In the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens, the breeding of essential oil plants is aimed at obtaining drought-resistant, highly productive, disease-resistant cultivars with new types of aroma and high perfume qualities, with a high mass fraction of the main components in the essential oil; medicinal plants - with a high content of biologically active substances in raw materials. Currently, 45 cultivars of aromatic and medicinal plants have been created, 22 of which are listed in the Register of Plant Varieties of the Russian Federation approved for use in the Republic of the Crimea.

The study of the effect of peppermint essential oil of menthol-mentone-mentilacetate chemotype (Prilutskaya cultivar) in the concentration of 1 mg/m³ in different periods of exposure (from 10 to 30 minutes) on the psycho-emotional state, mental performance and function of the cardiovascular system of old people in order to assess the possibility of using this essential oil for corrective activities, has been conducted. It has been established that this essential oil has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state of the elderly, improves their simple thought processes, optimizes the function of the cardiovascular system. Improvements in all these parameters were observed already after 10 minutes of aroma session and last for the entire duration exposures up to 30 minutes.

Lichens possess wide spectrum of biological activity and are successfully used in traditional medicine and ecological monitoring. The aim of the present work was the evaluation of accumulation peculiarities of 25 macro- and trace elements by some lichen species of Crimean specially protected natural conservation areas: “Karadagsky” and “Au-Dag” nature reserves. Among 3 most common species of lichens ( Cladonia rangiformis , C. convoluta, Evernia prunastri ) Cladonia convoluta contains the highest levels of minerals and demonstrates the highest accumulation capacity for heavy metals (Al, As, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sr, V) and Arsenicum, macroelements (Ca and Mg), and also trace elements (Co, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo and Zn). On the contrary, Evernia prunastri , colonizing branches of trees accumulates the highest levels of iodine and selenium. It was shown that accumulation levels of different elements by the mentioned lichens are not only species-specific but also are regulated by peculiarities of habitat (open area, forest canopy) and abiotic factors (humidity, temperature). The results may be considered as background values of elements in lichens for the studied environmentally friendly territories.

For the first time Codonopsis lanceolata (Siebold. & Zucc.) Benth. & Hook. fil. regenerants were obtained through direct organogenesis from axillary meristems without the stage of callus formation. The effect of the mineral composition of the culture medium, growth regulators, and their concentrations on the regeneration of microshoots were studied. The positive effect on the morphogenetic capacity of joint use of cytokinins and auxins is shown.

The classification of skeletal and carbonate agro-brown soils of low taxa is well grounded and proposed. The informative integral indicators of fertility of agro-brown soils for the assessment of their suitability for park ornamental plants (on the example of the Nikitsky Gardens) are established.

The description of the largest population of Euonymus nanus in the Crimea found on the middle plateau of Chatyrdag is given. The description of vegetation of funnel sinks where spindle tree has been found is given, geographical coordinates are given, some questions of ecology of this type are considered, the approximate number of plants in three localities which makes about 25 thousand is defined.

The article presents the features of plant communities’ formation of “Montedor” park. The description and location plan of 25 culture phytocenoses which dominate in park’s landscape, the chart illustrates the ratio of trees and shrubs of species and groups of plants; the histogram of the distribution of trees and shrubs according to the species composition in "Montedor" park, have been given. The evaluation of landscape morphological units has been made, the scheme of assessment of phyto-ecological potential of “Montedor" park has been developed.

The duration of the flowering period of lilac cultivars from the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens collection is analyzed. It is established that the duration of flowering depends both on the cultivar peculiarities and climatic conditions of the year. The inverse dependence of a cultivar's flowering period duration on the flowering beginning date and on the average air temperature over the flowering period was revealed. 35 studied cultivars were divided into 2 groups: 13 quickly fading cultivars and 22 cultivars with long-term blooming. It has been established that under the conditions of the Southern coast of the Crimea all long-term blooming cultivars are early-blossoming, and rapidly fading cultivars mainly have the middle and late blooming periods.

