Hyphantria cunea Drury is a polyphagous quarantine pest, which is not evolutionarily tied to the territory of Ukraine. We have analyzed data from literary sources on the geographical spreading of Hyphantria cunea Drury, indicated the current area of the pest and noticed factors that influence the acclimatization of a pest. The motherland of Hyphantria cunea Drury is North America; in 1770, an entomologist Druri first described this species. The first indications of the harmfulness of Hyphantria cunea Drury are noted in the USA in 1899 and on the European continent Hyphantria cunea Drury was found near the city of Budapest (Hungary) on the island of Chepel in August 1940. By 1948, the pest had spread throughout Hungary and began to occupy the tree plantations of neighbouring countries, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Austria. At present, the pest is widespread in Europe, Asia, and North America. In Europe Hyphantria cunea Drury was found in countries such as: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Italy, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, France, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. In 1945 Hyphantria cunea Drury was found in Japan, in the parks of Tokyo. In 1979 – in China in Liaoning Province and in Southern Korea it was first described in 1958. In 2003, small foci of caterpillars of Hyphantria cunea Drury were found in Wellington (New Zealand). In Russia, the first foci of mass reproduction of Hyphantria cunea Drury were discovered in the forests of Krasnodar Krai in Krasnodar and Abinsk forest enterprises in 1976 on an area of 270 hectares. In Ukraine, the first foci of Hyphantria cunea Drury were found in Transcarpathia in 1952, in June, virtually all over the lowlands of the region. In the Northeastern part of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, in Sumy region in particular, Hyphantria cunea Drury was first registered in 2010. In Kharkiv region Hyphantria cunea Drury was discovered at the beginning of 80s of XX century. This article highlights the peculiarities of spreading of Hyphantria cunea Drury and its harmfulness. We have also established the ways of penetration and the current area of pest spreading in Ukraine and in the world. We have carried out the analysis of spreading data of the regulated pest in the territory of Ukraine and in the world, including in the territory of Kharkiv region and the factors, which influence the pest acclimatization have been noted.

Soya – is the main albuminous and oily crop of the world agriculture. It takes an important place in the structure of crops, grain, fodder and food balance. This is a strategic crop in solving the global food problem that is why it is grown on all continents in the main agricultural regions of our planet. In recent years soya has no competitors by the rates of crops growth and production volumes. Though Ukraine takes the first place in Europe by area of soya cultivation, its yield still does not correspond to potential possibilities. One of the factors which limit potential productivity is pests. Soybean protection from them is an important and relevant component for getting stably high yields and raising the quality of seeds simultaneously. Especially effective it has been monitoring in recent years as a result of an increase of sown areas and yield due to implementation of intensive technologies for soya cultivation. However, it should be taken into account that many species of harmful insects damage soya at all stages of ontogenesis, at the same time the loss of yield can make 30–40%. Harmful insect species from the following series have been discovered on soya crops in the Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine: Orthoptera, Homoptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.

The relevance of the research is due to the fact that the digitalization of the world educational system as a modern trend in the development of education requires serious reflection and solutions to a number of problems. The use of digital educational content, in addition to its obvious advantages, also contains a number of very likely risks. Including risks related to the spiritual and moral sphere of the individual. The purpose of our research is to study the attitude of teachers to the opportunities and risks of spiritual and moral education in the context of digitalization, as well as to find ways to minimize possible risks. The study involved teachers of the Chelyabinsk region who had advanced training in teaching the discipline "Fundamentals of religious cultures and secular ethics" (on the basis of the Institute of continuing and additional education of the South Ural state humanitarian and pedagogical University). The survey method was used in the study. As a result of the survey, it was revealed that the main effect of using digital technologies, according to teachers, is better memorization of visually perceived information (72% of students), a third of respondents note the possibility of taking into account the individual characteristics of students, and a quarter of respondents – an increase in creative potential. Achievement of subject-based learning outcomes is, in the opinion of teachers, the main effect of using digital content, the educational effect of digitalization is not noted by respondents. More than 80% of teachers see the risk of using digital technologies in reducing the time for live communication, more than 60% – in reducing the communicative activity of children, in reducing interest in printed sources of information. The conclusions are related to the need for further research of this problem in the following areas: analysis of educational opportunities of existing digital educational content of spiritual and moral orientation and determination of criteria for evaluating such content; selection and creation of effective methods of using digital technologies that ensure the formation of students ' experience of emotional and value attitude to spiritual, historical and cultural heritage, as well as the ability to apply the knowledge gained in various life situations; training of teachers who are competent in the field of spiritual and moral education.

