Modern Agricultural production is characterized by an increased need for specialized, highly productive, complementary varieties of feed crops adapted to specific natural and climatic conditions, grown using various technologies, for certain groups of animals. Among the perennial legumes in the south of Russia, sainfoin is in special demand. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the variety samples of various types of sainfoin and a new variety of Transcaucasian sainfoin ‘Kravtsov’ according to the main economically valuable traits and properties when used for feed and seeds. The study was carried out in the zone of unstable moisture in the Stavropol Territory. The soil of the experimental field was represented by low-humus micellar-carbonate medium loamy chernozem, with 3.2 % humus, 12 mg/kg phosphorus and 260 mg/kg potassium in the arable layer. The prevailing weather conditions during the research period made it possible to give a comprehensive estimation of the studied material. According to the results of Competitive Variety Testing, a variety sample of Transcaucasian sainfoin was selected from the studied three types of the crop, which, due to the results of the State Variety Testing in 2021, was included in the State List of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation with permission to use in all regions of the country. A new variety of Transcaucasian sainfoin ‘Kravtsov’ has a complex of such economically valuable traits as intensive spring and post-harvest regrowth, high foliage (42–45 % in the first cut, 52–57 % in the second cut), and resistance to unfavorable environmental factors. The plant height in the budding phase was 110–115 cm, which exceeded standard plants’ height by 10–15 %. The variety is highly resistant to drought and lodging, tolerant to diseases and pests. The variety is highly productive with 33.8 t/ha of green mass, 9.7 t/ha of hay and 1.1 t/ha of seeds. There is 17% crude protein in dry matter. 1000-seed weight is 23–25 g.

The wide distribution of peas among leguminous crops relates to its diverse use. Grain is used for food and feed; green mass is an excellent high-protein animal feed. A significant role in improving productivity and increasing the gross harvest of peas is given to breeding by developing new productive varieties that are adaptive to cultivation conditions. Breeding made it possible to change the traditional leaf-type pea varieties with a large biomass to mustachioed forms with a determinate stem. New varieties have increased the gross harvest and the manufacturability of pea cultivation in аgricultural production. The development of such pea varieties is still relevant today. In this regard, the purpose of the current paper was to develop a new pea variety that combines high productivity, resistance to extreme environmental factors with high feed and nutritional traits.

As a result of the breeding work, there has been developed a promising pea line ‘G-1002’, which was sent to the State Variety Testing of the Russian Federation under the name ‘Skif’ in 2021. In the Competitive Variety Testing (2019–2021), the variety’s yield was from 2.10 to 3.81 t/ha, which is higher than that of the standard variety ‘Aksaisky Usatyi 5’ (1.90–3.42 t/ha) on 0.23 t/ha on average over the years of testing. Analysis of the yield structure of the variety ‘Skif’ has shown that the yield increase of the variety ‘Skif’ was due to a higher seed productivity of one plant (2.4 g) and a larger number of seeds per plant (15.7 pcs.) than that of the standard variety ‘Aksaisky Usatyi 5’ (2.2 g and 13.0 pcs., respectively).

The variety is characterized by a high potential for seed productivity, resistance to negative environmental effects, manufacturability, having a low stem, mustachioed leaves, and non-shattering seeds. The protein percentage in seeds ranged from 25.0 to 25.8 %. The positive qualities inherent in the variety make it possible to successfully cultivate it in the recommended cultivation regions, as well as to use it in further breeding process as an initial material. The calculation of economic efficiency of a variety cultivation showed an increase of up to 4000–5000 rubles per hectare.