Results of introducing studying of three shadow species of Allium L. genus: A. microdictyon, A. ursinum , A. victorialis : biometric parameters, seasonal rhythm of growth and development, seed efficiency and features of reproduction are given. For A. ursinum and A. victorialis data on vitamin C content are provided. These alliums are biologically close among themselves and integrated under the general name rampson. The studied species of alliums differ in parameters: diameter of a bulb ( A. ursinum - up to 1 cm, A. victorialis - up to 2 cm, A. microdictyon - up to 1.5 cm), height of a peduncle ( A. ursinum - 22-28 cm, A. victorialis - 48-55 cm, A. microdictyon - 46-58 cm), arrangement of leaves on a plant ( A. ursinum leaves are located at the shoot’s base, A. microdictyon and A. victorialis , - up to 1/2 or 1/3 parts of a stalk), quantity of leaves on a generative shoot ( A. ursinum - 2 pieces, A. microdictyon and A. victorialis - 2-3 pieces), an inflorescence ( A. ursinum has a semi-spherical umbrella, A. microdictyon and A. victorialis - a spherical dense umbrella), diameter of an inflorescence ( A. microdictyon - 4 cm, A. ursinum - 4.7 cm, A. victorialis - 4.4 cm). According to the seasonal rhythm, these plants are short vegetating, short flowering ones. The studied species go through all stages of life cycle, are stable in culture and are perspective for cultivation in Bashkir Cis-Urals (northern forest-steppe).

The influence of clonal rootstocks of breeding of the branch of the Crimean experimental breeding station of N.I.Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry and breeding of the North Caucasian Federal Research Center for horticulture, viticulture, winemaking (VSL-2, 3-76, 5-44, 5-42, 3-114, 7-42) the growth and development of the introduced sakura cultivars ‘Shirofugen’ , ‘ Royal Burgundi’ and of own selection ‘ Symphoniya Nezhnosti’, ‘Podarok Sochi’ under the conditions of damp subtropics of Russia (Sochi). The root forms of sakura (Vesennii Kapriz (AI 1) and AI 72, AI 73, AI 76, AI 77) created at the Institute for use in landscape construction and as rootstocks were studied. The studies evaluated the susceptibility of forms of the main pathogens under the conditions of damp subtropics of Russia. The form ‘Vesennii Kapriz’ showed high resistance (100%) to Coccomices hiemalis, even under artificial infection. The sakura cultivar ‘Symphoniya Nezhnosti’ was damaged with Monilia cinerea under the conditions of damp subtropics.

The results of the varietal study of Hibiscus syriacus L. under the conditions of southern gardening are presented. The main requirements for cultivars that provide continuous flowering during plant vegetation are determined: drought resistance and heat resistance at the level of 4-5 points, winter hardiness is not lower than 3 points, resistance to diseases is not lower than 4 points, self-purification is not lower than 3 points. Cultivars of hibiscus in the number of 29 denomination are ranked in accordance with the beginning of flowering: early, medium and medium-late. A short characteristic of the most promising cultivars is given.

The high species-specifity and attractive ability of pheromone of plum moth, fruit striped moth and codling moth have been specified. Preparative forms of these species can be used to monitor the dynamics of pests’ summer and signaling the timing for protective measures. Pheromones of wood leopard moth, lackey moth can be used to detect foci of pests. Pheromones of boxwood moth do not have sufficient attractive ability and need to be improved. The action of pheromones of American white moth and Californian scale are not established due to the absence of pests.

The results of polymorphism analyze of 18 microsatellite markers on samples of 19 peach cultivars, including several groups of cultivars of similar origin, are presented. The markers have shown the level of polymorphism from 2 (BPPCT028 and UDP98-409 markers) to 7 alleles (EMPaS01 markers) per locus. Allele set of three most polymorphic markers formed unique fingerprints for each of the studied cultivars, despite the common origin for many cultivars. The results of cluster analysis revealed patterns in the distribution of clusters, consistent with the origin of cultivars.

