The ecological features of forest-forming plant species of sessile oak phytocenoses in the Mountainous Crimea have been analyzed. Their affiliation with a certain faction of ecological valences according to the thirteen environmental factors in the trend of recreation has been defined. The tolerance index of plants in relation to soil and climatic parameters has been identified. The study of the ecological position of species on the scales allows to find out abiotic factors limiting their distribution.

The general botanical description of 11 species, 1 subspecies of genus Mammillaria Haw. were studied. The morphological characteristics of seeds are given. Surface texture, seed coat color, seed form, width and length of the seed are the most distinctive features. Morphological features of cactus seeds can be used to identify taxa obtained from doubtful origins.

The real work experiment of the South-Ural botanical garden institute of UFRCof RAS on creation of shadow garden with engaging of rare shade-enduring and shade-loving plants from genus: Astilbe, Hosta, Primula, Brunnera, Ajuga, Ligularia, Filipendula, Convallaria, Epimedium, Rodgersia, Cimicifuga is presented. The assortment of species and sorts of these groups of plants is offered, their some biological features including a seasonal rhythm of body height and development and also decorative qualities are given. By results of researches it is noted that all introduced species successfully passed tests in culture under the conditions of a botanical garden of Ufa and can be recommended for widespread introduction in practice of gardening in the Republic of Bashkortostan and in the South Urals.

The characteristic of historic introduction periods of the representatives of the Quercus suber L. is given. The bioecological assessment of the representatives of the Quercus suber L. from the dendrological collection in the Arboretum of the Nikita Botanical Gardens is provided. Its environmental peculiarities are described. The dendrometric parameters of the oldest trees are given.

In order to determine the sanitary state of oak plantations for the subsequent appointment of forest management measures to improve their viability, a study of the processes of differentiation of oak trees in the oak forests of the Ulyanovsk region was conducted. It was found that the general state of oak stands according to the results of the survey in 2000 was characterized as weakened, since from 75 to 80% of the trees belonged to the categories of weakened, severely weakened, withering and dead trees. After the drought in 2010, oak groves suffered greatly, and their state was characterized as strongly weakened plantations. Trees that were in varying degrees of weakening range from 87 to 90%. By 2017, although there was some restoration of the vitality of the oak trees, which manifested itself in their transition to higher categories of state, but this process was so slow that it stopped at the level of greatly weakened or weakened plantations. The general state of the examined coppice of oak stands is characterized as not completely satisfactory and requires a complex of forest management measures to improve the viability of oak groves.

A study of the effects of essential oils of peppermint of menthol-menthone chemotype (Udaichanka cultivar) at a concentration of 1 mg/m³ at different times of exposure (from 10 to 30 minutes) on emotional state, mental performance and function of the cardiovascular system of the elderly to assess the possibility of using this essential oil for corrective actions. It is established that this essential oil has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state of the elderly, improves their complex mental processes, optimizes the function of the cardiovascular system. Positive changes in all these indicators are observed after 10 minutes of aroma session and remain for the entire period of influence - up to 30 minutes.

A biochemical analysis of fruits of Prangos trifida (Mill.) Herrnst. & Heyn - a rare species that grows on the territory of the Republic of the Crimea - was carried out for the first time. It was found out that the seeds contain 12.53% fatty oil, and in the ovaries - 0.18% essential oil with a sharp coniferous fennel smell. In the essential oil, 47 components were identified, the main of which are limonene (31.3%) and γ-terpinene (12%), p-cymene, cis-ozymene, limonene oxide, beta-eudemol, β-myrcene, α-pinene . α-terpinolene. The obtained data testify to the possibility of using Prangos trifida as a source of valuable biologically active substances to preserve its genefound by cultivation.

In Russian Federation peach is cultivated intensively in Southern regions, where it is the most important industrial stone fruit. In the Crimea it covers an area of 2.6 thousand ha, which amounts to 56.0% of the total area of stone fruit crops. Peach yield capacity depends not only on specific cultivar traits, but also on soil and climatic cultivation conditions. Global climate change caused decrease and deterioration in the state of fruit plants. The purpose of researches was to study the influence of climatic environmental factors on the formation of yield capacity of different peach cultivars. The research was conducted in 2015 - 2017 under the conditions of the Southern Coast of the Crimea by using collection plantings of the Nikita Botanical Gardens. Meteorological data during the periods of peach blossom, infestation with leaf curl and powdery mildew over a wide time span from 1990 to 2017, were collected and analyzed. To identify the features of the relationship of fruiting of each peach variety with environmental indicators, a correlation analysis was carried out. With the help of correlation analysis, the amount and substantiality of the connection of yield with climatic factors of the environment for each peach cultivar.

The article contains the results of studies of the influence of the planting density on the biometric parameters and activity of apple tree growth processes in Brebern, Djalita, Renet Simirenko cultivars on the stock of EM IX. On the basis of the data obtained, it was established that at the age of four the biometric parameters of crowns, the total increment, its structure, the formation of the leaf surface in apple trees on the stock of EM IX directly depends on the planting pattern and the biological characteristics of the cultivar. Crowns of plantings of the studied cultivars with a denser stand of trees (5000 tree/ha), mastered the allocated feeding area 1.9 - 2.2 times more intensively compared with sparse plantings, the sprouting of the crown towards the interrow spacing was noted.

