Analyzing classification features of vines of the family Vitaceae Juss. in the Russian Far East (RFE) confirms the need for their protection within the region. Protection should be extended to species of the rarity categories 1, 2 and 3. For the RFE (as a whole) these are the species: Ampelopsis japonica (Thunb.) Makino, Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. - 1; Ampelopsis heterophylla (Thunb.) Siebold & Zucc. - 2; Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv., Vitis coignetiae Pulliat ex Planch. - 3; and Vitis amurensis Rupr. - 4. Our field studies in the territory of the Russian Far East have allowed us to assess the condition of a number of woody vines in natural habitats, clarify the distribution and propose measures for conservation of their gene pool. It is recommended to supplement the list of nature reserves and sanctuaries with a number of areas where woody vines occur.

A set of 185 pairs of accessions with the same name from the Russian and Nordic collections of barley were grown in the field in Pushkin and were scored by the same person using a set of morphological descriptors. No differences were detected in the majority of the pairs (63%).In four out of six pairs no differences were detected for any of the agro-botanical characters. The accessions are most likely duplicates. In 13% of the pairs, the accessions were probably distinct and another 24% fell in-between these categories and required further investigation. Simple screening can reduce the number of duplicates. [The work is dedicated to Sergey M. Alexanian, Vice Director for Foreign Relations of VIR, who passed away in 2014].

20th century, common quince was considered not winter-hardy enough for the environments of the North-West of Russia. Cydonia oblonga Mill. was for the first time mentioned in the Catalogues of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden in 1793. It has been always present in the Garden's modern collection since 1949. The first flowering of common quince was noted in the late 1970s (after 20 years of cultivation), and in 2014 the first fruiting was recorded (65-year-old plants). The study of the quality of seeds has shown that in St. Petersburg's conditions they develop and almost ripen. However, for the time being the quality of seeds is insufficient to obtain seed reproduction. To increase seed quality cross-pollination is necessary. In North-Western Russia, quince has never been regarded as promising even for amateur cultivation, but it may become promising in case of further warming of the climate. Common quince is highly ornamental during its flowering period. It blossoms from late April to early May.

Early-maturing lines L-1610 and L-1611 developed and selected as high-yielding at the Leningrad Research Institute of Agriculture "Belogorka" were studied at Kotlas Breeding Experimental Station (Arkhangelsk region). As the result of the study in Kotlas, line L-1610 was identified as early-maturing (76-80 days), high-yielding (5.6 t/ga), with large grain (1000 grain weight: 51.3 g), and high resistance to lodging (9-7 points). Due to its sensitivity to lodging and unstable productivity in some years, line L-1611 was removed from the test.

Results of studying the collection accessions of table beet with different levels of monogermity are presented. Inheritance of this character in the progeny and also its connection with other traits and properties are shown. Accessions with stable expression of monogermity and the possibility of using them in breeding are described. Promising source material for development of heterosis hybrids is recommended.

The article presents the results of research work on melilot (Melilotus Mill.) breeding in Transbaikalia in the period from 1939 to the present. The purpose has been to outline the prospects for further breeding of melilot in Transbaikalia. This work has been accomplished involving literary sources, research reports and publications of the authors, the results of field studies, herbarium collections of various institutions, reports of scientific institutes in Transbaikalia. The article contains the data on distribution of Melilotus spp. in Transbaikalia, the history of their breeding, and information about melilot accessions promising for further breeding.

The mlo11 allele associated with the loss of function of the Mlo locus and controlling mildew resistance in the majority of modern barley cultivars was identified in Ethiopian barley landraces. Twenty-seven accessions from Ethiopia were studied during laboratory experiments which resulted in identifying k-5448 as an accession resistant to powdery mildew. Three accessions (k-8555, k-8682 k-17554) were heterogeneous by the studied trait. With the help of molecular markers we showed that the resistant components of the selected forms are protected by the mlo11 gene.

Morphological, karyological and molecular genetic analyses of the accessions of Vicia unijuga A. Br. s. 1 (V. unijuga A. Br., V. ohwiana Hosok.) from the tribe Vicieae Bronn. have been performed. Samples were collected during expeditions in the Russian Far East, Siberia and China. The results of factor and discriminant analysis revealed as important morphological characters for the classification of inter- and intraspecific diversity: peduncle length, leaf length, stipule shape, bean length, and the number of internodes on the main stem. The cytotypes 2n = 12, 2n = 24 at V. unijuga and V. ohwiana Hosok. were found to occur almost over the entire territory of their areas of distribution. 2n = 12 is not species-specific characteristics for V. ohwiana. The ITS, SSR and ISSR marker analyses revealed a significant taxonomic proximity of V. unijuga and V. ohwiana with the species V. baicalensis (Turcz.) B. Fedtsch., V. ramuliflora (Maxim.) Ohwi and V. venosa (Willd. ex Link) Maksim. The complex species V. unijuga s. 1 is a genetically heterogeneous group. Some populations localized on the islands and the coast of the Sea of Japan need to be classified into independent taxa of a higher rank.

For the first time crop wild relatives have been found and recorded in the Aktobe floral district. They have been catalogued in a summary of crop wild relatives which includes data on 412 species. For Secale sylvestre, a natural focus of habitation has been discovered.

This paper presents the data of evaluation of late blight resistance in hybrids derived from crosses of Solanum tuberosum L. with the diploid Bolivian potato species S. berthaultii Hawk. and S. ruiz-ceballosii Card. selected previously for their resistance. In field and laboratory evaluation large share of resistant phenotypes was found. Both hybrids produced tubers in the field under long daylight conditions. S. berthaultii possesses a triploid number of chromosomes (2n = 36) and is completely sterile. Pollen grains of S. ruiz-ceballosii hybrid are partially fertile.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding and seed production in Lithuania is performed at Voke Branch of Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. It was started in 1958. The main potato breeding object is to produce very early potato cultivars resistant to the nematodes and to the main potato diseases. As the result of breeding work eleven cultivars were produced: 'Meta', 'Vilnia', 'VB Aista', 'Nida', 'Mirta', 'Goda', 'VB Venta', 'Voke', 'VB Liepa', 'Vaiva' and 'VB Rasa'. The aim of the present work was to ascertain the resistance of Lithuanian potato varieties to the agent of potato blight Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. The results have shown that potato varieties of different maturation time are unequally infected with potato blight. The disease spreading was more intense in early potato varieties, while in maincrop varieties the disease spreading was less intense. Other advantages - good yield, suitability for processing industry, excellent cookery qualities, good taste or attractive shape - were also the main items in producing of Lithuanian potato cultivars.