variety Yakov, were grown under natural conditions in the Nemchinovka Federal Research Center in 2019–2020. The contamination of grain with fungi was determined by the mycological method and real-time PCR. The analysis of mycotoxins was carried out by ELISA. In oats, Alternaria (the grain infection was 15–90 %), Cochliobolus (1–33 %), Cladosporium (1–19 %), Epicoccum (0–11 %), and Fusarium (3–17 %) fungi prevailed in the grain mycobiota. The predominant Fusarium species were F. poae (its proportion among Fusarium fungi was 49–68 %) and F. langsethiae (29–28 %). The highest amounts of F. langsethiae DNA ((27.9–71.9)×10–4 pg/ng) and T-2/HT-2 toxins (790–1230 μg/kg) were found in the grain of husked oat Yakov. Among the analysed naked oat lines, the amount of F. langsethiae DNA varied in the range of (1.2–42.7)×10–4 pg/ng, and the content of T-2/HT-2 toxins was in the range of 5–229 μg/kg. Two oat breeding lines, 54h2476 and 66h2618, as well as a new variety, Azil (57h2396), can be characterized as highly resistant to infection with Fusarium fungi and contamination with mycotoxins compared to the control variety Vyatskiy.

The effectiveness of fertilizer for sunflower on typical black soil of the Tambov region

Currently, sunflower is the main oil crop in the Tambov region. The most important task of modern agricultural production is the use of technologies that increase the yield and quality of field crops. Data on seed and oil yield of sunflower are very important when choosing different types of mineral fertilizers. In this regard, the purpose of our research was to study the effect of various doses, methods and terms of application of macro- and microfertilizers on yield, crop quality and oil yield of sunflower in a link of the 6-year crop rotation: fallow – winter wheat – corn (for grain) – barley – sunflower – spring wheat. The research was conducted at the Tambov Research Institute of Agriculture – a branch of the I.V. Michurin Federal Research Center, which is located in the Tambov region. On typical black soil, application of both traditional mineral fertilizers (N16P16K16) for plowing, and liquid mineral fertilizers (Megamix) during pre-sowing treatment and for plants treatment during vegetative period contributes to obtaining an additional seed and oil yields. For 2014–2020, the highest seed and oil yields were obtained in variant (5) with N30P30K30 for plowing + seed treatment with Megamix (2.0 l/t) and amounted to 2.84 t/ha and 1324 kg/ha, respectively. The fat content varied depending on the variant of the experiment. The maximum indicator of 53.6% was in the variant with the application of N30P30K30. But due to the lower seed yield, the oil yield amounted to 1.21 t/ha. All variants for seed and oil yields were superior to the control one (without fertilizers).

Vegetable Pest Monitoring Using Insect Trap Lights

The results of improving the design of autonomous LED insect trap lights developed by the Federal Research Center for Plant Biological Protection are provided. The flying dynamics of the summer Helicoverpa armigera is shown. It was found that the insect trap light attracted 2.6 times more phytophagous specimens than pheromon traps. A separating element of a insect trap light been developed, which makes it possible to reduce 50 times the number of captured representatives of useful and indifferent entomofauna. The efficiency of battery charging has been increased by 43%.