Rice is one of the most important crops in the world. Rice crops provide food for many people in Asia and the Pacific. In Russia, the production of this crop is concentrated in several regions, one of which is the Rostov region. The trend towards the greening of agriculture throughout the world and in Russia is becoming more and more stable. In order to combat weeds using an environmentally friendly herbicide-free technology, it is necessary to increase the water layer on simultaneous surviving rice plants. For such a strategy to work, it is necessary to develop varieties that are resistant to flooding. The purpose of the current study was to identify the allelic state of the Sub1A flood resistance gene in breeding rice samples. The objects of the study were 90 rice samples of the sixth generation, identified in hybrids obtained from crossing Russian varieties with gene donor varieties. The analysis was carried out by such methods as DNA extraction using the “DNA-Extran-3” commercial kit (Sintol, Russia), classical PCR with the specialized diagnostic marker Sub1A203, separation of amplicons by electrophoresis in 2 % agarose gels, analysis of electrophoregrams in the software Bio-Rad ImageLab 6.0.1. As a result of the analysis, there was identified the allelic state of the Sub1A gene in 90 rice samples. A significant number of samples carried a non-functional recessive allele, the presence of the gene was not established in 19 samples. The Sub1A gene was in the heterozygous state in 9 samples. The presence of a functional dominant allele of the target gene was identified n 5 breeding samples. There has been recommended to use these samples in breeding work aimed at developing new rice varieties resistant to prolonged flooding.

The study of white lupine samples of grain-forage direction developed by the All-Russian Research Institute of Lupine were carried out for three years (2019–2021) on the fields of the collection farm of the of the department of plant production, breeding and olericulture of the Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin. There have been studied 4 varieties and 26 lines, the variety ‘Michurinsky’ was the standard in the trial. According to the seed productivity in all years of study, most varieties and lines significantly exceeded the standard. On average for 3 years, the most productive lines were ‘SN 17-14’, ‘SN 54-08’ and ‘SN 12–13’, which increase ranged from 43 to 48 % in comparison with the standard variety. Productivity increase from 34 to 39 % was given by the lines ‘SN 816-09’, ‘SN 1735-10’, ‘SN 35-13’ and ‘SN 77-17’. The increase of the varieties ‘Pilgrim’ and ‘Aliy parus’ and four lines ‘SN 18-13’, ‘SN 15-13’, ‘SN 55-14’, ‘SN 138-16’ varied from 21 to 26 % compared to the standard. The variety ‘Timiryazevsky’ and lines ‘SN 1397-10’, ‘SN 78-16’ and ‘SN 25-11’ exceeded the standard on 13–18 %. At the same time, the lines ‘SN 76-16’ and ‘SN 1022-09’ produced the lowest yields, significantly inferior to the standard. The calculation of the adaptability coefficient has shown that the varieties and lines that provided high and stable seed productivity over the years are also highly adaptive to the arid conditions of the region, since this coefficient has exceeded 100 %. The protein percentge in seeds on average for 3 years ranged from 29.55 to 36.45 % with 32.27 % for the standard. Its percentage exceeded 35.0 % among 7 lines and the variety ‘Pilgrim’. The oil content in seeds of the white lupine varieties and lines on average for 3 years ranged from 10.00 to 11.54 %. Most varieties and lines in the trial according to the content of alkaloids in seeds belong to the group of low alkaloids (up to 0.099 %) and medium alkaloids (up to 0.299 %).