The main methods for evaluation of zizyphus fruits quality have been given in the article. The pomological peculiarities 7 zizyphus varieties have been studied. The expediency of their grouping has been justified.

Long-standing data on the crop yield of the olive cultivar Kolkhoznitsa and its correlation with various climatic factors (1991-2007) are presented in the article. It was revealed that the sunshine duration exerted a positive effect on the olive crop yield while the amount of precipitation during the flowering period had a negative influence. A high level of water deficit during the cold period supported a decrease in the frost resistance degree of the European olive that possibly led to the abnormalities in shoot and crop formation.

On the basis of a long-term study of the collection of garden roses of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens, an assortment of 65 valuable (16 domestic, 49 of foreign selection) cultivars, species and forms of 7 garden groups recommended for wall gardening on the Southern Coast of the Crimea has been identified, formed and described. The biological characteristics of these cultivars are given. The main directions of its use in vertical gardening have been specified and included in the characteristics of each cultivar. It has been determined that the assortment includes cultivars, species and forms of 7 groups of various colors, with single and remontant (repeat-blooming) flowering, with different periods of the beginning of flowering, which opens up wide opportunities for using this assortment in the vertical gardening on the Southern Coast of the Crimea.

Polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of leaves and petals of hybrid tea cultivars of roses with red and yellow color are evaluated. A direct correlation between antocyanine concentration in red roses petals and the level of antioxidant activity of alcoholic petals extracts is demonstrated. Comparison of absorption spectra of petals extracts in water, ethanol, 1% solution of citric acid and hexane has revealed that the absorption ratio of hexane extracts D200/D285 for stable to light red cultivars reached 11.5 while only 6.65 value was typical for unstable to light cultivars.

The article presents a modification of the scale of complex evaluation of Hemerocallis × hybrida Hort. cultivars on decorative and economic-biological characters. Changes are proposed due to the peculiarities of cultivation under the xerothermal conditions of the Southern Coast of Crimea. The list of the main features for the evaluation of cultivars and their conversion factors of significance has been revised. A comprehensive assessment of cultivars of Hemerocallis × hybrida Hort. according to the proposed scale allows to identify specific features of cultivars and to determine the most promising of them for use in landscaping under these climatic conditions.

More than 200 cultivars of Camellia japonica L. of Asian, Australian, European and American selection have been introduced on the Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus since the end of the XIX century. The main studies were carried out in Batumi (Georgia). For various reasons, C. japonica cultivars remain without taxonomic identification in other coastal dendrological collections. The challenge lies in the ambiguous understanding of their description given in national literature. There are names of cultivars with spelling errors, synonyms and homonyms. Different variants of cultivar characteristics used in the world practice were studied. As a result of the study of the cultivar diversity of C. japonica the morphometric and phenological features of the samples were specified and the description card of the cultivar was made, which was tested in determining the white-flowered polypetal camellias.

The data on the seasonal development of the most important pests and pathogens of ornamental woody plants in the parks of the Crimea are presented. The terms of development of 17 specialized and 9 polytrophic species of pests, as well as information on the biology of 16 species of phytopathogenic fungi, are given. The data can be used in planning the protective measures.

The dependence of the net photosynthesis intensity of V. tinus by environmental factors, leaf temperature, transpiration, and their change in the course of the growing period are investigated. Functions of photosynthetic response on environmental factors in the three-dimensional coordinate system is in the form of a convex surface with a peak at the top made it possible obtain numerical coefficients nonlinear regression equations relationships (models) the value of net photosynthesis for V. tinus from major environmental factors, and temperature and leaf transpiration. The data make it possible to interpret the photosynthesis rate as potential ecologo-physiological characteristic of the species, which in turn, allows you to compare different types of plants growing under similar conditions, in terms of measured using the same technique. V. tinus has a high photosynthetic capacity for acclimatization to the high temperature. When air temperature increases above of optimum value the rate photosynthesis drops sharply. The critical temperature for the leaf is 33.5°С. After stopping of period of active growing during June-October, the maximal size of speed of net-photosynthesis went down on 12%, transpiration intensity by 63.64%, temperatures of leaf - by 9.4%. Thus by comparison to June in September-October temperature-light optimums were displaced toward lowering: temperatures of air by 15.7%, deficit of humidity of air by 42.86%, and light PAR by 34.38%.

The article describes the analysis of time variability of index heat availability during the growing season on the Southern Coast of the Crimea for the 1930 to 2017 period. Time changes the anomalies of dates when average temperature is above the thresholds at 5, 10, 15, 20°C are considered. The principal attention is focused on analyzing the long-term dynamics anomalies of accumulated temperatures and degree day during its periods.

The influence of different combinations of fertilizers (organic, mineral) on Mentha arvensis L., Monarda fistulosa L., Thymus striatus Vahl., Agastache foeniculum Pursh. O. Kuntze, Majorana hortensis Moench, which grow affiliated with an underground irrigation, has been investigated. The growth parameters of the plants are mostly influenced by organic fertilizers, and mineral fertilizers influence more on accumulation of an essential oil. The component structure of an essential oil also changes under the influence of miscellaneous fertilizers.