The genus Geranium L. of the family Geraniaceae Juss. includes more than 450 species, distributed in temperate climate zones and mountainous tropical zones. Currently, there are about 850 varieties of geraniums of foreign origin, including interspecific hybrids. Perennial hardy geraniums (Geranium L.) are widely used as ornamental, medicinal and melliferous plants, as well as raw materials for the production of essential oils. A comprehensive study of their economic and biological traits and properties is a promising task for the successful use of geraniums in various fields. The article presents the results of the study of the features of the morphogenesis of the generative organs in some species of Geranium L. before the beginning of the spring regrowth on sod-podzolic soils in the conditions of the Central Non-Black Earth region. The objects of the study were Geranium sylvaticum L., Geranium phaeum L., Geranium macrorrhizum L. and Geranium x oxonianum Yeo ‘Wargrave Pink’ from the field collection of ornamental geraniums of the Vegetable Experimental Station named after V.I. Edelshtein, Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. A direct relationship was established between the degree of development of vegetative-generative buds during the period of spring regrowth, their morphological parameters and flowering dates. The structural features of renewal shoots and rhizomes of geraniums are described. Morphological data characterizing the state of vegetative-generative buds in spring provide an opportunity to predict further seasonal rhythms of plant growth and development.

The aim of this study is to assess the level of neutral detergent soluble carbohydrates of alfalfa (Medicago varia Mart.) when it is cultivated in the Central Non-Chernozem region on soddy-podzolic soil, as well as to review new methods (artificial neural networks) in solving this issue. The content of neutral detergent soluble carbohydrates (NDSC) was determined by the formula: 100 – crude protein (CP) – neutral detergent fiber (NDF) – crude ash (CA) – crude fat (CF). Data on the content of the components of the formula were used to determine levels of NDSC in four alfalfa varieties at the following growth phases: branching, beginning of budding, budding and flowering. Concentrations of NDSC decreased as the plants matured and were (% per dry matter on average for all varieties): at branching – 39.4, at the beginning of budding – 35.5, at budding – 32.7, and at flowering – 26.6. In cooler and more humid conditions of vegetation, the content of CP and NDF was lower, and therefore the level of NDSC was higher and amounted to 36.1% in the budding phase. There is a strong negative correlation between NDSC and the contents of the sum of NDF + CP and NDF alone. The correlation coefficients were 0.96 and 0.90, respectively. Among the components of neutral detergent carbohydrates, the content of non-structural carbohydrates and their proportion were determined. Both indicators decreased with the growth of the plants. Methods for the determination of protein, fiber and crude ash can be based on the use of infrared analyzers. It is important to build appropriate calibration models that are non-linear in nature. Advanced methods for building calibration models include artificial intelligence methods, namely artificial neural networks. Such a methodology can be used, for example, to recommend the optimal period of grass cutting.

The genus Stachyurus Siebold et Zucc. has always been considered as the only genus in the Stachyuraceae, but the systematic position of this family is complicated, since it has been included in various orders of flowering plants by vegetative and generative features. A thorough study of the fruits of representatives of the genus Stachyurus has not yet been undertaken. This work presents the results of a morphological and anatomical study of the fruits of four species of the genus Stachyurus. Morphological and anatomical studies of the fruits of representatives of the genus Stachyurus Siebold et Zucc. from the monotypic family Stachyuraceae are carried out. The fruits are considered as many-seeded 4-false-loculed paracarpous berries. A peculiarity of the fruit anatomy of the studied species Stachyurus is the lack of differentiation of the mesocarp. It is composed of layers of similar parenchymatous isodiametric cells with a row of vascular bundles in the center. The exocarp and endocarp are monolayers composed of parenchymatous rectangular cells elongated in a tangential direction. Separate mechanical tissues and various inclusions (resins, gums, etc.) were not found. Stachyurus species differ in the features of fruit surface micromorphology: type of surface ultrastructure, presence of pore-like areas in the cuticle, presence and shape of epicuticular wax. The identified carpological features of Stachyurus along with other diagnostic features can be taken into account in further systematic and phylogenetic studies of Stachyuraceae.