Parametric methods for estimating the phenotypic stability of «Agricultural crops require compliance with the normal distribution of data and a balanced design of the experiment, which is rarely achievable under the conditions of current breeding work. This is also relevant for the technology of developing in vitro regenerants with resistance to edaphic stress factors, when the volume of seed material is limited. The purpose of the current study was a comparative estimation of the stability of spring barley regenerants and their donor genotypes (the varieties ‘Acha’, ‘Krasnoyarsky 80’, lines ‘H-42-1060’, ‘R-71-2431’, ‘R-7-1854’, ‘S-7-2623’) based on field trials of 2011–2014 with incomplete matching of sets of studied genotypes from year to year. The work involved indices that allow estimating under the conditions of an incomplete data “genotype × environment” (the index of superiority P_i, nonparametric indices S⁽¹⁾, S⁽³⁾, NP⁽²⁾). Ranking of samples based on stability indices has shown that half of the regenerants surpassed their donor genotypes in terms of phenotypic stability (S⁽¹⁾) (HP.1-Acha, HP-P-71, KP.1-P-71, CP.1-P -71, КР.2-Р-7, НР.1-С-7, НР.2-С-7), four of them according to the P_i superiority index; two of them (KP.1-P-71, KP.1-P-7) according to the balance of productivity / stability (NP⁽²⁾, S⁽³⁾). At the same time, most of the regenerants had 1000-grain weight at the level of donor genotypes. Conditions for cultivating callus tissues in vitro (low pH, NaCl 0.42 %, no stressor) did not affect the stability of the emerging lines of regenerants. Thus, the technology of selection of somaclonal variants in callus culture makes it possible to obtain lines that often do not differ in 1000-grain weight from the donor genotype and surpass it in stability parameters.

The purpose of the study was to estimate such adaptability parameters, as a linear regression coefficient, stress resistance, genetic flexibility and stability coefficient, according to the traits “green mass productivity” and “dry matter productivity”. The objects of the study were 6 sainfoin varieties developed by the ARC “Donskoy”. The variety ‘Zernogradsky 2’ was taken as the standard one. Sowing was carried out in the spring with the SSFC-7 seeder in its pure form, without a cover crop. A seeding rate was 5 million germinated seeds per 1 ha. The area of the plot was 20 m², with fourfold repetition. The estimation according to the indicators of ecological adaptability was performed according to the S. A. Eberchart and W. A. Russel (1966) as presented by V. A. Zykina et al. (2011), calculation of stress resistance and genetic flexibility was established according to A.A. Goncharenko (2005). The results of the analysis of variance have shown a significant influence of factor B (conditions) both on the variability of productivity of green mass (79.12 %) and dry matter (75.38 %). All the studied sainfoin varieties according to the years and sowing significantly exceeded the indicators of the standard variety. The most productive of them, the new variety ‘Atamansky 20’, formed on average 30.9 t/ha of green mass and 8.3 t/ha of dry mass, with fluctuations over the years, respectively, 24.8–44.9 t/ha and 6.4 –12.1 t/ha. The sainfoin varieties differ in the response of green and dry mass productivity to changing environmental conditions. The varieties ‘Zernogradsky 2’, ‘Atamansky’ and ‘Atamansky 20’ demand to improve conditions when cultivated for green feed and hay (bi > 1), while the varieties ‘Veles’, ‘Sudar’ and ‘Shuravi’ respond less well to improved environmental conditions and are more adaptable (bi < 1). The varieties ‘Veles’, ‘Sudar’ and ‘Shuravi’ are highly resistant to stress, while the varieties Zernogradsky 2’, ‘Atamansky’ and ‘Atamansky 20’ have a narrower range of adaptive capabilities of stress resistance. A higher correspondence between a genotype and environmental factors and high genetic flexibility were found in the variety ‘Atamansky 20’.

There have been studied new strong varieties of spring bread wheat of different maturity groups (‘Tarskaya 12’, ‘Omskaya 44’ and ‘Omskaya 42’) in comparison with the standards (‘Pamyati Azieva’, ‘Duet’ and ‘Element 22’) and foreign varieties in the conditions of the south of Western Siberia. The purpose of the study was to identify the advantage of the studied wheat varieties recommended for cultivation in the Omsk region to produce grain with high baking properties. The study was carried out based on the selection crop rotation of the laboratory for spring bread wheat breeding in the nursery of Competitive Variety Testing, as well as the department of seed production when sown on fallow (intense background) in the zone of the southern forest-steppe of the Omsk region of the FSBSI “Omsk ARC”. There has been conducted a bakery quality estimation and qualification of samples according to the methodologies and classification standards recommended by the State Commission for Variety Testing of Agricultural Plants. There was identified an advantage of the medium-early variety ‘Tarskaya 12’ according to the formation of gluten amount in grain (+3.2...4.2 %), dough dilution (–34...50 u.f.), dough resilience (+24...43 mm) and flour strength (+113...188 u); middle maturing variety ‘Omskaya 44’ on the formation of dough resilience, flour strength in comparison with the standards. The middle-late variety ‘Omskaya 42’ was distinguished by high baking characteristics in comparison with the standard ‘Element 22’. A comparative analysis of the technological properties of new varieties and foreign breeding has revealed the advantage of the studied domestic varieties in formation of protein in grain and flour strength.

