All-Russia Research Institute of Legumes and Groat Crops

Seed shattering is a crucial adaptive trait in wild plant species but is undesirable in domesticated crops. In this study, we investigated the anatomical and molecular mechanisms underlying seed shattering in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and explored its genetic control. Previous research has shown that seed shattering in F. esculentum follows a monogenic inheritance pattern. To pinpoint the genomic region associated with this trait, we analyzed an F₂ progeny derived from a cross between wild ancestor of common buckwheat - Fagopyrum esculentum ssp. ancestrale and the cultivated variety - Fagopyrum esculentum cv. Dasha. Anatomical analysis revealed that both shattering and non-shattering phenotypes possess an abscission zone (AZ); however, in non-shattering plants, the AZ remains underdeveloped and inactive. Histological observations indicated that AZ formation begins during early bud development. Transcriptomic analysis across four developmental stages (early bud, late bud, flower, and fruit) identified abscisic acid regulation, ethylene signaling, and cell wall modification as key factors in AZ differentiation. Unexpectedly, many genes typically associated with abscission layer activation showed increased expression at the flower stage rather than the fruit stage, suggesting that AZ activation occurs earlier than anticipated. We also provided preliminary data on the localization of the gene responsible for shattering in wild buckwheat and reviewed candidate genes. Our results provide new insights into the structure of abscission zone in buckwheat and into molecular mechanisms underlying seed shattering in buckwheat. We identified key pathways involved in abscission zone differentiation and performed the initial localization of the causative gene.

At the same time, reducing commodity and, most importantly, technological dependence on foreign countries, which is necessary to ensure accelerated import substitution in all areas of the agro-industrial complex, largely depends on the level of staffing of organizations in the agricultural sector of the economy with highly qualified personnel capable of ensuring the effective functioning of agro-industrial production as a whole. With this in mind, the personnel management system of the agro-industrial complex is considered as a multidimensional process of forming an innovative professional qualification structure of employees, their motivation, creating conditions under which the economic return on investment in human resources and its use may, under certain conditions, even significantly exceed investments in the material and technical base of the industry. As a key proof of this provision, the results of monitoring the personnel supply of the agroindustrial complex for the period under study are presented, on the basis of which the main conclusions on the problem under consideration are formulated.

The key task of the Food Safety Doctrine of the Russian Federation is to ensure that the population of the country consumes food products that meet modern requirements of healthy nutrition at the level of rational norms. The article presents a comparative analysis of the level of consumption of basic foodstuffs in urban and rural households for the period from 2010 to 2019. The imbalance in the volume of actual consumption of basic foodstuffs in comparison with rational norms in all households was revealed. At the same time, a significant differentiation in the volume and energy content of the diet was found between urban and rural households. The underlying reasons for the current differentiation in the consumption of basic foodstuffs by urban rural households lie in the income inequality of the urban and rural population and the level of development of the commodity infrastructure in the city and in the countryside. The implementation of the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation is impossible without solving the issues related to increase of the economic and physical accessibility of food products for every citizen of the country, especially rural citizens.

The article discusses the spatial development of rural land use, the regional models of changing the boundaries of productive agricultural land to meet consumer demand, taking into account the factors of joint influence on the expansion, compression or stabilization of arable land and sown areas of agricultural crops.

Buckwheat breeding on high protein content in seeds was not previously carried out due to the lack of clear selection criteria. Based on the study of the protein content in various organs of buckwheat seed, we proposed a method for selecting a high protein content based on the ratio of the embryo and endosperm in the seed. It was found that the embryo contained 8.3 times more protein than the endosperm (49.9 % and 6.0 %, respectively). At the same time, the contribution of the embryo to the total protein content in the seed is 74 %. The use of correlation analysis shows an independent change in the mass of the embryo and endosperm, which facilitates the use of the “high proportion of the embryo in the seed” trait in the selection process. 9 varieties of buckwheat were studied by embryo mass, endosperm and embryo share in the seed. The most suitable varieties for use in breeding for high protein content are buckwheat Batyr and Bogatyr, which are characterized by low endosperm content and a high proportion of the embryo in the seed. To increase the variation in the content of the embryo and endosperm, it is proposed to use a hybrid material and search for mutations that affect the ratio of the embryo and endosperm in the seed. The basics of the method of growing buckwheat from isolated embryos in soil culture and selecting plants by the mass of viable embryos in the seed are developed.

