Recently, the anthropogenic impact on ecosystems has been increasing. It leads to changes in the quantitative and qualitative composition of soils, in particular, to a decrease in their enzymatic activity. Enzymatic activity demonstrates the state of soil fertility and internal changes occurring after agricultural use and after an increase in the level of agriculture. These changes have been found both with the involvement of virgin and forest soils in the culture, and with various methods of using them. Therefore, the study of enzymatic activity on the example of catalase and its dependence on the basic physicochemical characteristics of the soil is an actual problem. Objects for analysis were samples of leached chernozem under sunchoke. The soil samples were provided by «Terralnvest», Dankovsky district, Lipetsk region. There was studied control, background - 20 tons per hectare of manure, a variant with the use of mineral fertilizers against the background of manure, and a variant with a calcium ameliorant defecate against the background of manure. pH values, content of exchange bases and humus, catalase activity were determined in the samples. There was revealed that the application of mineral fertilizers and ameliorant caused changes in the analyzed properties of the soil. The variant with the use of defecate against the background of manure was characterized by optimal indicators. It was found that the catalase activity of the soil samples was average. The application of manure in combination with the fertilizers and ameliorant increased the catalase activity of the soil by 1.3-1.5 times in comparison with the control. There was also found that the connection between catalase activity and humus content was strongly positive.

It is necessary to look for new cheap sources of organic compound to reduce degradation processes of chernozem. It can be crop rotation with binary (mixed) crop planting. The study was carried out in the stationary experiment at the Department of Agriculture and Agroecology in Khokholsky district, Voronezh region. The studies showed that the weight of plant residues in grain-grass-arable rotation, compared to grain-fallow-arable control, was 77% and 83% higher against the background of plowing with subsurface loosening. 30% of the total biomass decomposed in the control crop rotation and 42 and 46% decomposed in green-manure and grain-grass-arable rotations, respectively. Over the years of research, the topsoil lost 0.3% of the total humus in the grain-fallow-arable rotation against the background of plowing and 0.2% after subsurface loosening. The green-manure crop rotation ensured deficit-free balance of humus against the background of plowing and its increase of 0.2% against the background of subsurface loosening. The grain-grass-arable rotation against these backgrounds significantly increased its amount by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. The methods of biologization increased the productivity of crop rotations as the following: a 13,6% increase in green manure against the background of plowing and a 3.8% increase in subsurface loosening; against the same background 23.0 and 15.7% increases in the grain-grass-arable rotation in comparison with the grain-fallow-arable rotation. To increase the fertility of chernozem it is recommended to use green manure and grain-grass-arable rotations with binary crops.

To increase the level of crop production, it is necessary to intensify crop-forming factors, one of which is the moisture reserve indicator. So, there have been studied possibilities of increasing productive moisture reserves and its retention at root zones using granules of water-retaining sorbents. The creation of environmentally safe sorbents with high water-retaining capacity is actual and necessary. An absorbent is a polymer containing biodegradable fragments; it was obtained by radical polymerization under the conditions of oxidation-reduction system. Samples of the absorbent contained humic acids, microorganisms, microelements. The results of the studies given in the article demonstrate the influence of moisture-retaining absorbent on barley yields and on the number of soil microorganisms, enzymatic activity and changes in the mineralization ratio.

Intensive technology for cultivating sugar beet requires the introduction of high doses of fertilizers, but studies show that they do not have an advantage over the average recommended doses, and an excess of fertilizers can lead to an increase in the cost of their application and deterioration in product quality. The studies were conducted under the conditions of stationary experiment at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science in Voronezh State Agricultural University. The article reveals the influence of long-term application of mineral and organic fertilizers on the content of available forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as yield and sugar content of root crops. It was found that at the beginning of the growing season the greatest content of available forms was provided by the application of N₂₄₀P₂₄₀K₂₄₀ against the background of the aftereffect of manure - 182.3 kg/ha of mineral nitrogen, 165.7 mg/kg of mobile phosphorus and 159.8 mg kg of exchangeable potassium. When applying N₁₂₀P₁₂₀K₁₂₀ against the background of manure, the content of the fertilizer element was less. In fertilized variants, a reliable yield increase was obtained during all the years of research. A double dose of mineral fertilizers (N₂₄₀P₂₄₀K₂₄₀ against the aftereffect of manure) did not give a reliable increase in yields compared to a single (N₁₂₀P₁₂₀K₁₂₀ against the aftereffect of manure). In the same variant, there was obtained the maximum sugar yield -9.0 t/ha. The experiment with a double dose of fertilizers was less effective.

