The article summarizes information about the 90-year activities of VIR’s Department of Fruit Crop Genetic Resources. This Department was organized at the initiative of N. I. Vavilov as the Department of Fruit Growing, Horticulture and Special Crops. Its first head was an expert in fruit crop pomology V. V. Pashkevich who later became academician. In the 1920-30s a network of experiment stations was established to grow fruit-trees, berries, nut-bearing plants, subtropical and ornamental crops, and grapes. Active plant introduction efforts were immediately launched at these stations; planting materials were imported from abroad or selected among the germplasm collected during plant explorations. Many well-known scientists contributed much to the replenishment and study of the genetic diversity of various fruit and berry plants. Among them were such Vavilov’s associates as P. N. Bogushevsky, R. P. Bologovskaya , J. F. Katz, N. I. Kichunov, N. V. Kovalev, K. F. Kostina, F. A. Kryukov, F. D. Likhonos, A.M. Negrul, N. M. Pavlova, A. M. Rozanova, G. A. Rubtsov, V. A. Rybin, G. G. Tarasenko. By 2015, the fruit crop genetic diversity at the Institute’s experiment stations reached 22 750 accessions: among them 5913 are pome plants, 7445 drupes, 4227 berries, 439 other fruits, 1587 ornamentals and 3031 grapes. Collections include wild and cultigen types, old and new cultivated varieties, sources and donors of valuable breeding and economic traits. Key words: genetic diversity, experiment stations, fruit and berry crops.

In 2014, the scientific community celebrated 120 years since the birth of a well-known expert in plant resistance physiology I. I. Tumanov. The publication contains biographical information and main scientific achievements of I. I. Tumanov. His role in the development of researching plant collections for abiotic resistance is discussed.

The positive trend of starch content in potato tubers under the conditions of Murmansk Province and sugar content in grapes under the conditions of Rostov Province is shown for the period of the 1990s. Weather dependence of protein content in wheat was investigated in the experiments of 1963-1993 at four experimental stations of the Vavilov Institute. Direct dependence of the studied quality indicators on the sum of temperatures above 15°C and inverse dependence on the sum of rainfall for this period have been identified.

In vegetative experiments with summer grain wheat and barley, heterogeneity of varieties in their resistance to an increasing soil drought has been revealed. It is established that the degree of expression of heterogeneity in varietal populations depends on the conditions of mineral nutrition and the duration of a stress.

Sources and donors of traits important for clonal rootstock breeding have been selected from the genetic diversity of Prunus L. numbering over 5000 genotypes maintained at Krymsk Experimental Breeding Station: adaptability to biotic and abiotic stresses, easy vegetative reproduction ability, dwarfness, etc. As a result of prebreeding, donors combining several breeding traits have been developed.

Information is provided on promising plum varieties that are recommended for breeders seeking an increase of productivity and fruit size.

A complete cyclic crossing between representatives of different taxa of cultivated flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), including its primitive forms, and the wild spccies L. angustifolium Huds. was carried out, and hybrid progeny was studied. On the basis of the similarity of morphological features, and the ability to cross with each other and with the species L. angustifolium and L. usitatissimum ssp. bienne (Mill.) Stankev. with viable progeny, it was suggested that L. angustifolium had been the ancestor of Colchian flax, from which the linseed, intermediate and finally fibre forms consequentially evolved. The ancestor of L. usitatissimum ssp. bienne could be L. angustifolium , as the female form, or Colchian flax. For large-seeded flax and L. crepitans Dum., the ancestor could be the intermediate flax; for the dwarf flax, the crown flax. Winter flax is a form of the conventional oilseed flax sown before the start of the winter season in the areas with mild climate.