The phenomenon of price transmission on various agricultural markets has attracted the attention of scientists in the 21-st century. Empirical studies of price relationships at various market levels can be found in recent publications. In this scientific review the survey was carried out as to the existing empirical literature on price transmission in agricultural markets of European, Asian, North and South American countries. The paper also presents the analysis of the most important methodological approaches, which are very heterogeneous in the aspects of econometric models, asymmetry types and empirical results. The article provides a detailed analysis of applied research in the field of the linear and nonlinear concepts of cointegration, also the most popular econometric price transmission models have been assessed in the light of the main advantages and disad-vantages with a special focus on autoregressive models with distributed lags, error correction models, nonlinear models with switching regimes and vector autoregressive models. In recent years nonlinear and nonparametric methodological approaches and techniques have become widely used in applied research of market integration and price transmission.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the structure of sown areas and characteristics of barley varieties zoned in the Kirov region for 2020. In 2019 in the Kirov region the varieties cultivated in production for more than 20 years had the largest specific weight – 50.1 % of the acreage occupied with barley. Those cultivated for more than 10 years had 36.1 %; from 5 to 10 years – 13.8 %. Certified sowings varied from year to year in percentage to the occupied area. There is a gradual decrease in unsorted sowings of barley from 3.0 thousand hectares in 2017 up to 1.18 thousand hectares in 2019. The areas sown with barley varieties bred in Federal Agricultural Research Center of the North East named N. V. Rudnitsky (FARC North-East) in the structure of sown areas in 2019 were from 21.5 % in the southern zone up to 57.8 % in the northern zone of the Kirov region. For the whole of the region the greatest distribution was recorded among Belarussian cultivars Zazersky 85 (39.3 % of the areas sown with barley), and cultivars bred in FARC North-East: Ecolog (10.8 %), Rodnik Prikamiya (7.1 %) and Novichok (7.0 %). In northern districts of the region the ratio changed: Ecolog – 27.2 %, Rodnik Prikamiya – 18.9 %, Novichok – 9.0 %, Zazersky 85 – 7.7 %. High productivity (4.22-4.79 t/ha in average), resistance to lodging and diseases characterize the zoned cultivars. The main disadvantage of barley assortment offered for zoning is the lack of stable yield and differences in duration of the growing season among the varieties. All cultivars belong to the group of mid-season, except for the mid-late cultivar Zazersky 85. The region is short of the sources of high-quality raw materials for forage production; only 30.7 % of all assortment of barley in the region are presented by cultivars with high grain quality (Ecolog, Belgorodsky 100, Rodnik Prikamiya and Pamyati Rodinoy). Currently, the trend for developing high-yield early, resistant to lodging and diseases barley varieties of high grain quality is to become the key factor in breeding work.

The review considers the problems of mycotoxin content reduction in feed using physical methods and application of these methods when producing compound feeds. The analysis of scientific publications on the topic under research has shown that physical methods of lowering mycotoxin content in feed are rather effective. These methods include cleaning and sorting of raw materials, grain husking, grain refining with removal of outer layers of grain, heating, extrusion, the effect of non-ionizing and ionizing radiation and cold plasma. Thermal methods (heating and extrusion) and ionizing radiation (gamma-radiation and electron beam) are most effective for a mycotoxin content reduction in feed. The new method of feed detoxication by cold plasma is perspective, but requires additional research. To make the removal of mycotoxins fully complete it is more efficient to combine different physical methods, namely cleaning and sorting at the preliminary stage and heating or irradiation at the final stage. But before applying physical methods into the compound feed industry the rational parameters of their execution should be determined and optimum combinations of different methods for certain mycotoxins should be specified. The subject area of mycotoxin content reduction in feed using physical methods is perspective, but requires carrying out additional research.

