Oil crops play an important role in providing society with food, livestock feed, industry and raw materials and are of great importance for economically stable agricultural production. The purpose of this review article was to show the importance of the agricultural crop of oil flax and its oil seeds for various types of industries, the possibility of expanding its cultivation areas in Russia, as well as a way to reduce the cost of production. The article provides overview information on studies conducted on oilseed flax (Linum usitatisimum L.), on the possibility of using its products in food, technical industry, medicine, for the production of biodiesel, in crop production and fodder production. High resistance to abiotic and biotic factors put oil flax in a number of crops that can be cultivated everywhere; however, its yield, oil content and cost in different regions of Russia and the world are very different. This question has not been sufficiently studied in the literature. This review focuses on modern research by both foreign and Russian scientists. The possibilities of cultivating Linum usitatisimum L. in Russia according to the modern no-till farming system (direct sowing technology, zero technology, technology without tillage) and the directions of its oil use are shown, which indicates their relevance and high demand in various fields of human activity. Oil flax is a unique natural and biological resource that has rational and environmental benefits in cultivation.

The research purpose is to compare the no-till Triticum aestivum L. cultivation technology with a traditional cultivation system and their influence on soil moisture, the number of weeds, soil density, aggregate composition and a structure coefficient. The studies were conducted in 2015–2018 in the Steppe Crimea. Crop rotations consist of the same set of plants with the exception of the first link: under the traditional system: black fallow – winter wheat — oil flax — winter barley — grain sorghum; under the no-till system, pea was sowed at the first field. The experiments were conducted in accordance with generally accepted methods of field experiments in agriculture and crop production. By the time of sowing, a larger amount of moisture accumulated in the black fallow compared to the field of peas. It was 0–10; 0–20; 0–100 cm for 1.9; 5.5 and 20.6 mm, respectively. In spring, the amount of productive moisture was at the same level. Under the traditional system, it was 104; under the direct sowing, it was 102 mm. Using the direct sowing technology, the absence of mechanical soil loosening had no effect on the density parameter in comparison with the traditional farming system: density was normal, regardless of the farming system: 1.13 g/cm3 under the traditional system, and 1.19 g/cm3 under the direct sowing system; in the 10-30 cm layer, it was 1.45 g/cm3; in general, in the 0–30 cm layer, the difference was not significant (1.34 and 1.36 g/cm3). The species composition of weeds did not change. The direct sowing technology used for untreated soil had a positive effect on the soil structure. By the third year of research, the coefficient of structure was 2.94 (under the traditional system), and 4.05 (under the direct sowing system).

The total volume of world production of essential oil products reaches 250 thousand tons per year, which use up to 300 species of cultivated plants and wild-growing volatile-oil-bearing plants. The soil and climatic conditions in the south of Russia are favorable for the successful development of the essential oil industry, which is important for our country. Sowing coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is the most common essential oil culture of the Russian Federation and countries of the Union of Independent States. Its crops occupy about 82.4% of all areas of volatile-oil-bearing plants. Coriander fruits contain from 1.5 to 1.8% essential oil. The main component of the essential oil, linalool, and serves as the initial product for the production of a number of fragrant substances with the smells of lemon, orange, rose, violet, etc., which are successfully used in the perfumery, food, and distillery industries. Coriander is also a honey plant. Due to the growth in demand and gross purchases of coriander seeds associated with its high purchase price, problems arose with increasing its productivity and improving the technology of cultivation. Due to the large volumes of sales of both coriander raw materials and finished products, the levels of profitability and net income of farms both in the Republic of Crimea and in the Russian Federation as a whole, as well as the development of the agro-industrial complex will significantly increase. The above analysis of domestic and foreign literature in this review article shows that winter coriander crops are most productive compared to spring crops. Introduction to the production of winter crops of coriander, with the implementation of all elements of the cultivation technology, is a promising direction of its cultivation in the Crimea, as it allows more efficient use of soil moisture, which accumulates during the autumn-winter period.

The research was conducted from 2017 to 2019 in the steppe zone of southern Russia. In all three years of research, the average annual air temperature exceeded the annual average value by 1.9, 2.1 and 2.2 in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. During the growing season of oil flax, 82.7 mm of precipitation fell in 2017, 225 mm in 2018 and 241 mm in 2019. The following oil flax varieties were tested in the experiment: Fliz (control), VNIIMK 620, Chibis, Solnyshko, Pestrik, and Uralsky. Analysis of the sheaf material showed that the number of bolls on one plant was greater for the varieties Solnyshko and Pestrik (2.6 and 2.7 pieces on one plant, respectively) than on the control variety of Fliz. The average number of seeds in one boll in all studied varieties for three years was the same. The height of Chibis and Pestrik oil flax plants was 2.7 and 2.1 cm higher than the control variant, respectively. The average weight of seeds from one plant over three years was greater for Chibis and Solnyshko varieties and amounted to 0.43 and 0.52 grams, respectively. In terms of yield, the control variant exceeded only VNIIMK 620 variety by 0.04 t/ha. At the same level with the control variety were Chibis, Pestrik and Uralsky. The Solnyshko variety gave significantly lower yields. There was no exceeding of the oil content in flax seeds as compared to the control variety. VNIIMK 620 variety was on par with the Fliz variety with an oil content of 44.82%.