The article presents the using of multidimensional statistics methods for assessing the morphological and biological quality of winter wheat varieties in experiments conducted under the conditions of the forest-steppe of the Central Chernozem region in 2005-2016. Agrotechnics is generally accepted for the region. Mathematical processing was carried out by the package Statistica 6.1. There were tested different methods of grouping the samples, such as cluster analysis (successive dichotomy, k-means, hierarchical classification), neural network data processing (Kohen network). Only three characteristics had a significant effect on the clustering of varieties: the sprouting period, the height of the plant and the mass of 1000 grains; it was established by dispersion method and discriminant analysis. The parent components were selected on the basis of their belonging to different clusters in hybridization crosses. Crosses were between varieties with contrasting signs. The using of the k-averages method made it possible to obtain valuable winter wheat hybrids which possessed polymorphism, favorable transgressions, high productivity, winter hardiness, and lodging resistance. This selection principle was used in practice during the creating of a new variety of soft winter wheat Alexia, which was presented to the State Variety Test in 2016. The approved method of k-averages simplifies the selection of parent components for crosses and allows the creation of hybrids of winter wheat which is characterized by high productivity, winter hardiness and resistance to unfavorable environmental factors.

The results of several experiments conducted at different times by employees and graduate students of the Department of Crop Production, Feed Production and Agrotechnologies are generalized in the article. The preference of optimum seeding rate of soybean in wide-row (45 cm) - 550-600 thousand pieces/ha is shown. The high efficiency (synergism) of phosphorus-potassium (P90K60) fertilizer in a complex with pre-sowing treatment of seeds with ammonium molybdate solution (150 g/hectare) is revealed. An increase in the grain yield to the absolute control was 7.2 t/ha or 48.3 %, its protein content increased by 6.2 abs. %, and the oil content decreased by 0.3 abs. %. The foliar fertilization of vegetative plants of soybean with microfertilizers B (1 kg. hectare) + Mo (250 g/hectare) + ipin (50 ml. hectare) was highly effective, the yield increase was 4 c/ha (20%). Spraying of the ripen soybean with a 10% ammonium nitrate solution (25 kg/hectare) not only accelerated maturation of plants, but also increased productivity by 3,6 c/hectare (18%). The foliar fertilization of plants at a phase of 3-4 leaves with fertilizer Molytrac increased its productivity by 1.5 c/hectare (6,5%), and its combination with the second fertilizer Folicare (N18P18K18) increased the productivity by 3.2 c/hectare (13,8%).

The influence of pre-sowing seed treatment of five soybean varieties (Belgorodskaya 48, Belgorodskaya 6, Belgorodskaya 7, Belgorodskaya 8 and Bara) on their development, yield and quality of grains was studied in field experiments performed on loamy typical chernozem in Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Y. Gorin in 2015-2016. The seeds were treated with Nitragin KM manufactured by "NTC BIO" (Shebekino, Belgorod region). It was found that the seed inoculation with an aqueous suspension of Nitragin KM increased the number of active (large pink) nitrogen-fixing nodules on soybean roots at the flowering phase on average from 17.7 to 27.1 pieces on plant / or by 53.1 %. It caused an improvement of nitrogen nutrition of soybean varieties. As a result, soybean plants more intensively (in comparison with the control) increased the height, weight and foliage, yield (on average by 2.3 centners per hectare or 9,1 %), protein content (an average by 4,6 abs. %) and oil content (2.1%) of grain production, and also increased the protein yield (on average by 178 kilograms per hectare or 22.5%) and oil yield by 88 kg (19 %) in the crop. The soybean of Belgorod breeding was more responsive to the inoculation of seeds in comparison with the Krasnodar variety Bara. Belgorodskaya 8 was the best among the tested varieties. It formed more active nodules, was the most high-yielding (30.7 centners per hectare), high-protein (42.5%) and high-oleic in comparison with the other varieties of Belgorod breeding (27-27.7 centners per hectare, 40.4 to 41.3 per cent, and 21.7 to 23.2 per cent, respectively), and especially in comparison with Bara (24.3 centners per hectare, 39.4 per cent and 21.7 per cent). The use of the Belgorod soybean inoculant Nitragin KM is very promising and preferable, since it is 2-3 times cheaper than foreign analogues.

