Vol 16, No 2 (2021)

The article focuses on phenological features of amaranth varieties grown in open fields as a reaction to variability of weather conditions in the Moscow region. Amaranthine is one of the promising compounds found in red-colored amaranths. It refers to a class of betalain pigments. The study revealed growth stages defined by the highest content of amarantine per plant and analyzed accumulation of the pigment in amaranth leaves and inflorescences. Phenological observations of introduced plant species under new conditions are important and determine their resistance to adverse environmental factors, ability to produce high quality fruits and seeds, and potential for cultivation. During the introduction of new amaranth varieties, the most adapted forms were selected for the conditions of the Non-Chernozem zone of the Russian Federation in 2013-2016. The studied Russian and Ecuador varieties were divided into 4 groups depending on the growth period (from germination to seed maturity). Analysis of phenological traits of plants confirmed that period of amaranth development did not depend on the variety, except the fourth stage of late-ripening cultivars - ‘Don Pedro’ and ‘Eku 17020’, dependent on weather conditions. Being dependent on weather conditions, the vegetative growth period turned to be the most stable. Late cv. ‘Eku 17020’ did not form mature seeds in open ground conditions, which is explained by its origin (Ecuador). In the present study we identified growth stages when plant raw materials had the highest dye content in red-leaved amaranth varieties (‘Valentina’, ‘Don Pedro’ and ‘Fakel’). We also considered the perspective of cultivation of green-leaved varieties with red inflorescences - ‘Pamyati Kovasa’ and ‘Eku-17020’ - as sources of biologically valuable compounds in the Moscow region.

One of the most urgent tasks in sugar beet production for Russia today is irregularities in cultivation technology and a low-efficiency crop protection. It leads to a high level of weed infestation of agricultural fields. Developing and identifying the most efficient, selective and accessible herbicides, which have low phytotoxicity, do not have a negative effect on soil chemical characteristics and can be used in sugar beet cultivation is relevant today. The aim of this study was to examine and compare biological efficiency of various doses and concentrations of one- and two-component graminicides on sugar beet crops against the following weeds: Cockspur grass — Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) Beauv., Wild millet — Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. and Couch Grass — Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski. The experiment was conducted on the territory of the Tula region in 2020. The total field experiment area was 480 m2. Application of clethodim + quizalofop-P-ethyl (0.5 l/ha) resulted in reducing the number and weight of annual weeds by 64…71 %, reducing the number and weight of perennial weeds by 54…58 %, which had the same efficiency as clethodim (0.6 l/ha). The efficiency of clethodim + quizalofop-P-ethyl (1.0 l/ha) was higher than Clethodim (0.6 l/ha) and amounted to 73…87 % of reduction in the number of weeds compared to the control, but was lower than Clethodim (1.8 l/ha), which resulted in 89…95 % reduction in the number of weeds compared to the control. The highest sugar beet yields were obtained in the variants with clethodim (1.8 l/ha) and two-component herbicide (1 l/ha), which amounted to 28 and 25 % yield increase, in comparison with the control.

The family Drosophilidae includes over 3750 species worldwide and over 2000 of these are species of Drosophila. Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii is one of the most dangerous species in this family. The insects live on undamaged ripening fruits, using its peculiar serrated ovipositor to break the skin of fresh ripening fruits and lay eggs in it. Drosophila species are very difficult and practically impossible to detect at larval stages. The present investigation was conducted at the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center and Agrarian and Technological Institute of RUDN University, Moscow, Russia in 2018—2020. The aim of this study was to investigate the method of accurate and rapid identification of D. suzukii, and to design specific primer pairs for pest identification by Real-Time PCR method. The real-time quantitative PCR is a fast, sensitive, repeatable and accurate method for quantifying gene transcript levels. In this study, we designed specific primers (4.Dsuz.FRP) for Real-Time PCR to identify D. suzukii from other relative species. Although D. suzukii is absent in the Russian Federation and has not been reported so far, the project could be a precautionary measure.

The assessment of impact of oil production economic activities on land pollution in Russia contributes to evolutionary management decision making. Oil industrial pollution affects negatively flora and fauna. Thus, it’s important to identify the level of its exposure and danger, the site of contamination. A system approach is needed. When studying the environment, it’s necessary to consider the presence of risk situations and stochastic irreversible changes. It’s essential to identify the nature and type of soil contamination with petroleum products using high-tech tools, intellectual procedures. The work considers modeling of such situation, forecasting and identification of oil contaminants. The submodel of optimal termination of monitoring is also considered. Ending monitoring of environmental optimization will result in lower monitoring costs, since monitoring oilcontaminated environments is an expensive and complex technological mechanism, often requiring satellite data. The proposed algorithm for modeling and system analysis is based on situational modeling. Evolutionary modeling allows to adapt the procedure (methodology) of forecasting and assessment to environmental risk factors. It increases the accuracy (formalization and evidence) and completeness of conclusions, the efficiency of situation analysis, which affects manageability of risk both for the oil complex and for individual enterprise in the industry. The results of the research may be used for development of software tools, in particular expert and predictive systems. Situational models are needed when oil companies are solving multi-criteria and multifactor problems.

The purpose of the present work was to study effectiveness for early pregnancy diagnosis in cattle of the new enzyme immunoassay (EIA) sandwich kit commercially available based on the measurement of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs). 120 Holstein-Friesian cattle of mixed age and parity were comprised from different dairy herds. The pregnant females (n = 68) were diagnosed by ultrasonography at day 35-40 after artificial insemination and confirmed by transrectal exploration at 2-3 months after AI. The non-pregnant females (n = 52) were housed in the absence of males during the experimental period. Blood samples were collected from coccygeal vessels of females into EDTA tubes. The serum was obtained by centrifugation and the serum was stored at - 20 °C until assay. The PAG concentrations in pregnant and non-pregnant females were determined in serum by EIA kit. The reproducibility inter- and intra-assay of the PAG-EIA is satisfactory (2.78 and 13.19 %, respectively). The accuracy (≥ 94.8 %) and the test of parallelism were largely acceptable. No cross-reaction was observed with the different hormones tested at different dilutions. PAG-EIA system gave 100 % sensitivity and negative predictive values. Whereas, specificity and positive predictive value were 91.93 and 71.15 %, respectively. The accuracy of pregnancy diagnosis by PAG-EIA was 87.5 %. In conclusion, the present study shows clearly that the EIA kit can be used to measure PAG in serum cows for the detection of gestation in Algeria. Therefore, this alternative technique could be recommended to replace the radioactive methods in immunoassays to improve the reproductive performances and an efficient tool for reproductive management of dairy cattle.