The main purpose of breeding and commercial production is the quantity of grain and its quality. Occupying 74 % in the structure of grain crops, and 80 % in terms of gross yields, wheat grain is the most important source of income for grain producers in the Rostov region. The purpose of the current study was to reveal the effect of forecrops on productivity and SDS-sedimentation of the promising winter bread wheat varieties. In the trial there were studied 12 winter bread wheat varieties developed by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” and sent to the State Variety Testing in recent years. There were estimated productivity and the amount of SDS-sedimentation. On average, over the three years of study (2019–2021), for all the studied forecrops, in terms of productivity there have been identified such winter wheat varieties of the intensive type as ‘Razdolie’ (7.14 t/ha), ‘Razgulay’ (7.67 t/ha) and ‘Vasilich’ (7.51 t/ha), which makes it possible to recommend these genotypes for sowing according to high and medium levels of Agricultural background. Among winter wheat varieties of semi-intensive type there has been identified only one variety ‘Donets’ (7.31 t/ha), which allows us to characterize it as a universal variety and recommend it for sowing in production according to high, medium and low levels of Agricultural background. According to the value of SDS-sedimentation for all the studied forecrops, there have been identified such varieties of intensive type as ‘Razdolie’ (62 ml), ‘Azov Sea’ (61 ml), ‘Razgulay’ (63 ml) and ‘Vasilich’ (63 ml). The varieties of semi-intensive type did not significantly exceed the value of SDS-sedimentation of the standard variety or were at its level, however, the values were high. Such SDS-sedimentation values have indicated that the presented genotypes are able to form high grain quality for all the studied forecrops and regardless of the productivity value.

The current paper has presented the study results of the new hulless oat variety ‘Azil’, which was developed by the method of individual-family selection from the hybrid population ‘Krestyansky local × ZALP’. The purpose of the current study was to identify economically valuable traits, physico-biochemical indicators of the grain of the new hulless oat variety ‘Azil’. According to the length of the vegetation period, ‘Azil’ is classified as a middle maturing variety. In the State Variety Testing, the realized productivity of the variety ‘Azil’ was 5.36 t/ha. During the study, there has been found that with intensive and high-intensity cultivation in compliance with the technological methods of protection against diseases, weeds and pests, the productivity of the variety ‘Azil’ improved in relation to the basic technology from 0.75 to 1.42 t/ha (or on 12 and 23 %, respectively). The estimation of groat properties has revealed a larger protein and oil percentage in grain of the new variety than that of the hulled and hulless standard varieties ‘Yakov’ and ‘Vyatsky’ (2.2 and 0.2 % of protein; 1.3 and 0.5 % of oil) . There has been identified high loose smut resistance of the variety ‘Azil’ (up to 6.4 % damage) on artificial and natural backgrounds. There has been established a fungi composition and mycotoxins’ content in grain of the standard oat varieties ‘Yakov’ and ‘Vyatsky’, as well as 13 hulless breeding lines of the Federal Research Center “Nemchinovka”. The variety ‘Azil’ has demonstrated an increased resistance to the accumulation of T-2 toxin. Using biochemical methods there has been found heterogeneity of the new variety, consisting of two biotypes. When conducting primary seed production, there has been recommended to use the method of individual-family selection with a double estimation of the progeny and maintaining spatial isolation with other hulless oats.