African swine fever is a dangerous viral disease of pigs that is widespread and causes enormous economic damage to the pig industry. In this regard, it is important to monitor the epizootic situation and evaluate the effectiveness of antiepizootic work in this infection. The methods of complex epizootological research were used in the work. The initial data were accounting and reporting materials of the State Veterinary Committee of the Republic of Crimea, operational information from the official website of the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The first outbreak of African swine fever on the territory of the Republic of Crimea was registered in early 2016 in the Razdolnenskiy district, the cause of which has not been fully clarified. Subsequently, in the period 2016-2017, 26 new outbreaks of ASF disease were detected among wild and domestic animals. In December 2023 and March 2024, epizootic outbreaks of African swine fever were observed among domestic pigs in the villages of Malovidnoe and Uglovoe, Bakhchisarayskiy district. In order to prevent the introduction of the African swine fever virus into safe regions, it is necessary to carry out educational and awareness-raising work among the population and personnel on the possible ways of introduction and spread of the ASF pathogen. Managers of pig-breeding enterprises and owners should be obliged to create conditions for feeding and keeping animals in accordance with veterinary and sanitary norms and instructions of veterinary specialists. It is also necessary to vaccinate animals against erysipelas and classical swine fever in time, to regularly disinfect and deratize the premises, to prevent the accumulation of waste. All cases of disease and death of pigs should be immediately reported to the veterinary service, and unhindered access for veterinarians for sampling and appropriate action should be ensured. It is important to ban domestic slaughter and carefully control the movement of people, animals and feed, especially from unfavorable areas.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the need to solve the problem of waste disposal, especially urban sewage sludge, as well as the search for ways to improve the efficiency of agricultural production. Both tasks can be solved by using sewage sludge as a fertilizer for growing crops. At the same time, soil disposal is more economical than traditional methods and does not require additional land, but it leads to accumulation of heavy metals in the resulting products, which in turn requires measures to ensure that their content does not exceed the MAC. The article contains the results of the analysis of the use of non-traditional fertilizers (sewage sludge and Humiton preparation) in oat cultivation, as well as the resulting indicators of environmental and economic efficiency. Used types of non-traditional fertilizers and their main characteristics are considered. It is noted that sewage sludge in its composition is close to other types of organic fertilizers. Humiton preparation is an original development on the basis of peat. The results of application of the mentioned non-traditional fertilizers and the indicators characterizing them, such as yield, grain quality, content of heavy metals in grain, are presented. The influence of non-traditional fertilizers on oat yield, grain quality, heavy metal content in grain is considered. The economic efficiency obtained by using non-traditional fertilizers is also compared. The article concludes that, in general, the effect of non-traditional fertilizers on the resulting products is positive, the grain is environmentally safe. The expediency of their use is also confirmed by the economic effect obtained. Combinations of application of traditional and non-traditional fertilizers, which allow to maximize economic indicators and to ensure the required level of grain quality, are determined.

Parks and green areas in large cities are very important objects, not only for tourism and recreation, but they also perform important ecological functions, clean the air from gases and dust, create a favorable microclimate, and thus create an environmentally friendly framework in cities. The most important factor in the condition of green areas is the ecological condition of forest stands, which form the main green framework. The article considers the condition of forest stands in dependence on the landscape and intensity of recreational load on the territory of the Tsaritsyno Historical Park and its specificity as a specially protected natural area. The article presents the results of the forest stand assessment, identifies problem areas and areas with weakened stands, gives recommendations for plant care and minimizing the impact on weakened trees.

All metabolic pathways of natural amino acids lead to the Krebs cycle. However, only nitrogen-free acyclic compounds can enter the Krebs cycle. In animals, however, the products of deamination and decyclization of amino acids are not only oxidized to end products in the Krebs cycle, but are also converted to glucose and ketone bodies. Consequently, every natural amino acid has a glucogenic or ketogenic effect, and some amino acids have a glucoketogenic or mixed effect, because they form both a glucogenic and a ketogenic product in the process of degradation. Tryptophan is such an amino acid. One of the degradation products of tryptophan is anthranilic acid. While the conversion of another degradation product of tryptophan, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, has long been known and is the cause of the ketogenic effect of tryptophan, the conversion of anthranilic acid has long remained unclear. This has led to various judgments that have not allowed true conclusions about the action of anthranilic acid (glucogenic or ketogenic) and, consequently, the final judgments about the action of tryptophan in animals. The article analyzes the conversion of anthranilic acid in animals, which allows us to conclude about the metabolic pathway of tryptophan through it. The article shows the impossibility of direct deamination of anthranilic acid in animals with the glucogenic effect of anthranilic acid resulting from direct deamination, and also shows the ketogenic effect of anthranilic acid due to its oxidation to 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid. Since both acids are intermediates in the degradation of the protein amino acid tryptophan, this fact should be taken into account in the diets of normal and pathological animals.

