The work presents the results of the comparative study of the soil seed bank of weeds at crop cultivation in 2 three-fi eld crop rotations (wheat-wheat-oats and wheat-wheat-cabbage crops) using traditional and No-Till technologies. The research was carried out on leached chernozem of central forest-steppe of Priobskiy agricultural landscape area. Before the stationary experiment was laid in 2008, the soil layer of 0-10 cm contained an average of 31800 weed seeds on 1 m2 , and in the layer of 11-20 cm their number was 21200 pieces. Among the 17 identifi ed species, the redroot amaranth dominated. After the fi rst year of crop vegetation, the weed seed bank has grown by 2.2 times with the traditional technology, and by 1.3 times with No-Till technology. By the beginning of the second crop rotation in 2011 in the soil layer of 0- 10 cm there was about the same number of weed seeds with either technology: 41250±2532 pieces/m2 . At the same time, it was noted that the share of bluegrass weeds increased to 25.5-32% with No-Till technology and up to 34.8-35.5% with the traditional one. After the third crop rotation in 2016, the soil seed bank decreased by 5.7 times compared to 2011 with the traditional technology, and by 8.1 times with No-Till technology. The share of bluegrass weeds increased to 67.8% and 47.8%, respectively. The data obtained confi rm that mechanical tillage, which facilitates embedding weed seeds in the soil, ensures their more active germination, further development and distribution. The absence of mechanical tillage, which excludes contact of weed seeds with the soil, as well as the systematic use of herbicides reduce the weed seeds supply in the soil bank with No-Till technology.

The work presents the results of research into the yield and quality of grain obtained from crop varieties of different maturity types, namely spring common wheat varieties (mid-early Pamyati Aziyeva, mid-late Baganskaya 95 and Omskaya 28), spring barley (early-ripening Bagan, mid-ripening Acha and Signal) and spring oats (early-ripening Krasnoobsky, mid-ripening SIG, mid-late Ural 2). The study was conducted in the conditions of the steppe zone of Western Siberia (North Kulunda), the climate of which is extremely continental, and is characterized by signifi cant variability of agrometeorological conditions of the vegetation period by years and a drought during the fi rst half of summer. It was established that sowing of midripening and mid-late varieties of wheat and barley resulted in the increase of the grain yield by 0.47-1.07 t/ha or by 24-30%, compared with the more early-ripening varieties. Among various biotypes of oats, the highest yields of grain were formed by sowing of the mid-ripening variety, which was by 0.60-0.87 t/ha or 19-30% higher than the early and mid-late varieties, whereas the highest yield of green mass was achieved by sowing of the mid-late variety. All varieties of barley, oats and mid-early wheat were characterized by signifi cant variability in grain yields by years (with coeffi cient of variation being 24-38%), while midlate varieties of wheat were characterized by medium or small variability in grain yields (coeffi cient of variation being 3-12%). The content of crude gluten in the grain of wheat varieties varied considerably depending on agrometeorological conditions (coeffi cient of variation being 20-25%). On average, over the years of research, the highest content of gluten (34.0%) was in the grain of the mid-early variety Pamyati Aziyeva, the lowest content (27.4%) was in the mid-late Baganskaya 95. The maximum amount of crude gluten in the wheat grain (33.6-40.0%) was observed in the dry year, the minimum (19.9-26.4%) was in the year with favorable humidity. The content of crude protein in the barley grain varied in the experiment from 11.6 to 14.9% (coeffi cient of variation being 9-14%) and did not differ signifi cantly by varieties (12.5-12.9%). The greatest amount of crude protein in the grain of all varieties of barley (13.7-14.9%) was recorded in the dry year.

