The review is intended for international readers or those unable to read Russian. The review is based on long-term research of the affiliated University and search in Russian-language databases. Currently, there is a large number of sites in the Russian forests that need to be restored. Mechanization of grading seeds in Russia has more than half a century of history. The results of retrospective analysis show that the choice of the sorting method depends on the seed characteristics and the level of achieved technologies in equipment design. The prospects for the use of optoelectronic and mechatronic devices for such purposes are due to low costs and negative impact compared to the use of grid and trier. The research materials will allow planning new experiments to find a reliable protocol for testing and preparing coniferous seeds, depending on the method of further seeding or storage. The study will allow to correct plant propagation protocols for sustainable forest management. However, many questions remained unresolved: what types of grader and pelleting apparatus to use, what wavelength range is best used to identify viable seeds?

Seed coat color grading conjecture is also known as Pravdin's conjecture. To verify the conjecture, we established a long-term field experiment. This data set included unique empirical data of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) container-grown seedlings produced from different seed color grades, outplanted on a post fire site in the Voronezh region, Russia. Variables were provided for 10 rows of 90 samples in each row. These data contribute to our understanding of seed germination and seedlings growth dynamics from size and color gradings of seeds. This structure is the future basis of the Forest Reproductive Material Library (FRMLib) and will be used for assisted migration and forest seed transfer.Dataset: Dataset access at http://dx.

The natural and production conditions of the growth of scots pine during forest restoration determine the research of the degree of interrelation of exogenous temperature factors with and technological processes of seed sorting with the quality of forest reproductive material. Descriptive statistics of biometric parameters of the height and diameter of the root neck were determined for the first, second, and third growing periods of individuals of Scots pine obtained by autumn transplanting containerized (1+0) seedlings sprouted from seeds conditioned by spectrometric properties to a post-pyrogenic site. The correlation relationship of the average variant of the exogenous index of degree days GDD, as well as the average variant of vitality indices was evaluated using the Spearman method based on the SPSS Statistics application software package. The degree of influence of the exogenous degree-day index on the DQI index of Scots pine crops in the 3rd growing season after transplanting containerized seedlings (1+0) sprouted from seeds of different spectrometric fractions is characterized by a weak positive correlation (p = 0.170; p = 0.05). The technological process of separating the light fraction of Scots pine seeds for the production of containerized seedlings demonstrates the best vitality indices in transplanted crops at the end of VP-III, statistically significantly (p = 0.05) differing from other spectrometric groups within the natural production conditions of this study

Discrete feeding of forest seeds is an urgent task for accurate detection of seeds during grading and reducing the seeding rate. The study used Pinus sylvestris L. seeds from cones collected in a natural stand of the Lisinsky educational-and-experimental forestry farm, Leningrad region, Russia, in 2017. Well-known methods for determining the properties of bulk materials were used; the results were processed by mathematical statistics using the MS Excel program. The physical and mechanical properties of uncalibrated seeds as a bulk material were determined. The angle of repose of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds, determined using a hollow cylinder by calculation, is 24.92°. The angle of repose of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds, determined using a hollow cylinder and a goniometer, is 32.7°. The significant discrepancy (~8°) in the values obtained by these methods is explained by the seeds shape. The flowability of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds corresponds to an excellent (free) category. The study will enable correct seed treatment protocols for sustainable forest management. However, some questions remained unresolved: how to orient a single seed in the right direction? How does seed-size calibration affect the angle of repose?

This article will be of interest to engineers involved in designing devices for improving the quality of forest seeds. From the point of view of automated processing, in order to obtain a quality seedling, the seed of the Scots pine must be conditioned, that is, properly graded, and have sufficient ability to germinate in the field, that is, properly sown. It is based on studies of the movement of a single pine seed in the mechanical system of an optoelectronic separator. The experiment was established by measuring the geometric dimensions of samples (n = 500) from a representative sample of a seedlot. The Pinus sylvestris L. seeds were collected in the Pavlovsky district of the Voronezh region in autumn 2019. Seed samples were measured using a microscope in three mutually perpendicular directions. Seed samples asymmetric shape and an adaptive hopper’s feeder were modeled using SolidWorks software. Our results point to an important feature in the design of loading bins-the need to approximate the complex shape of a single seed of Scots pine with an asymmetric ellipsoid. The need for discrete seed feeding with a frequency no faster than 10−3-10−2 s is established to improve both the separation process.