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Codling moth is a very dangerous pest in apple orchards: the pest could damage up to 70-90% of pome fruits in the years of mass reproduction. The climate change increased the harmfulness of the pest during the last years. The aim of our study was the determination of “Shin-Etsu” dispenser application efficiency for codling moth disorientation comparing with conventional apple protection system. The experiment was done in apple orchards of JSC “Dubovoye” (Tambov oblast) in 2020-2021. The objects of the study were the scab immune cultivars Venyaminovskoye and Flagman grafted on B396 rootstock. Codling moth damaged 9.4-12.1% fruits in the control treatment after the first generation and 11.6-15.2% by the second generation. The application of the experimental protection system with dispensers decreased the fruit damage rate after the first generation up to 0.5-0.8% and second generation—0.9-1.1%. The biological efficiency of the experimental system in both cultivars was higher and reached 92.2-96.7% after the first generation and 90.5-94.0% after the second. The average yield in the “Shin-Etsu” protection system was 9.7-12.5 kg tree-1 where 87-90% fruits were premium quality.

The caterpillars of this codling moth can damage up to 90% of fruits during mass reproduction. Changing weather conditions contribute to increasing the harmfulness of the primary pest of the apple tree. The research was carried out to select modern plant protection products with high biological efficiency to control codling moths and increase the productivity of the apple orchard. The research was carried out in the I.V. Michurin Federal Scientific Centre apple orchard. We studied the efficiency of plant protection products on apple cultivars immune to scab: ‘Akademik Kazakov,’ ‘Vympel,’ ‘Bylina,’ ‘Rozhdestvenskoye,’ ‘Fregat.’ The efficiency of these preparations was studied with low application rates to reduce the fruit damages by codling moth. The values of fruit damage in control without treatment during the years of the research as the result of vital pest activity: Generation 1: 4.9-17.8%; Generation 2: 5.4-16.3%. In the experiment treatment, Generation 1 damaged 0.24-1.50%, and Generation 2 injured 0.36-1.60% of fruits. The biological efficiency of the experimental treatment was high and reached controlling Generation 1: 91.0-98.5%, Generation 2: 90.0-96.0%. The average yield in the experimental treatment was 29.4 kg tree−1 with a share of first-grade fruits 85-90% (2019) and 39.4 kg tree−1, 90-91% (2020).

There are many apple orchards in the Russian Federation where trees were trained with volumetric canopies; the vigor of these canopies must be suppressed. Prohexadione calcium (calcium 3-hydroxy-5-oxo-4-propionyl-cyclohex-3-enecarboxylate) was developed to inhibit the gibberellins biosynthesis to reduce vegetative growth. The study was done in the commercial orchard of “Planeta sadov” LLC in Michurinck district of Tambov Region (53°02’11.9 “N 40°29’29.9 “E). This research was aimed to evaluate the influence of prohexadione calcium on the length of one-year shoot growth, yield, and scab development on trees of vigorous apple cultivar ‘Sinap Orlovskii,’ planted 6 x 4 m (418 tr. ha-1). After 1.25 + 1.25 g ha-1 prohexadione calcium double treatment, the length of one-year shoots was 1.96 (2019) and 1.60 (2020) times less than Control 1 (without prohexadione calcium application and hand pruning) and 2,00 times less than in hand pruning treatment. The application of prohexadione calcium inhibited apple tree height and reduced the average height growth rate by 10.7% (2019) and 17.0% (2020). Growth retardant treatments stimulated significant yield increases and improved the commercial value of fruits. The enhance of scab protection improved under the influence of prohexadione calcium treatments. The application of growth retardant increased the alternate bearing index.

Different apple cultivars require a different approach to plant protection and nutrition according to their genotypic features. Currently, due to the relatively large number of cultivars in orchards and nurseries of horticultural farms, this approach is rarely used. Our work aimed to study the effectiveness of various foliar fertilizers and protection products in tank mixtures for the scab suppression and their impact on productivity according to cv’s genotypic features of ’Lobo’ and ’Zhigulevskoye’. The efficiency of protection and nutrition programs was studied in the nursery and orchard circumstances. According to generally accepted methods, we did our research in 2013-2015 in the experimental orchard and nursery of I.V. Michurin Federal Scientific Centre. We determined the biological effectiveness of the plant protection systems used, the development of productivity components (fruitset from free pollination, average fruit weight and yield per tree), the content of primary nutrients in soil, leaves, and fruits. The ecologized system has provided a sufficiently high level of protection, which allows recommending to producers. The introduction of such ecologized protection and nutrition systems that reduce the pesticide load assumes a much higher account of the interaction of apple trees with other plant and animal species and lifeless components of the nursery and orchard ecosystem. The use of an ecologized foliar nutrition system provided a high enough level of plant protection effectiveness, especially when combined with regular soil fertilizer application, and optimizing the mineral composition of leaves and fruits. Biologization of soil nutrition is one of the most critical tasks for preserving soil fertility in intensive horticulture. The soil application of bacterial fertilizers stimulated a significant increase in the average annual growth rate and stem diameters of young apple trees in the nursery and yield in the orchard. However, the highest results were obtained when applying bacteria cultures and artificial fertilizers at a reduced application rate.

A new type of livestock enclosure from the Late Bronze Age has been discovered. Stone walls outline a pair of circular or oval areas that may be up to 50 m in diameter. The stone walls are invisible at the surface; they were discovered in north‐western Crimea and only with the aid of remote sensing and geophysical surveys. In the period 2007–2020, over two dozen of these structures were found; none has ever been noted before. The locations of these sites were first suggested in satellite imagery, often as areas with unusually green vegetation. Then, large‐area magnetic surveys delineated the buried stone enclosures, for there was a good contrast between the non‐magnetic limestone walls and the rather magnetic soil. The features can be identified by the unique pattern of the walls: An almost‐complete circular arc that is connected to a full circle or oval. The soil within the features has a high level of urease enzyme activity and a high concentration of thermophilic microorganisms. This suggests the composting of animal dung and plant residues; therefore, these were corrals and the raising of livestock was a part of the economy. Only one of the doubled enclosures is found at most settlements; the livestock were probably owned by all of the inhabitants. Each settlement had several dwellings, and these had earthen basins whose edges were lined with vertical stone slabs. Several small‐area excavations exposed corral walls. Magnetic measurements of the soil and rock were the basis for magnetic models; the calculated anomalies agree with the measurements of the magnetic maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]