For the first time gas seeps were found in the reserved offshore zone of Cape Martyan. With the use of hydro acoustic methods 26 gas seep discharge sites at the depths from 2,5 to 31,2 m were recorded.

The names of several previously published vegetation units of screes and denudation slopes of the Mountainous Crimea have been validated and corrected on the basis of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature requirements. In accordance with the modern concept of the European syntaxonomy all the syntaxa (two alliances, seven associations, two subassociations) are considered as parts of the order Onosmato polyphyllae-Ptilostemonetalia and the class Drypidetea spinosae .

The article presents a concept for theme garden in The Nikita Botanical Gardens “A garden of spring blooming” supposed to occupy 0,97 ha and designed according to laws of seasonal exposition. The study also contains descriptions of various compositions made of species and cultivars of ornamental fruit-bearing and bulbous plant, available under conditions of the South Coast of the Crimea due to their bio-ecological properties. Besides, it covers flowering terms and duration of plants introduced in the exposition, and a union calendar of their blooming period.

Based on the long-term study of 859 species, varieties and forms of roses from 30 garden groups of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens - National Scientific Center, the species and varieties, the peculiarities of their growth, development and cultivation when used in vertical gardening of the Southern Coast are revealed. The agronomic recommendations for care, peculiarities of pruning and breeding are given. The promising varieties, species and forms of 7 garden groups: climbing, climbing grandiflora, semi-climbing, noisette, tea, groundcover and Cordes Roses, which form a range recommended for use in landscape design in different identified variants of their use for vertical gardening in the Southern Coast of the Crimea are revealed.

As a result of long-term work on the introduction and selection of hybrid tea roses in the Southern Coast of the Crimea, their features are revealed, which have the greatest impact on the decorativeness of the cultivar. The most significant of these features are the following: the overall duration of flowering and color stability to burn-out under the influence of sunlight. As a result, a 100-point scale was developed to assess the decorativeness of the variety, including 15 criteria. The value of each criterion reflects its conversion factor. The use of the scale allows selecting the most decorative varieties for use in gardening in the Southern Coast of the Crimea.

The purpose of this work is to study the rhythms of growth and development of representatives of the genus Zinnia L. and to assess the prospects of introduction in open and protected ground cultivation. The objects of the study were 3 species, 14 sorts, introduced to the conditions of the foothill zone of the Crimea. The methodology of studying the phenology of plants and plant communities and the methodology of state testing of agricultural crops are used. It has been established that the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L. pass through all phases of development: vegetation, budding, flowering and seed ripening. The duration of flowering plants of the genus Zinnia L. was identical in the 2 methods of cultivation and was 4 months (120 days). The vegetative period of the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L., obtained through seedlings, was 7 months (187-218 days), which is two months longer than in plants grown by sowing in open ground (164-168 days). The analysis of collected data the phenological range of the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L. shows the reduction of the period between the phases and early phase of the "mass flowering" for the 2 species (Z. reruviana (L.) L. and Z. violacea Cav.) and 4 sorts ('Solar Bunnies' , 'Orang King', 'Polar Bear', 'Liliput'). The effect of sowing in the protected ground is only available for the species Z. haageana Regel. The remaining sorts of the genus Zinnia L. can be sown in the open ground in the last part of May for the floral decoration of the foothill zone of the Crimea.

The research of coriander essential oil’s action of various duration on functional parameters of cardiovascular system in order to evaluate the possibilities of use this essential oil in aromatherapy for the elderly has been conducted. The exposure to vapors of coriander essential oil seed has a hypotensive effect and contributes to normalization of cardiovascular system of the elderly with hypertension, which is especially expressed when using 10 and 20 minute sessions aroma-relaxation.

The content of biologically active substances in the water-ethanol extract from inflorescences of amphidiploidal lavandin is determined. It has been found that the extract contains high concentrations of phenolic substances, volatile compounds and ascorbic acid. As a result of the comparative analysis of the component composition of the volatile compounds of essential oil and water-ethanolic extract of lavandine, it has been found that the extract is similar in composition to essential oil, contains low concentrations of esters and high concentrations of linalool, camphor and 1,8-cineole. Essential oil and extract from amphidiploidal lavandin are promising sources of natural linalool, phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid.

The distribution of a floral semiparasite Arceuthobium oxycedri in the Crimean parks was investigated in terms of the research. Range of the damaged plants in Cupressaceae family was determined as well: Cupressus - 8 species, 6 forms; Chamaecyparis - 1 species; Juniperus - 6 species; Platycladus - 1 species, 1 form. The study covers matters of biology and ecology of the floral semiparasite, characteristics of its distribution in the nidus of infection. It was found out that initial infection of the host-plant was realized via birds-carpophages, repeated - due to wind transfer of seeds and crown contact of infected and healthy plants. Measures of injuriousness reduction of the floral semiparasite were mapped out for cypress plantations.

The results of enthomological invetory of coccoidea species composition during 2007-2016 have been given. It was indentified 18 species which belong to 6 families: Diaspididae, Coccidae, Asterolecaniidae, Eriococcidae, Pseudococcidae, Monophlebidae. The dominant species of phytophagans have been determined, the degree of harmfulness, feed speciality, biological peculiarities and spreading have been studied. The recommendations for limiting the number of coccoidea in parks of the Crimea based on the results of the researches have been given.