Among the grain forage crops in the Russian Federation, barley ranks first in terms of multi-use and gross yields. However, the current level of grain production of this crop does not fully meet the needs of the livestock and food industries. Winter barley varieties are currently approved for use in the North Caucasus, Middle Volga and Nizhnevolsk regions of the Russian Federation, where its yield is 1.5–2 times higher than that of spring barley. According to the trait ‘productivity’ barley varieties of various breeding institutions have quite significant fluctuations in the regions of their cultivation, and therefore inter-station tests are carried out to determine their response. The best ones are further used in various breeding projects. The purpose of the current paper was to analyze the trait ‘productivity’ and its components and grain quality among present local and foreign winter barley varieties, in order to use the identified ones in crossings parental forms. The monitoring of varieties was carried out on the experimental plot of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “ARC «Donskoy” (2017–2019). The subjects of the study were winter barley varieties (29 samples) of local and foreign origin. Based on the results of a system analysis, there has been identified a number of varieties that have the necessary combinations of traits important for breeding, such as:

– high productivity (the multi-row varieties ‘Marusya’, ‘Vivat’, ‘Foks 1’, ‘Erema’, ‘Artel’, ‘Dostoyny’ (Russia), ‘KWS-Scala’ (Germany), ‘Capten’ (France));

– coarse-grained (the multi-row lines ‘KWS-117’, ‘KWS-234’, ‘KWS-History’ (Germany) and the two-row varieties ‘Explorer 3’, ‘Explorer 4’, ‘Explorer 5’, ‘Explorer 7’, ‘Explorer 3/2’, ‘Explorer 4/2’, ‘Bronskyli’ (France) with more than 50 g);

– head density per 1 m² when harvesting (the two-row varieties ‘KWS-History’ with 704 pcs/m², ‘KWS-117’ with 710 pcs/m² (Germany), ‘Explorer 8’ with 739 pcs/m², ‘Explorer 3/2’ with 759 pieces/m², ‘Wintwalt’ with 847 pieces/m² (France));

– number of grains per head (the multi-row varieties ‘Marusya’ with 57.9 pcs, ‘Andryusha’ with 55.8 pcs (Russia), ‘Capten’ with 55.6 pcs (France) and two-row varieties ‘Explorer 3’ with 26.0 pcs., ‘Explorer 5’ with 25.9 pcs., ‘Bronskyli’ with 25.8 pcs (France);

– stable protein percentage in grain less than 11 % (the two-row varieties ‘KWS-History’ with 10.3 %, ‘KWS-234’ with 10.7 % (Germany) and ‘Explorer 3/2’ with 10.3 % (France).

Maize is considered an unsurpassed silage crop, so breeding in this direction is of great relevance. The study was carried out at the FSBSI «Agricultural Research Center «Donskoy» in 2019–2021. The purpose was to study productivity and nutritional value of the new silage hybrid combinations, to identify dependencies to optimize the breeding process. In order to develop new hybrids, there was applied the method of interline hybridization using heterosis in the first generation. The objects of research were 24 hybrids of the early-maturing, middle-early and middle-maturing groups. In each group, there have been identified the new hybrid combinations that are found promising for cultivation for silage and green fodder. In the early-maturing group, a new hybrid ‘Krucha M × KV 215’ formed the largest productivity of green mass (28.2 t/ha) and dry matter (9.41 t/ha). The hybrid had 6.56 t of feed units per 1 ha, 0.48 t of digestible protein and 90.0 GJ/ha of exchange energy. In the middle-early group, a new hybrid ‘Krucha M x KV399 MV’ produced 29.4 t/ha of green mass, 10.35 t/ha of dry matter, 7.49 t of fodder units per 1 ha, 0.57 t of digestible protein, 96.14 GJ/ha of exchange energy. In the middle-maturing group, the best hybrid was a new hybrid ‘KV 399 × 9837V’, which had the highest rates among all the hybrids studied. The hybrid produced 7.88 t of fodder units per 1 ha, 0.64 t of digestible protein and 98.64 GJ/ha of exchange energy. There have been identified the signs that should be used in the development and selection of maize hybrids for silage, such as plant height, cob attachment height, number of leaves per plant, length of a vegetation period.

