Background. The аdventive component in the flora of the Russian Far East changes over time and has its own specific features connected with the region’s natural environments and priority trends of agricultural production. Crop wild relatives (CWR) with the ability to adapt to a new environment are of interest as sources of utilizable plant germplasm and genetic diversity. Amur Province, Jewish Autonomous Province, Primorsky Territory, and Khabarovsk Territory, situated in the southern part of the Russian Far East, were chosen for a comparative study of the composition of adventive CWR plants.

Materials and methods. Information on alien species was taken from publications, herbarium materials, collecting missions, and personal observations. A dendrogram of floristic similarity (Jaccard index) was built using the PAST.1.71 software package.

Results. As a result, an annotated list was compiled. It included 189 plant species, belonging to 87 genera and 22 families: 139 CWR species occurred in Amur Province, 82 in the Jewish Autonomous Province, 143 in Khabarovsk Territory, and 173 in Primorsky Territory. The taxonomic composition and the degree of naturalization were analyzed for the listed species, among which the most threatening and actively spreading ones were identified. A common core of 70 omnipresent adventive CWR was ascertained. A cluster analysis of the species composition in the studied areas showed that the highest level of similarity was in Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, while the lowest level of similarity characterized the Jewish Autonomy. The rates of naturalization for alien CWR species were variable across the surveyed areas. The share of species vigorously invading secondary and natural landscapes was higher in the Jewish Autonomy, with the highest absolute figures observed in Primorsky Territory. Active invasive or potentially dangerous species accounted for about 18% of the total number of CWR species in the studied region.

An analytical review is presented to highlight the history and current utilization prospects for one of the most popular and widespread crop plants in many regions of the globe – the common hop (Humulus lupulus L.). It has been used and cultivated for thousands of years. A greater part of its worldwide area of distribution is cultigenic. Common hop was used in brewing and in breadmaking (as a leaven component), served as a nutritional, antimicrobial, sedative or hypnotic agent, and was cultivated for animal feed and medicine, for paper and paint production, and for traditional rituals. The possibilities offered by modern methods in the analysis of the crop’s chemical composition have revived the interest in common hop and significantly expanded its potential for the development of original beer varieties and functional foods, natural hygienic and cosmetic products, and especially pharmaceuticals. The analysis of an extensive bibliography dedicated to studying secondary metabolites in common hop (representing more than 20 classes of organic compounds) showed new prospects of its utilization in anti-inflammatory and hormone substitution therapies, treatment of metabolic syndrome and cancer, and natural insecticide production.

The research activities of Dr. K. F. Kostina, a well-known expert in fruit plants in Russia, are also familiar to the international scientific community. A State Prize Laureate and Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, she developed a classification of common apricot varieties and forms, based on their botanical and geographic features, identifying the Central Asian, Iranian-Caucasian, European, and Dzungar-Trans-Ili groups, thus contributing to the progress of Southern Russia’s horticulture. The Chinese group was added somewhat later. Over 48 apricot and 32 cherry plum cultivars, developed with Dr. Kostina’s participation, enabled the cultivation of these fruit trees in various regions. Klavdia F. Kostina promoted N. I. Vavilov’s approaches to the study of wild fruit plant species, which helped to expand the cultivated assortment and use their habitats as a source for selecting and exploiting the most promising genotypes in breeding practice. She worked on the methods suited for the expansion of apricot and cherry plum commercial plantations, all but nonexistent in Russia prior to the 1950s. Her active involvement in the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh) was recognized with numerous gold medal awards.