The article presents the results of a long-term research on hybrid peach cultivars, bred by the Nikita Botanical Gardens, under conditions of the Crimean Southern Coast. The correlations between yield capacity of peach plants and climatic parameters such as average monthly, maximal and minimal air temperatures, precipitation, relative humidity during the blooming period, degree of infestation with powdery mildew and leaf curl, air temperatures in summer period during fruit ripening time, were established. the correlation between yield capacity and climatic environmental factors was determined for two hybrid peach forms: VS 81-194 and VKF 84-2475.

The data of a long-term research of the economic and biological indexes of new selection forms of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens have been analyzed in the article. Ten genotypes with late flowering not affected by recurrent spring frosts have been selected. Two early ripening and six late-ripening genotypes have been identified. It is established that two hybrid forms 84-895 and 99-415 bred in the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens (NBS-NSC) are the most adapted ones to the conditions of the South Coast of the Crimea.

The correlations between productivity, beginning of flowering and the degree of flowering of two model chaenomeles genotypes with minimum, maximum temperature and relative humidity of air at different stages of crop formation under conditions of the Southern Coast of the Crimea were studied. The correlation analysis found out that the chaenomeles productivity directly depended on the degree of generative buds formation and the start of flowering. The strongest influence on the chaenomeles yield was provided by the maximal air temperature during the ripening periods (r = 0.7) and growth of the fruits (r = 0.69), the degree of flowering (r = 0.67-0.68), the minimum temperature (r = -0.68) and the minimum relative air humidity (r = -0.61) during the flowering period, the maximum air temperature during the of generative buds formation (r = 0.62).

Our analysis has been carried out on the collection plantations of the Nikita Botanical Gardens - National Scientific Center. The present feijoa plantations in the Nikita Botanical Gardens were comprised by the planting stock cultivated from seeds. Therefore these plantations demonstrate a great form variety. Among them there are trees with a high regular productivity, a good fruit quality but also are happened to be the specimens with negative characteristics: a minute low quality fruit, a low and irregular productivity. The selective study of feijoa was aimed on breeding of the new sorts and forms characterized by a high stable productivity and economically valuable fruit features: early terms of ripening, gross fruit, a high palatability. During breeding process the Nikitskaja Aromatnaja variety as the maternal form was involved. As the paternal one- form F₂ №10 which fruit characterize by extreme early terms of ripening and high palatability was involved. Consequently new noticeable hybrids have been bred (forms №1, forms №9).

The article presents the results of long-term studies on the productivity and activity of growth processes in various constructions of pear plantations in the foothill zone of the Crimea. On the basis of a long-term research on productivity, plantations of pear Tavricheskaya variety are specified which were grown on the quince root VA 29 with a spindle-shaped crown - 21.6 and a flattened crown with three pairs of main branches -19.9 t / ha (4 x 2 m, 1250 d./ha). The plantations of the Izumrudnaya variety in this yield on yield were inferior to the Tavricheskaya variety, where the average indices varied within the range of 9.3-14.6 t / ha and in plantations of the Bere Bosk variety did not exceed 8.7 tonnes / ha. The growth force of the stem in the pear tree with a density of 833 d/ha per 1 ha for the formation of a flattened crown with three pairs of skeletal branches increases by 1.5 (Tavricheskaya) and 1.2 times (Bere Bosk) in comparison with the density of placement of 1250 d./ ha. The more compact crowns characterize the Tavricheskaya and Izumrudnaya trees in the formation of a flattened spindle with fruit trees up to three years old, where the crown projection area was 1.4-1.6 m2, and their volume 2.4-2.6 m3 (833 d./ha) . The parameters of plantings in these varieties with a density of 1250 bp / ha are higher by 6.5 - 8.5%.

He paper outlines the findings of the 2016 to 2017 studies on biological regulations as to the use of micronutrient fertilizers of the Polidon type on Galben Nou and Aligote grapes varieties cultivated in the south-western viticulture zone of the Crimea. The studied preparations were added to a tank mixture of pesticides used for chemical treatment of grapes during critical phases of development - "3-leaf phase", "inflorescence augmentation", "blossom-time closure", "berry the size of a small pea", “bunch formation". The study demonstrated the positive effect of micro-fertilizers on the productivity of grapes. It has been established that application of the experimental nutrient system to vine plants significantly increases the biological mass of the aboveground part of the bush (for table varieties - by 10%, for winemaking varieties - by 23.8%) and the yield of grapes by 8-10%, as compared to standard. The analysis revealed the increase of the sugar level of the berry juice of Galben Nou table grapes (by 0.8 g/100 cm³), thereby reducing the ripening period in the conditions of the south-western Crimea.

The genesis and stratigraphic structure of Pleistocene soils and geological deposits have been established on the basis of morphological description of profiles and studies of granulometric texture of soils, soil-forming and underlying bedrocks of the lagoon of Tarkhankut upland. The agronomically significant parameters of fertility and the suitability of lithogenic southern black soils of Douzlav Lake lagoon for gardening have been defined.

The results of studying the changes of the physical properties of meadow alluvial soil after a long-term drip irrigation in the apple orchard are presented. There hasn’t been found out any soil compaction, a decrease in humus content or any changes in carbonate content in the humidification circuit. The change in the granulometric composition and the soil structure of the upper horizon has happened.