In the Eastern Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine, which is characterized by a sharp change in weather conditions during the growing season of agricultural crops, it is very important to grow hybrids that are most adapted to frequent weather anomalies during the growing season. This can significantly reduce their negative impact on the productivity of spring wheat. The results of a study of 20 samples (soft spring wheat Triticum aestivum L.) and (durum spring wheat Triticum durum) of different ecological and geographical origin for adaptability when changing environmental conditions (Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Sweden) are presented. Adaptability indicators were determined by the following characteristics: mass of one spike, mass of grain from one spike, number of grains from one spike, mass of 1000 seeds, mass of grain from 1 m2. Samples that have high plasticity and stability by these characteristics have been identified. As a result of the conducted studies, the dependence between the main signs of productivity were established: the number of grains from one spike, the mass of grains from one spike, the mass of 1000 seeds, the mass of one spike, the mass of seeds from 1 m2 of Triticum aestium and Triticum durum samples. We have considered the adaptability of selection characteristics of samples by years with different environmental conditions: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation amount, and hydrothermal coefficient.

One of the most dangerous pests of cabbage crops which can damage plants in the budding and flowering phases in all areas of their cultivation is a rape blossom beetle (Meligethes aeneus Fabricius, 1775). The pest is widespread throughout Ukraine; it causes significant damage to the crops every year and reduces the seed yields. It should be noted that the rape blossom beetle is not new to our country and as a pest of rape and other crops from the cabbage family has been mentioned since 1845, and a detailed description of its morphology, biology and ecology can be found in the works of the nineteenth century. It is established that in the Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine the first individuals of the rape blossom beetle appear on the flowering wild growing plants (first of all on dandelion and buttercup) when the average daily temperature exceeds 8 °C, it is the middle of the first decade of April and the beginning of the third decade of April. The mass emergence of the rape blossom beetles takes place when the daily average temperatures are at the range of 9–13 °C and the sum of the effective temperatures above 5 °C is at the range of 100–113 °C, it is the middle of the second decade of April and the end of the third decade of April. The females of the rape blossom beetle usually lay 2–3 eggs into one bud of spring rape or mustard. When protecting the crops from the rape blossom beetle the highest technical efficiency was noted when applying the binary mixture of the microbiological preparation Actophyte, 0.25 % of emulsion concentrate in the dose of 4.8 L/ha and systemic insecticide Biscaya, 24 % of oily dispersion (0.25 L/ha) and in 14 days after spraying it was 76.6 % on white mustard, 74.3 % on Chinese mustard and 76.2 % on spring rape. The highest growth increase in the yield capacity was observed in the same variant; for white mustard it was 0.431 t/ha, for Chinese mustard it was 0.265 t/ha and for spring rape the growth increase amounted to 0.277 t/ha. As a result of the researches it is established that the weight of 1000 healthy seeds is 2,6996 g, and the weight of the seeds damaged by the larvae of the rape blossom beetle is 0.4213 g, so it is reduced by 84.4 %. The filling of the damaged seeds is 6.8 times more, which indicates that they are smaller in diameter and frail. The undamaged seeds of spring rape contain 35.92 % of fat, and the damaged seeds contain only 17.48 %, which is 2.05 times less. The protein content in the undamaged seeds was 30.97 % and in the damaged ones it was 32.23 %, that is 1.04 times more. The germination rate of the undamaged seeds of spring rape under the laboratory conditions on the eighth day was 90.0 %, and the germination rate of the damaged ones amounted to 58.0 % and was lower by 32.0 %.