This paper puts forward the problem that it is necessary to train personnel that meet the modern requirements of highly dynamic developing agriculture in the conditions of digitalization of the country in the post-pandemic period. The relevance of the research topic is explained by the fact that the agricultural labor market is experiencing a shortage of young highly qualified specialists with knowledge of IT technologies in digital agriculture. At present, a modern young professional must meet the conjuncture-forming selection criteria in the agricultural labor market and have a risk-oriented thinking. It is necessary to update the structure of the formation of an effective mechanism for training highly qualified personnel on the basis of industry universities in the region. The aim of the research is to analyze the challenges facing the agricultural university in training young professionals for agriculture as a branch of the digital economy of Russia. Objectives: to develop a model for developing partnerships and promoting the employment of young professionals in a post-pandemic economy to develop optimal options for covering the personnel deficit in the agricultural sector; to form practical recommendations for regulating the labor market for young professionals. The solution of these tasks will allow training highly qualified young specialists who have all the necessary competencies and are able to meet the requirements of the modern agricultural labor market.

Modern agricultural science pays more and more attention to methods of ecologization and biologization of agriculture, because these methods can be a solution to reduce the anthropogenic load on agricultural landscapes and allow getting environmentally friendly products. The cultivation of legumes itself is already a powerful factor of biologization, allowing to accumulate biological nitrogen in the soil, and the use of a complex of biological stimulants and microfertilizers is an important reserve for increasing the yield and quality of legumes. The paper is devoted to improving the economic efficiency of leguminous crops (for example, peas) by applying innovative approaches to the treatment of crops with biological growth stimulators. The objects of research are peas of the Estafeta and Spartak varieties zoned for the Oryol region, selected by the FSBSI FSC LGC. The following preparations of JSC “Shchelkovo Agrochim” were used for the scientific experiment: Scarlet fungicide mordant, Biostim Start amino acid biological stimulator, Biostim oil fertilizer with microelements, and Intermag Profi multicomponent microfertilizer. It was found that the use of biological preparations for pea vegetation in the 6-7 leaf phase in the future has a positive effect on the equalization of crops by 40-54%, depending on the variant and variety; promotes the stimulation of nodule formation in experimental variants; increases the biological yield and quality indicators of the obtained pea seeds. The cost estimation of additional costs for biologization of the production process is given, as well as the economic feasibility of developing such innovations on the example of peas. The work was carried out within the framework of the research topic: “Creation of new genotypes of grain legumes with high productivity, grain quality, increased resistance to the most dangerous diseases and abiotic factors” (No 0636-2019-000 9).

The article is devoted to the effect of biofertilizers (Bioklad and Vermix) on the severity of common diseases of spring barley in field trials conducted in the Orel region. The authors estimate risks of spring barley diseases and analyse the results of the three-year experiment, carried out under certain weather and climate conditions. The subject of the research is the spring barley crop Suzdalets under intensive farming (zoned for 2, 3, 5 regions of Russia). For a more comprehensive assessment, the experimental process includes separate and combined application of biofertilizers at two different doses. The results of the experiment shows that spring barley crops have responded to all tested combinations of treatment and, at the same time, biofertilizers Bioklad and Vermix, regardless of the doses of application used, had a positive treatment effect and reduced development of severe plant diseases such as root rot by 8.4%, Helminthosporium spot by 29.2%, powdery mildew by 28.9%, Rhynchosporium by 26.3%, stem rust by 65.9%, Septoria spot by 24.4%, and Fusarium head blight by 12%. The most productive agrocenosis of spring barley was formed with the use of Bioklad: barley yield was 0.59 t/ha at a dose of 1 L/ ha and 0.61 t/ha at a dose of 2 L/ha.