The works presents the results of studying 165 specimen of spring oats from the world collection The N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Genetic Resources. The research was conducted in the northern forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia in 2014-2016. The soil on which the research was done can be characterized as leached chernozem, heavy loam by texture and particle size distribution, of medium capacity. The content of humus equals 7.8%, reaction of soil solution is close to neutral, рН is 6.0. In the horizon of 0-40 cm the content of N-NO3 is 35.4mg/kg, P2O5 – 122 mg/kg, K2O – 98 mg/kg. An assessment is given to spring oat specimen by the parameters of ecological plasticity bi and yield stability Si2 . The research was conducted in the conditions characterized in accordance with the index of environmental conditions Ij. The most favourable conditions developed in 2016, when the environment index Ij equaled 109.2. Adverse conditions were identifi ed in 2014, when Ij equaled -46.25, and in 2015, when Ij equaled -62.99. By the results of the dispersion analysis the dominating infl uence of environmental conditions on the yield of spring oat specimen is established at 85.3%, the share of genotype infl uence is 2.6%. Eight specimen of spring oats proved to exceed Creole standard variety by yield with the trait variability being from 29.3% to 87.1%. Sources for creation of intensive type varieties, with high responsiveness to favorable conditions for growth and development are identifi ed: IL 86-1158 (to 14316, the USA), Jumbo (to 14702, Germany), Hamilton (to 14761, the USA), Talisman (to 14785, Russia), Omikho (to 14827, Russia), OA 269 (to 14992, Canada), Stayer (to 15181, Russia), Eclipse (to 15187, Russia). High-yielding genotypes which react to environmental conditions to a medium degree (bi is nearing a unit), and have high yield stability (Si2 is nearing zero) are defi ned, namely Express (to 14505, Russia), bi = 1.04, Si2 = 0.053, Yubilyar (to 14723, Belarus), bi = 0.92, Si2 = 0.070, C.I. 7321 (to 14737, the USA), bi = 1.09, Si2 = 0.076, Vallntin (to 15189, Slovakia), bi = 1.13, Si2 = 0.050, CDC Bell (to 14805, Canada), bi = 0.62, Si2 = 0.0065.

The work presents the evaluation results of the viability of oat and barley collection varieties during storage in the laboratory conditions at the temperature of 20-25o C. Seed storage covered the period of 2006-2017. The research included 24 varieties of barley and 29 varieties of chaffy oats of domestic and foreign breeding collection. The seeds were stored in different packaging materials such as standard paper package; glass bottles of 0.25 liter and plastic bottles of 0.5 liter. The initial seed moisture content was 8.5-9.0 per cent. The varieties were divided into groups taking into account the initial laboratory seed germinating ability. For oats the fi rst group included 10 varieties with initial germination of 96-99%; the second group included 12 varieties with initial germination of 91-95%; the third group included 7 varieties with initial germination of 86-90%. For barley the fi rst group consisted of 5 varieties with initial germination of 91-99%; the second group consisted of 10 varieties with initial germination of 81-90%; the third group consisted of 9 varieties with initial germination of 71-80%. Determination of seed quality was carried out in 7 and 11 years’ time. The initial moisture content of seeds remained without signifi cant changes in all packaging types during the storage period of 11 years. It was also noted that germination of oat and barley seeds during 7 years of storage did not differ in any type of package. The average value in all three groups of oats was 93.2%. After 11 years of storage, germination of oat differed a little, depending on the type of package. In a paper bag it was 80.4%; in a glass bottle – 88.2%; in a plastic bottle – 85.1%. The average initial germination of three groups of barley in 7 years’ time of storage was 84.7%. After 11 years of storage, germination of barley was 53.2% in a paper bag; 63.3% in a glass bottle; 61.8% in a plastic bottle It was revealed that oat and barley seed germination in 7 years’ time did not differ in any type of package. After 11 years, germination of oats was 5.8% higher, and germination of barley was 8.6% higher in a sealed plastic bottle than in a standard paper bag. Differences in seed germinating ability between the glass and plastic bottles were not observed.

The work presents the results of comparative study of the new fodder crop Premier cultivar of Hungarian clover Trifolium pannonicum Jacq., its seed quality and contamination with fungal infection, given that it is grown in different weather conditions, and harvested and stored by different methods. The research was carried out in two agroclimatic subzones of the forest-steppe zone of Novosibirsk region: moderately warm humid (GTK 1.2-1.4) and moderately warm insuffi ciently humid (GTK 1.0-1.2). In both subzones the mass of 1000 seeds in mid-humid and humid seasons varied from 4.0 to 4.6 g, and in extremely dry season it decreased to 3.7 g. A positive relation (r=0.96) between the seed mass and precipitation in the ripening phase was revealed. The infl uence of weather conditions on the unscarifi ed seed sowing qualities was most evident in the humid subzone, where a positive relation (r=0.83) between germinating ability and precipitation in the fl owering phase was revealed. In dry and insuffi ciently humid seasons, only in this phase hard seeds predominated in the seed material (77-90%) and their germinating ability in the laboratory conditions did not exceed 19%. In the year with excessive humidity, the share of germinating seeds increased to 75%. In the insuffi ciently humid subzone there were 4-6 times more germinating seeds (37- 60%), and the difference in their germinating adility by years was not so signifi cant. Combine harvesting, which causes partial seed scarifi cation, increased germinating ability by 13-20%. When these seeds were stored at room temperature, there was an annual reduction in seed hardness by 23-30% and an increase in barren seeds. Germinating ability of unscarifi ed seeds retained longer by years. Fungal infection in Premier cultivar of Hungarian clover seeds was detected. In the dry year fungi g. Cladosporium predominated, in the wet year – g. Alternaria, in the mid-humid years there were fungi of both genus and their mixtures.

