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.

241Am is the only radionuclide of Chernobyl radioactive fallout the content of which until 2058 continues to increase. The purpose of this work is to assess the 241Am internal exposure doses of residents of settlements on the territory adjacent to the resettlement lands of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. To achieve this goal the current levels of 241Am and accompanying 137Cs content in the soil and foodstuffs were determined at the private settlements of the Bragin district of Gomel region of Belarus. 241Am (Eγ 59.6 keV) content in soil samples and 137Сs (Eγ 661 keV) content in soil/food samples were determined by gamma spectrometry. Determination of 241Am specific activity in food samples was performed by the radiochemical method using selective extraction-chromatographic resins. With an average level of 1.3 kBq/m2 , the maximum soil contamination density of 241Am can reach 3.6 kBq/m2 , and for 137Cs it is one or two orders of magnitude higher and ranges from 50 kBq/m2 to 350 kBq/m2 . The maximum specific activity of 241Am in products is determined in samples of leafy parsley – 33 mBq/kg, and in samples of potatoes, beets, onions per feather – not exceed 5 mBq/kg. The content of accompanying 137Cs in samples of plant products is in the range of 3-12 Bq/kg. In estimation of the internal dose of exposure by the food chain it is conservatively assumed that the population receives all the main components of the diet in their own farmstead. Calculation of the dose of internal exposure during inhalation is made under the assumption that the population performs work in the garden 4 hours a day for 7 months. The total expected dose of internal exposure from 241Am residents of settlements is dominated by the inhalation component, while the oral route is dominant in the formation of the total dose of internal exposure from concomitant 137Сs, which is 20 or more times higher than 241Am.

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 %.

Выполнен обзор современного развития волоконной оптики для среднего инфракрасного диапазона спектра (2.0−50.0 µm). Обоснована задача по разработке инфракрасных (ИК) световодов с расширенным в более длинноволновую область спектра рабочим диапазоном, обладающих также повышенной радиационной стойкостью. Проведено исследование диаграмм состояния квазибинарных систем AgBr−TlI и AgBr−TlBr 0.46 I 0.54 четырехкомпонентной системы AgBr−AgI−TlBr−TlI. Выявлены области гомогенности существования твердых растворов. Разработана экспериментальная методика для определения показателя преломления в зависимости от длины волны спектроскопическим методом для кристаллов новых составов. Выявлена стойкость исследуемых материалов к ионизирующему излучению. Проведено моделирование фотонно-кристаллических структур на основе рассматриваемых систем галогенидов металлов и изготовлены методом экструзии одномодовые световоды смоделированной структуры с увеличенным полем моды. Определен спектральный диапазон работы световодов системы AgBr−TlI, который составляет от 4 до 25 µm. Рассмотрены варианты использования полученных ИК световодов.