Industrial poultry farming is accompanied by various infectious and invasive diseases. They have a wide distribution and occupy a large share in the contagious pathology of birds, despite the measures of prevention and control taken by veterinary specialists, which negatively affects the epizootic situation in poultry farming. The article presents materials on retrospective analysis of morbidity of birds with infectious and invasive diseases for 5 years (2018-2022) in Russian poultry farms according to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. During the study period, viral and bacterial diseases (avian influenza, colibacillosis, Newcastle disease, ornithosis, pseudomonosis, tuberculosis, pasteurellosis, salmonellosis, mycoplasmosis, typhus-pullorosis, infectious laryngotracheitis, avian infectious bronchitis, Marek’s disease) and parasitic and fungal diseases (coccidiosis, spirochetosis, sarcoptosis, nematodosis and aspergillosis) were registered. The highest number of sick poultry with viral diseases was recorded in 2021, bacterial diseases in 2018, and parasitic and fungal diseases in 2020, which amounted to 28.289, 15.778 and 0.036%, respectively. In regions with developed poultry farming it is necessary to assess the epizootic situation in order to determine the degree of epizootic risk in specific conditions, the level of potential epidemic threat of the most common zooanthroponotic diseases of birds and timely implement a set of measures to prevent and eliminate diseases in poultry farms.

The eastern tree frog (Hyla orientalis) is declining at the northern and eastern periphery of its range. Restoration of declining amphibian populations is possible through laboratory breeding and reintroduction. This paper presents the results of a study of larval development of H. orientalis at different water temperatures. Captive-born larvae were reared in 18 individuals in containers of 39 × 28 × 28 cm filled with 18 litres of water. The rearing from the transition of the larvae to exogenous feeding until landing was carried out twice at constant water temperatures of 20°C, 23°C, 26°C, 29°C and 32°C. The juveniles of the eastern tree frog were characterized by a high survival rate (94.4-100%) under all applied temperature regimes. Higher temperatures contributed to a shorter period of larval development and a reduction in the size of juveniles after the end of metamorphosis. The authors believe that a water temperature of 26°C is the most suitable for rearing larvae of this species in artificial conditions, since under these conditions large juveniles grow in a short period of time. The results of the work can be used by conservationists, staff of breeding centers, protected areas and zoos when implementing measures to restore the numbers of H. orientalis.

Experiments were carried out on animals of different species to study the parameters of calcium metabolism at the level of the small and large intestines. In monogastric and polygastric animals, the fractional composition of chyme was studied by centrifugation and the concentration of calcium in its exogenous and endogenous components was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. An analysis of native chyme from different parts of the rabbit intestine was carried out by X-ray structural analysis using the small-angle diffraction method. It was found that as the chyme and its endogenous fraction move along the intestine, the calcium content increases with a predominant relative proportion of other mineral elements. Diffraction maxima exceeding the width of true crystals and characteristic of amorphous crystalline substances were obtained on X-ray patterns. The general biological phenomenon of calcium deposition in endogenous structures of chyme to form a nano-ordered framework of enteroplasm was inferred. The regularities of enteral calcium metabolism in animals of different species established during the experiments are of scientific importance for the study of the mechanisms of its homeostasis in the body and of practical value in the field of setting mineral nutritional standards, taking into account the significant calcium accumulation by endogenous components of the small and large intestines. The X-ray structural analysis of chyme complements the theoretical basis of the strip digestion concept and allows for a preliminary assessment of its physicochemical properties.

The work is devoted to the study of age-related changes in reproductive parameters of female Batura toads, Bufotes baturae, under laboratory conditions. The material for the study were clutches obtained from toads aged 2 to 7 years. The highest fertility (1830±298.6 eggs) was observed in 5-year-old females. The peak of reproductive activity is between 3 and 6 years of age, after which fertility decreases statistically significantly. Other reproductive parameters (egg diameter and spawn cord width) did not show any age-related changes. The results obtained will be useful in planning laboratory and conservation projects for breeding Batura toads. Based on the results of the studies, we recommend to form a reproductive nucleus from animals aged 3-6 years.