The analysis was carried out on the severity of the epizootic situation on leukemia and the presence of risk factors for the prevalence of this infection in 67 farms of Novosibirsk region, unfavorable for leukemia. Ten risk factors which can be attributed to the exogenous category of factors (technological, iatrogenic) were chosen as the subject of this study. These risk factors can have the greatest impact on the severity of the epizootic process in leukemia infection. The qualitative and quantitative representations of risk factors in the farms were analyzed, the most frequently registered of them were determined. The correlation between individual risk factors and such indicators as the level of leukemia incidence in cows and the infection rate of cows and heifers was assessed. It was established that there is a correlation between the leukemia incidence in cows and the following factors: the use of calves from cows with hematological diseases (p < 0.001) for reproduction of the herd; the absence of regular monitoring of the serological status of cows for BLV-infection (p < 0.001); the lack of regular monitoring of the serological status of cows for leukemia (p < 0.001); the use of natural insemination (p < 0.001). It was also identifi ed that there is a correlation between infection of heifers and joint maintenance and grazing of cattle with different status for BLV-infection (p < 0.001).

The work describes how parameters of grain crop stalk mass, combine harvester speed, coverage of swath headers and fi eld size infl uence the actual throughput of a grain harvester and the feasibility of its nominal throughput at threshing. The nominal throughput of a grain harvester is usually taken as the delivery of corn bulk in kilograms her second to a thresher with the level of grain loss of 1.5 percent and the standard moisture of grain and straw. In a production environment, the throughput of a grain harvester of the classical scheme increases by 1.45 times when the straw content in corn bulk goes down from 1.5 to 0.7 in unit fraction and decreases by 1.16 times when the straw content goes up from the standard value to 2.3. By regulatory standards the actual throughput of a grain harvester can only be 10 percent lower than its nominal throughput. When choosing harvesting strategy and tactics in the farm conditions, the technological passport of the 7 kg/s class grain harvester may be represented as a nomogram consisting of four quadrants. The procedure of using a technological passport was developed by harvesting grain crops with the yield of 1 to 2 tons per hectare by the 7 kg/s class grain harvester. According to the calculations for the normal weather conditions and the yield range mentioned above, such harvester will be fully loaded only at two-phase harvesting, threshing double swaths cut by reapers with the coverage of 10 and 6 m, and at the maximum allowable operating speed of the grain harvester. The coverage of the swath headers for the straight combine method is from 9 to 11 m, so the effi cient load of the 7 kg/s class grain harvester at maximum allowable operating speeds is achieved only at threshing grain crops with the yield capacity of over 2 tons per hectare. These fi ndings can be used to develop operation process charts for grain crop threshing in each fi eld by the straight or two-phase methods.

Grain cleaning-and-drying units for agricultural enterprises in the zones of Western Siberia with high grain humidity are substantiated. Such zones include part of the Northern forest-steppe lowlands, part of the forest-steppe foothills, taiga and subtaiga zones of lowlands and foothills. Grain cleaning-and-drying systems in these zones should provide the possibility of both single and double drying of grain. In order to achieve this, they are recommended to be equipped with two dryers or one dryer with two shafts with the possibility of parallel or sequential operation. Three sizes of systems have been identifi ed with the daily capacity of 100, 200 and 400 tons. Alternative versions of technological schemes of the units have been developed, technical and economic evaluation carried out and the boundary conditions of their application defi ned. It has been established that the choice of the unit will be mainly determined by the level of fi nancial or labor resources available. In the units with the capacity of 100 tons/day, the preferable way of grain handling is by the fl ow line method, which requires some additional capital investment. For the units with the capacity of 200 and 400 tons/day, the most effective option is grain processing and reserving it in the operating silo. The best technical and economic performance is achieved by units with a higher daily capacity.