The development of highly productive short-stemmed winter rye varieties that do not lodge under intensive cultivation technologies is one of the main breeding tasks. The current paper has presented the study results of a new winter rye variety ‘Evrika’ according to the main economically valuable traits in the North-West region of the Russian Federation. The variety was developed by the Leningrad Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture «Belogorka» based on complex hybridization of the varieties ‘Bylina’ and ‘Volkhov’ from the North-West region with varieties of Russian and foreign selection, among which the varieties ‘Alfa’, ‘Antares’, ‘Saratovskaya 5’ and ‘Otello’ made the most significant contribution. The breeding feature of the new variety is the use of donors of such types of a short stem trait as dominant-monogenic and recessive-polygenic. The study was carried out for three years (2019–2021) in the nurseries of Competitive Variety Testing on the fields of the institute in the Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region. The purpose of the study was to identify the biological and economically valuable traits of a new winter rye variety ‘Evrika’. According to the study results, the variety ‘Evrika’ belongs to the group of semi-short-stem varieties with a mean plant height of 125.5 cm. The variety showed good winter tolerance (8–9 points) and high resistance to lodging (8–9 points). The mean grain productivity of the new variety through the years of research was 5.0 t/ha, with the maximum of 7.4 t/ha, which exceeded the productivity of the standard variety ‘Volkhov’ on 0.9 t/ha (19.5 %) and 2.1 t/ha (39.6 %), respectively. The mean green mass productivity was 25.8 t/ha, exceeding the standard’s productivity on 3.5 t/ha (15.7 %). The index of 1000-grain weight of a new variety during the period varied from 34.5 to 39.0 g, depending on the climatic conditions of the year. According to the study results, the variety ‘Evrika’ was highly appreciated, having successfully passed the State Variety Testing. In 2021 the variety was included in the State List of Breeding Achievements in the North-West Region of the Russian Federation.

The current paper has presented the results of estimating rice samples for the ability of energetic plant growth from under a layer of water. The resistance of varieties to flooding is of great relevance in Russia in the fight against weeds due to the deep layer of water that weeds cannot overcome. The purpose of the study was to estimate rice breeding samples for resistance to flooding and to select the best of them for use in crossings when breeding rice varieties resistant to flooding. For the study there have been taken the samples developed in the laboratory of rice breeding and seed production of the ARC “Donskoy” from the hybridization of domestic varieties ‘Kuboyar’ and ‘Kontakt’ with such Asian varieties as ‘Mazhan Red’, ‘Kharsu 80A’, ‘Khao Hlan On’ as the donors of the flood resistance gene. The study was carried out using glass cylinders of 42 cm high. As a result of the estimation of 48 rice varieties, there were identified the forms that have the highest initial growth rates and the ability to overcome a large layer of water under anaerobic conditions. The results of germination in cylinders showed significant differences between plants in terms of growth rate under water: after 3 days from seed sowing, the length of the sprouts varied from 0.1 to 1.7 cm, on the 8 th day it ranged from 2.0 to 12.0 cm, on the 13^th it was from 8.4 to 47.0 cm. Three forth of the samples after 2 weeks had a small plant height up to 30 cm, the rest part of the samples exceeded this value. The greatest sprouts’ length was in the samples ‘1006’ (47.0 cm), ‘998’ (45.3 cm) and ‘997’ (40.3 cm), which can be grown in the field without herbicides using the technology of obtaining shoots from under a layer of water or used as donors of high growth energy. There has been identified the material of practical importance for the breeding process.