One of the factors for obtaining sugar beet roots that meet all processing requirements is the correct selection of hybrids according to the selection type when forming a sugar beet growing zone. This is due to the different intensity of metabolism in them, which can potentially lead to the formation of different components of the solid and liquid phase. The aim of the research was to study the correlation between the water content of sugar beet tissue of various selection types and the chemical composition of root crops. There were studied sugar beet hybrids of three breeding types: productive, productive-sugary, and sugary; 5 hybrids out of 15 hybrids of each type were selected and grown with the use of a single cultivation technology at one farm in 2016. On the average, the highest absolute content of dry matter (24.2%) and sucrose (17.90%) were registered in the hybrids of the sugary type, followed by the productive-sugary type and the productive type. The proportion of sucrose in the dry substances changed in other dependence: it increased from the hybrids of the productive type to sugary-productive and sugary type and the proportion of nonsucrose increased in the mirror row. On the average, the total absolute water content decreased in the following correlation: productive - productive-sugary -sugary; and the absolute content of free water changed according to the similar dependence. The proportion of free water in the total content varied in the following order: productive-sugary - sugary - productive types. The correlation between the indicators of water content of sugar beet and its chemical composition was considered. There was established close correlation of the proportion of free water with the juice indicator, the proportion of bound water with the protein content in the cell fluid. The results confirm that different types of sugar beet hybrids form different water balances under the same conditions, and the water content indicators correlate with the chemical composition.

There are considered some mechanisms of specific and non-specific pre-sowing stimulation of seeds, including ultrasound and phytostimulator containing melanins of yeast Nadsoniella nigra. The possibility of their application for intensification of germination of seeds and development of plants are shown. Based on the concept of a limited reserve of growth and development of living systems, as well as the nature of their realization, there are discussed the reasons for dispersion of the results, from unconditional stimulation to the catastrophic suppression of growth and development processes. The results were obtained by the researchers after pre-sowing seed treatment by different methods.

Many scientists studied ways of sowing and seeding rates of soybean under different conditions. The results of the three-year researches carried out on sierozem soils in the Tashkent region are given in article. It is recommended to use optimum sowing and seeding rate of soybean "Orzu".

Obtaining of environmentally sustainable barley varieties is a priority for its selective breeding. The objective of the study was to test new varieties of barley (Kashkadarya Branch of Scientific-Research Institute of Grain and Legumes) for productivity and adaptation to the soil and climatic conditions of the Southern region of the Republic. The findings revealed response of the barley to environmental changes; it helped to select varieties with the highest productivity, adaptive capacity and stability. According to the economically valuable features, there were selected the following varieties: 2010/4, SDN.../2007/11 and 2010/21 (among multi-row varieties) and Воха, Victoria/M2//-4-30 (among two-row barieties).

The specific molar ratio of gas and oil phases in the gearbox influences productivity of pumps of the lubrication system. Determination of these parameters is important when calculating power units of tractors of agro-industrial complex.