The main mechanization harvesting problems of Jerusalem artichoke tubers are revealed. The results of laboratory and fi eld studies of the conditions for the growth and separation of Jerusalem artichoke tubers from stems during harvesting are given. The average depth of occurrence of rhizomes in the soil is 190-210 mm, their average mass is 6.09 kg. The degree of separation of tubers from the rhizome with a single dynamic effect (falling from the height of 1.5 m) accounts for 26.01%; the average effort to tear tubers from the bush or stolons is 4.40 ... 12.42 ± 0.1 N. The complete removal of tubers from the rhizome is achieved by fi xing the stems and rhizomes in a stationary condition. The above efforts to tear the tubers were applied in the direction of both tearing them off and turning them at an angle of 90 ... 180 °. Effective mechanical and technological methods of separation of Jerusalem artichoke tubers from rhizome and stems are identifi ed. They consist of the combined effect of dynamic forces of the impact type, equivalent to a fall from the height of not less than 1.5 m, rotational at an angle 90 ... 180 ° and the tearing off effects on tubers of at least 12.42 N on the rhizome, tubers and stolons. The composition, arrangement, schemes and interaction of the harvesting machine working parts for autumn harvesting of Jerusalem artichoke are established. Innovative schemes and composition of the working parts of a harvesting machine for harvesting Jerusalem artichoke, based on an adapter to serial harvesting machines for potatoes, are proposed. Working parts of the harvesting machine include a pulling and supporting-conveying device as well as separating devices located above the separating elevator of the harvesting machine. The technology of operation of the working parts by the elements of the harvesting machine design is described.

The relevance of early undamaging diagnosis of fungal, viral and bacterial diseases of common garden strawberry is proved. External symptoms of fungal diseases are given. On the basis of literature data, the existing optical methods of early diagnostics of cultivated plants are analyzed. It is established that the methods of pixel calculation of the image in the space of color channels of red, green and blue colors are more preferable than other optical methods for detection of strawberry fungal diseases. This results from the fact that fungal diseases create specific color spots and their distribution on the surface of a plant can be easily identified in the colorimetric CIE Lab system. The work presents a number of approaches to the new method of early diagnostics of common garden strawberry fungal diseases with use of technical means and software developed for the smartphone. Implementation of the method does not require big expenses as it is done in the form of the software application in the smartphone on the basis of the Android operating system. This application will enable to obtain high quality images of a leaf of a plant, it will also provide segmentation and calculation of the quantity and the specific area of color spots on a contour of a leaf. Moreover, it will work with the database of model images of plants with fungal diseases. Classification of fungal diseases and forecasting of their development will be carried out by means of artificial neural network. The proposed method will allow to determine diseases of common garden strawberry leaves, to predict their development and to establish possible borders of distribution on the chosen plantation.

It is shown that the application of the Internet technologies is relevant in the selection of crop production technologies and the formation of a rational composition of the machine-and-tractor fl eet taking into account the conditions and production resources of a particular agricultural enterprise. The work gives a short description of the web applications, namely “ExactFarming”, “Agrivi” and “AgCommand” that provide a possibility to select technologies and technical means of soil treatment, and their functions. “ExactFarming” allows to collect and store information about temperature, precipitation and weather forecast in certain areas, keep records of information about crops and make technological maps using expert templates. “Agrivi” allows to store and provide access to weather information in the fi elds with certain crops. It has algorithms to detect and make warnings about risks related to diseases and pests, as well as provides economic calculations of crop profi tability and crop planning. “AgCommand” allows to track the position of machinery and equipment in the fi elds and provides data on the weather situation in order to plan the use of agricultural machinery in the fi elds. The web applications presented hereabove do not show relation between the technologies applied and agro-climatic features of the farm location zone. They do not take into account the phytosanitary conditions in the previous years, or the relief and contour of the fi elds while drawing up technological maps or selecting the machine-and-tractor fl eet. Siberian Physical-Technical Institute of Agrarian Problems of Siberian Federal Scientifi c Center of AgroBioTechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences developed a software complex PIKAT for supporting machine agrotechnologies for production of spring wheat grain at an agricultural enterprise, on the basis of which there is a plan to develop a web application that will consider all the main factors limiting the yield of cultivated crops.