In the conditions of the Kirov region, the productivity of seeds of four complex hybrid populations (SGP) of red clover was studied, including those formed against an infectious fusarium background (SGPF). The research was carried out in the nursery for evaluating the seed productivity of 2017 sowing in comparison with the standard (st.) Dymkovsky for 2 years of use (y.u.). The characteristics of the SGP and SGPF according to winter hardiness, the start of vegetation phases of development, plant height, structure of seedgrass stand, yield and quality of seed material are given. All studied varieties were more productive than the standard (1.97 c/ha). Reliably high seed yield on average for 2 years was shown by SGPF-158-3 – 2.48 c/ha, SGP-188 – 2.32 c/ha, SGPF-157-3 – 2.16 c/ha. According to fruiting indicators, in 2019SGPF-158-3 with small heads, but with the largest number of flowers and seeds (132.2 and 77.4 pcs., respectively), good seediness (58.8 %) and high seed weight per head (0.153 g) was selected. Also, high rates were noted in the populations of SGPF-157-3 and SGPF-160-3. A strong correlation between seed yield and fruiting rates was revealed: the number of flowers in the head (r = 0.92), the total number of seeds in the head (r = 0.92), the number of filled seeds in the head (r = 0.94), the seediness of the head (r = 0.90), the total weight of seeds in the head (r = 0.85), the mass of filledseeds in the head (r = 0.87). A close positive correlation was noted between the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) value and length (r = 0.86), width (r = 0.86) of the red clover head during the intergrowth period “regrowth - the beginning of flowering”. It has been established that the average daily air temperature and the sum of effective temperatures during the “beginning of flowering - ripening” period have a positive effect on the fruiting performance: “seediness of the heads” (r = 0.97 and r = 0.87) and “the number of seeds in the head” (r = 0.95 and r = 0.89, respectively). In the same interphase period, a close negative dependence of the indicated fruiting indices on the HTC values was revealed (r = -0.95 and r = -0.94). The sowing qualities of the seeds of the 2019 harvest were determined; it was found that all seed material corresponds to the category of “original and elite seeds”. As the result of the research, the populations of red clover SGPF-158-3, SGP-188 and SGPF-157-3, superior to st. Dymkovsky on seed productivity (by 0.51; 0.35 and 0.9 c/ha, respectively, LSD05 = 0.12 c/ha) and fruiting indicators, were selected.

The paper presents the results of 2018-2019 research on improving the technology of growing planting material of bog cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.) of Krasa Severa, Severyanka, Virussaare varieties on the basis of in vitro. Studied was the effect of the concentrations of growth regulators in the composition of the nutrient medium according to Anderson's recipe on the reproduction and subsequent rooting of micro cuttings, as well as the duration of cultivation and adaptation of micro plants depending on partial pruning of shoots. It has been established that at the stage of introduction into in vitro culture, sterilization of explants with 33% hydrogen peroxide in an exposure of 5-8 minutes with washing in 5 portions of sterile distillate gives 60-80 % of viable shoots. The optimum phase of plant development for the successful introduction of in vitro culture is the swelling of buds. Cultivation of micro cuttings was carried out in a light room at a temperature of 25±2 °С, a photoperiod of 16 hours. The duration of each subculturing was 30-60 days. For the stage of actual micropropagation on Anderson's nutrient medium, an increase in the dose of cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) from 0.2 to 0.5 mg/l and an increase in the duration of cultivation from 30 to 60 days contributed to a significant increase in the multiplication factor on average for the tested cranberry varieties.According to the efficiency of micropropagation, the varieties Virussaare and Krasa Severa were distinguished – 9.3-12.0 pcs/stalk, respectively. At the rooting stage, the use of a root-forming reagent of indolyl-3-acetic acid (IUK) in doses of 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/l in the composition of Anderson's nutrient medium did not affect the quality of root formation and the length of shoots of Virussaare micro-plants. No significant varietal differences in the root-forming ability of microcuttings were found. The tendency of better rooting of micro cuttings was observed in the Virussaare variety (90.3 %) compared to the Severyanka (85.7 %) and Krasa Severa (79.3 %) varieties. Micro plants of the Krasa Severa cultivar were characterized by the longest shoots, the total number of roots was less, but their length was longer in comparison with other cultivars. For the adaptation stage, a substrate from a mixture of lowland peat and sphagnum moss was used (1:1). The efficiency of adaptation of micro plants of cranberry varieties when cutting the tip of the shoots was 100 %. Pruning of micro plants shoots contributed to the formation of more side shoots and better development of the aboveground part of the plants.