The article presents the results of the initial study of the hybrids of peach and nectarine with a sign of red (anthocyanin) color of fruit pulp, which may be interesting for the creation of new products of fruit processing and evaluation of the technological characteristics of products, which will allow to create in the future therapeutic and prophylactic food products for humans. By results of researches the selected genotypes are the source of economically important traits: large fruit (Krasnomyasy 13-00, Krasnomyasy 6-6, Krasnomyasy 2-00, Krasnomyasy 9-99, Krasnomyasy 10-99 and others), good taste fruits (Krasnomyasy No. 18, Ranniy 7-1-4-20, Krasnomyasy 2-00, Krasnomyasy 6-99, Krasnomyasy 10-99, Krasnomyasy 11-99, Krasnomyasy 13-00, Krasnomyasy 13-99 and others), late maturing (Krasnomyasy 5-99, Krasnomyasy 3-99 and others), resistance to clasterosporium carpophilum and powdery mildew (Krasnomyasy 13-00, Krasnomyasy 11-99 and other), leaf curl (Krasnomyasy 6-6), winter frost (Krasnomyasy 2-00, Krasnomyasy 15-99) and summer drought (Erythrokarpa 1, Krasnomyasy 7-1-2-3-2).

The results of long-term studies and analysis of the indices of a complex of economically valuable traits (the timing of the passage of phenophases, picking maturity, the duration of keeping capacity, the indices of commodity and organoleptic qualities, fruit biochemical composition, crown size, early maturity and yield) of 27 introduced apple cultivars in the southwestern piedmont zone of the Crimea are presented. The cultivars with the best indicators of agronomic characters have been selected and recommended for breeding and production purposes: Gragama Jubilee, President Dumanso and Roxbury Resset.

The studies on the dynamics of the increase in fruit mass during 2015-2017 of two cultivars of feijoa of breeding of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens: Nikitskaya Aromatnaya and Aromatnaya Fantazia. The study of fruit growth patterns makes it possible to establish optimal schedules for their growth in specific soil and climatic conditions, which affects the timing of agrotechnical measures. Three growth periods were found in feijoa cultivars: the first is rapid growth, the second is relatively slowed down, the third is the rapid increase in the mass of the fruit before ripening. The decrease in the growth rate of fetal weight occurs in the third decade of August and lasts from 10 to 30 days. It depends on the biological characteristics of the cultivar and the weather conditions of the Southern Coast of the Crimea during the formation of the fruit. Under dry conditions, feijoa slows down the processes of active growth, the culture needs additional moisture, especially it reacts to air dryness.

The article presents the results of the study of economic and biological parameters of the promising cultivar of dogwood Pavlusha. The new cultivar has high taste and commercial qualities of fruits, suitable for the creation of industrial gardens of the Crimea and other southern regions of the country.

Characteristics of the leaf structure in the cultivars 'La France', 'Gloria Dei' and 'Traviata' have been presented in the article. It was revealed that the cultivars 'Traviata' and 'Gloria Dei' were characterized with such xeromorphic features as well developed cover tissues with thick cuticle and dense mesophyll. Leaves of the cultivar 'La France' demonstrated mesomorph structure. Those morphological and anatomical features provided high rate of water-holding capacity in the cultivars 'Traviata' and 'Gloria Dei'. The cultivar 'La France' does not characterized by high rate of drought tolerance.

Results of studying of the water regime of 7 species of Deutzia Thunb. genus ( D. amurensis Regel, D. discolor Hemsl., D. glabrata Kom., D. parviflora Bunge, D. maximowicziana Makino, D. scabra Thunb., D. vilmorinae E. Lemoine et Bois) in the conditions of the South-Ural Botanical Garden - Institute of Ufa are presented. As a result of the research, it has been noted that the most suitable for vegetative periods during vegetation are D. glabrata, D. maximowisiana, D. discolor , less drought-resistant - D. vilmorinae, D. scabra . The studied species of Deutzia can be widely used in the landscaping of gardens and parks of Ufa and other cities of the South Urals.

The article presents the generalized results of the study of reproductive biology of C. talievii Juz of an endemic, rare species in conditions of natural growth in the mountainous Crimea. The issues of antecology, the formation of male and female generative structures, seed development, dissemination, the formation of vegetative diasporas - the most important processes determining the success of seed and vegetative reproduction of this species and ensuring its self-reproduction are considered in detail.