An increase in the production of stone fruit crops at horticultural farms of the Voronezh region is possible due to the application of new varieties of apricot, cherry and plum and the breeding of planting material on clonal stocks. The absence of breeding plantings of zoned varieties and rootstocks inhibits the production of seedlings, therefore, studies conducted at the Department of Horticulture and Olericulture were aimed at the improvement of technology for breeding of stone fruit crops and the selection of compatible, fast-growing, low-growing and yielding varietal-and-root combinations for industrial intensive gardens. The research was carried out in the fruit nursery-gar-den of the Voronezh State Agrarian University. There were studied some agrotechnical techniques aimed at the improvement of the quality of seedlings. As a result, there was found the influence of the biological characteristics of varieties and rootstocks of apricot, cherry and plum on the yield and qualities of the planting material of stone fruit crops. In the comparison of the breeding of apricot, cherry and plum varieties on seed rootstocks, there was also determined the possibility of their growing on clonal rootstocks, taking into account their compatibility in the nursery. For the production test, variety-rootstock combinations were selected, which ensured high growth rates of yearlings. The economic efficiency of the highly profitable production of the seedlings of stone fruits crops has been proved.

This article describes the technology for obtaining slow-growing seedlings of cherry using a grafting with intercalary inserts. There was also described the importance of cuttings of slow-growing rootstocks as an intercalary insert to inhibit the growth of grafted seedlings. There were used the following stocks: cuttings of cherry «Lyubskaya», «Spanka chernaya», SAB 6R, Krymskaya-5, Kolt and Magalebskaya. The intercalary inserts had an effect on the inhibition of growth of the grafted seedlings.

The article contains the data obtained from the scientific-economic test. The test was conducted on piglets. The second test group received Simbiohit once in two days, the dose contained 900 million microbial cells, the third group received the same dose daily. The test showed that during the whole period the average daily gain in the test groups was 2.5 and 5.1% higher. The costs of feed mixture per a unit of gain in the second group were 2.5 and 5% less than in the third group and control group, respectively. At the end of the test the body weight of animal was 43.7 in the control group, 44.5 in the second group and 45.2 kg in the third group. We believe that the increase in productivity in the test groups was due to the deficit reduction of lysine, which is called to increase the protein nutrient content and has an ability to regulate the synthesis of products.

Mycobacteriosis has a special place among infectious diseases of livestock. Their epizootic ill-being is caused by insufficient preventive measures, contaminated feed, etc. When analyzing the epizootic situation at livestock farms, there was established, that tuberculosis has not been registered since 2010; this decrease in the indicators for the analyzed period indicates a positive method of recovery. Mycobacteriosis was diagnosed on the basis of the analysis of the epizootological, clinical and morphological data, the results of allergic, serological (DAC with tuberculosis antigen), bacteriological examination. For the differentiation of specific and paraspecific reactions, several allergens or several doses of the same drug were simultaneously administered. Pathological signs of tuberculosis were characterized by the formation of tubercules in organs and tissues. Prior to the removal of restrictions, disinfection quality control was carried out, for which test cultures of microorganisms Mycobacterium B5 were used. When studying phenotypic signs of mycobacteria in 6-8 hours after seeding, there was observed sedimentation and adhesion of vegetative forms of microorganisms to the surface.

The article presents the results of scientific study of the dependence of the severity of clinical signs on the degree of endogenous intoxication (hereinafter DEI) of the body affected by babesiosis. There were examined hematological, biochemical indicators of 20 dogs of different breeds and sexes. The dogs were divided into 3 groups according to the severity of clinical signs - mild, moderate and severe. In each group, the hematological and biochemical indicators were examined and compared, and integral indices for each animal were calculated. The examination of blood hematologic indicators revealed leukopenia, monocytosis, expressed thrombocytopenia, and in some cases, the presence of hemolytic hypochromic microcytic anemia. In all three groups, the biochemical blood test revealed increased AST, alkaline phosphatase and LDH. In the course of the studies, the severity of the disease was correlated with DEI. Thus, in 40% of the cases the indicators of the first and second groups were correlated in severity with the clinical picture, but in the rest cases, there were significant differences. The moderate DEI occurred much more often than the mild or severe -45% against 25% and 30%, respectively. It was noted that in some dogs the clinical picture did not correspond to the DEI, which indicates that the identification of integral indices is the most reliable method for the right treatment.