Studies of the impact of hailstorm on the productivity of soybean agrocenoses were carried out in 2020. Hail damaged and undamaged areas sown with the same soybean variety or sample have been compared. The analysis was carried out on 60 variants (varieties and samples). The aim of the studies was to assess yield losses due to the following factors: reduced density of agrocenosis, leaf surface defoliation, damage to plant stems, weather conditions during the rest of the growing season after the hailstorm. It has been established that hail precipitation negatively affected the productivity of all damaged areas, regardless of the phenotype and ripeness group of varieties and samples. Defoliation of the most part of the leaf surface (from 70 to 80 %) and stems breaks led to decrease in the average yield in nurseries of preliminary and competitive variety testing from 1.85 t/ha to 1.34 t/ha (by 27.6 %), in seed and industrial sowings – from 2.04 to 1.53 t/ha (by 25.0 %). The average height of undamaged plants was 92.5 cm before harvesting, and 67.4 cm for damaged plants. Phenological observations showed that the closer to the end of the growing season the soybean crops are damaged by hail, the more negative the results. No plant lodging was observed at any of the damaged areas. There were no diseases affecting soybean agrocenoses, despite the significant accumulation of potentially pathogenic plant mass in the row spacing. This was probably due to dry and windy weather conditions during the rest of the growing season after the hailstorm.

The paper shows methods for studying the data bank for monitoring the yield of grasses within the agrolandscape. Monitoring of the yield of different-aged (1, 2 and 3 years of use) grass legumes was carried out in 2001-2019 at an agroecological test site located within a finite moraine hill at permanent sampling points on a transect that crosses all the main micropositions of the agricultural landscape. The influence of the features of various landscape structures (slopes of different exposure, landscape plots within their limits and the variegation of the soil cover) on the dynamics of grass yield was studied. The data array was processed using the methods of Variable Components Analysis, principal components, and correlation analysis. It is shown that the productivity of grasses is reliably influenced by the features of the landscape, agroclimatic conditions of the year and the age of the grass stand. The formation of the spatial variegation of the herb yield is most influenced by the nature of the soil cover (≈ 21 %), to a lesser extent by the features of individual parts of the slopes (≈ 17 %). It was found that with the aging of the herbage, there is a noticeable increase in the influence of exposure (from 3.4 to 8.0 %) and microlandscape (from 16 to 22 %) factors on the spatial variability of their productivity, and a decrease in the influence of soil cover characteristics (from 24 to 18 %). It was revealed that the dynamics of agroclimatic parameters noticeably affects only the dependence of the variegated yield on the exposure factor. An attempt has been made to divide the years of research by the nature of the dynamics of the yield of grasses into agro climatically homogeneous groups. It has been determined that different groups of observation years differ in productivity and in the nature of its spatio-temporal variability, as well as in the factors that determine them and in the conditions that affect these factors. This makes, when predicting the yield of grasses of different ages, to create mathematical models of its dependence on landscape conditions for different time clusters.

Saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) is a plant with a wide ecological range that forms forests in Mongolia often used as pastures for camels. Actinomycetes were isolated from the soils of the saxaul forest using selective isolation methods. According to the results of phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene fragment, it has been established that the obtained isolates belong to the Streptomyces genus. According to the taxonomic position, strains (M41; M42; M 43; C 4-46; C 4-47; C 4-50; M44; C 5-54; C5-60 and C 5-63) demonstrate a high level of similarity (99.20- 100 %) of 16S rRNA gene sequences with type strains of the following species: S. fradiae, S. huasconensis, S. coeruleoprunus, S. tendae, S. rubrogriseus, S. malachitofuscus, S. flavoviridis S. pilosus, S. caelestis, S. azureus, S. fulvissimus, S. microflavus, S. griseussubsp. griseus, S. anulatus, S. cyaneofuscatus, S. luridiscabiei, S. halstedii, S. fulvorobeus, S. pratensis, S. setonii, S. anulatus, S. pratensis, S. caelestis and S. azureus.

On the basis of the "Komarova" farm (Magadan, Magadan region), the effect of introducing a new non-traditional component feed additive of plant origin into the diets of young cattle was studied. The research was carried out during the stall period. For the experiment there were taken four groups of animals (14-16 months of age) divided at random in accordance with the genotype into control and experimental groups of ten animals each. The first two groups (control, experiment) included purebred Holstein bulls, the other two – hybrids of the 1st generation (1/2 Holstein × 1/2 Herefords). For the experimental groups, the main diet was supplemented with a component feed additive consisting of cedar elfin (Mountain pine) flour and lichens (alpine cladonia (Cladonia alpestris), Icelandic cetraria (Cetraria islandica)). The results of the experiment has shown that the feed additive, consisting of 120 g of cedar elfin needle flour and 50 g of lichen flour (80% of Cladonia alpestris and 20% of Cetraria islandica), has a positive effect on the intensification of metabolic processes in the animals. The digestibility of crude protein increased by 1.29-4,19 g (1.7-5.6 %); that of the organic matter – by 6.65-8.90 g (11.0-14.3 %); NFE (nitrogen-free extracts) – by 7.80-9.18 g (14.14-15.70 %). An increase in the digestibility of feed nutrients had a positive effect on an increase in live weight gain by 0.60-3.0 g (1.35-5.93 %). An increase in feed conversion was 0.24-6.8 MJ (0.20-6.74 %); feed protein – by 0.02-0.09 g (1.22-6.17 %). Crossbred bulls turned out to be more responsive to changes in the ration of feeding and showed better results in all studied parameters. The effectiveness of using the additive is due to the fact that the raw material for the production is obtained from wild plants growing in nature in sufficiently large volumes. They do not require significant costs for harvesting and preparation for feeding.

The parameters of acute toxicity of azomethine "C-18" and blood indicatorsin young cattle, naturally invaded by nematodiruses before and after treatment with this remedyand various anti-helmintic drugs, were studied. The therapeutic dose of azomethine in calvesaffected with nematodirosis was titrated. In the first experiment, the acute toxicity of azomethine "С-18" was studied in white outbred mice and rats. As the result of the studies, the average death dose of azomethine "С-18" was not established. The maximum dose administered was 2000 mg/kg. There was nolossin laboratory animals. In the second experiment, the effect of azomethine "С-18" on the blood indicators of helminth-infested cattle was investigated. It was established that in the blood of calves naturally infected with nematodiruses there were: erythropenia, hypohemoglobinemia, leukocytosis, eosinophilia, lymphocytopenia, giproteinemia, hypoglycemia, increased transaminase activity. After deworming these animals withtetramizole granulate, 10% albendazole suspension and azomethine "С-18" broken hematological parameters were completely restored up to physiological norm on the 30-th day. In the third experiment, the effect of different doses of azomethine "С-18" on the hematological indices of healthy cattle were studied. The animals were orally administered azomethine "С-18" in doses of 50.0 and 100.0 mg/kg. After that hypoglycemia, increased alkaline phosphatase activity and reduced urea content were found in serum ofcalves. In the fourth experiment, the anthelmintic efficacy of various doses of azomethine "С-18" in cattle affected with nematodirosiswas studied. It has been established that azomethine "С-18" in doses 2; 5; 10; 15 and 20 mg/kg showed approximately the sameintensity of efficacy, which ranged from 95.3 to 97.9%. The extensity of efficacywas 87.5%. The therapeutic dose was 2.0 mg/kg.