The purpose of the current work was to identify the features of the formation of productivity and grain quality indicators of modern winter rye varieties and hybrids, depending on the moisture content of the spring-summer vegetation period. The study was carried out at the TatRIA FRC KazSC RAS (Republic of Tatarstan) in contrasting weather years (2020–2021). The object of the study was the population of winter rye varieties ‘Estafeta Tatarstana’, ‘Radon’, ‘Ogonyok’, ‘Tantana’, ‘Podarok’, ‘Zilant’ and German heterotic hybrids ‘KVS Aviator’ and ‘KVS Prommo’. There has been established that for the studied rye varieties and hybrids, grain productivity decrease caused by drought was 44 %, number of heads per 1 m² reduced on 19.4 %, and 1000-grain weight dropped on 27.7 %. The advantages of rye hybrids according to grain productivity with a good supply of spring-summer vegetation were 14 %, with a lack of moisture they were 10 %. Among the population varieties, the varieties ‘Zilant’, ‘Podarok’ and ‘Tantana’ had the least losses from drought. There has been identified that in terms of baking and technological qualities the situation was vice versa. In a dry year, there was an increase of such indicators as the amylogram height (in 2 times), protein (on 20.8 %), and falling number (on 14.2 %). There has been established that the biochemical parameters of grain (content of fiber, ash, oil) improved significantly. The obtained study results have indicated that in dry years it is necessary to prepare batches of rye with high technological qualities and biochemical properties for baking industry.

Improvement of feed grain production is an important link in Russia’s food security. Considerable opportunities for solving this problem lie in the cultivation of new domestic varieties of barley. Breeding work in this direction has been carried out for a long time in the Don area by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” (Department of winter and spring barley breeding and seed production). The purpose of the study was to breed a new spring barley variety for regions with high signs of aridy, which has fairly large productivity and its stability in different years. The result of the breeding program 0706-2019-0002 was the development of the spring barley variety ‘Azimut’ of universal use, i.e. for feed, groats and for brewing purposes. The paper has described the morphology of plants and the main biological and valuable economic traits of the new spring barley variety ‘Azimut’, which has been included in the State List of Breeding Achievements of Russia since 2022. There has been found that a remarkable feature of this variety is early maturity (through three contrast years (2017–2019) it ripened on average earlier than the standard variety ‘Ratnik’ on 4 days and the best variety ‘Format’ on 2 days), which is an extremely important indicator in modern climatic conditions. There was found that, on average, over the years, the new variety produced 5.7 t/ha and 52.0 g of 1000-grain weight, exceeding the standard on 0.8 t/ha and 6.5 g, as well as the best variety ‘Format’ on 0 .2 t/ha and 3.8 g, respectively. It has been established that the variety ‘Azimut’ has a certain important set of biologically useful and economically valuable properties and traits.

Maize (Zéa máys) is one of the main grain crops in the world, including Russia. One of its most dangerous pests is the western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, 1858 (western corn rootworm (wcr)), which is an invasive species in many countries. Therefore, the most important task of researchers involved in the prediction of phytophages and the development of plant protection is to prevent its occurrence in Russia, which includes constant monitoring and quarantine measures. The current study was carried out to overview the literature, revealing the characteristics of biology, the prevalence of the corn rootworm in the world, and to determine effective methods of dealing with it, including methods of biological control. There has been established that over the past 30 years the pest has spread throughout almost all of Europe, and since 2011 it has been registered in Russia. To a large extent, the spread of the rootworm was facilitated by the growing globalization and trade between the countries in the absence of appropriate control measures, as well as high potential fertility and the ability for large flights in the imaginal stage. There has been established that significant damage from diabrotics is explained by the fact that almost all stages of development (imago and larvae of all ages) are harmful in phytophages, damaging almost all organs of the plant. There has been revealed that the most successful is the prediction of the number of D. v. virgifera using pheromone traps, and control measures include the use of various chemical plant protection products and crop rotations. There has been shown that the biomethod against D. v. virgifera is practically not used. The available data allowed us to conclude that it is possible to prevent the spread of the pest in the Russian Federation with strict observance of quarantine measures.