Existing machines for sorting potatoes damage marketable products as a result of the interaction of potato tubers with each other, with working organs and soil clods. The greatest percentage of damage to potato tubers occurs as a result of their interaction with the working bodies of the machines for sorting. In order to determine the place of the greatest force impact of the working bodies of the sorting machines on the potato tuber and to carry out subsequent measures to eliminate negative effects in the design of these machines, laboratory studies were carried out using the "The TuberLog Electronic Potato" software tool. The article provides the results of comparative studies of the force impact of the sorting surface on the electronic potato tuber at various values of the forward speed of movement and interaction time of the working surface of roller-type machine for sorting potato tubers. Analysis of graphical dependencies showed that the greatest force impact (up to 22 N) on a potato tuber falls on the time interval of values from 8.5 to 9.5 s, while the standard deviation and coefficient of variation are σ = 5.7 and ν = 24.8 %, respectively. The analysis of the experimental data showed that the most "gentle" force impact of the working bodies of the sorting machine at the forward speed of the roller belt of 1.4 m / s throughout the entire technological process of sorting is the minimum force impact on the sorted products in the range from 3 to 6.5 N, which is 28-31% of the maximum force impact of working bodies at speeds of 1.8 and 2.2 m/s.

The article provides the analysis and comparison of operation cyclograms of modern robotic milking systems of Lely, DeLaval и GEA Farm companies. Concepts, models and schemes for differentiated control of teat cups have been developed to ensure accurate compliance with the physiology of milking. The developed models will allow to reduce or avoid the delay between the attachment of teat cups, since the main disadvantage that affects the attachment time in existing automatic milking systems is the sequential attachment of teat cups. Using one of the proposed schemes and models will most fully stimulate the milking reflex and evenly milk all quarters of the udder. The studies of domestic and foreign authors on robotic milking and its analysis have been reviewed. As methods of the analysis, cyclograms of various robotic milking systems have been formulated. For the proposal of the concept geometric diagrams and models of control of the teat cups have been designed. There have been proposed and described five schemes of differentiated control of teat cups and seven control models two of which provide paired attachment and the rest – simultaneous attachment. The implementation of the proposed concept, models and control schemes of teat cups in a robotic manipulator with paired or simultaneous attachment will allow to normalize the duration of full cycles of pre-milking processing and attachment of teat cups, bringing them closer to physiologically acceptable values (not more than 60 seconds).

Improvement of crop production technologies is based on the development of agricultural machinery in which the trac- tor power plays an important role. In crop production, agricultural crops require variable attention during their growing season and consequently, different production costs. The most expensive are row crops which in the process of development require a lot of inter-row tillage of plantings and sowings. The implementation of such tillage involves the control of weeds, plant fertilization, operations for chemical protection of plants from diseases and pests. Therefore, it becomes evident that the agricultural machinery used in the production of such crops must be adapted to its use in planting and sowing crops at different stages of plant development. Thus, both the aboveground and the parts of the plant located in the soil should not be damaged and oppressed by the working bodies of agricultural machines and the engines of energy facilities. It becomes obvious that tractor fleet of agricultural organizations should have both powerful general-purpose tractors used mainly for plowing, continuous disking, cultivation and sowing using wide coverage units, and row-crop tractors designed for inter-row tillage. There are methods for developing an optimal fleet of machinery for agricultural organizations which differ in production trends and in size of agriculturally used areas. Taking into account the possibility of using modern means of digitalization and artificial intelligence which can significantly improve the quality of technological processes and control them, it is possible to develop technologies for the production of row crops. Of all tractor models mentioned in the research, the following models have the best agrotechnological characteristics required of the general-purpose row-crop tractors: Fastrac 2170 produced by the British company JCB and LTI 162.5 tractor that is to be produced in Izhevsk, Russia.