The nutritional value of soybean seeds is in high protein (up to 35%) and fat (up to 25%) percentage. In the Russian Federation, there is a positive trend in increasing the soybean acreage (e. g. from 1.537 million hectares in 2013 to 2.919 million hectares in 2018). The field trials were carried out in the laboratory of cultivation technology of row crops of the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” (Zernograd, southern soil-climatic region of the Rostov region) in 2016–2017. The experiments were conducted with the varieties of local breeding “Don 21” and “Diva”, included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation in 6 regions, differing in the length of vegetation period. The soil of the experimental plot is favorable for soybean cultivation, the humus content in the topsoil is 3.36%; pH is 7.0; P2O5 is 24.4; K2O is 360 mg/kg of soil. Depending on the sowing period, the soybean yields varied from 0.85 to 1.25 t/ha for the variety “Don 21” and from 0.77 to 1.38 t/ha for the variety “Diva”. The protein content in soybean seeds was the highest in the fourth term of sowing (41.9 and 39.8%), and the fat content in the first term was 19.0 and 20.2% (the varieties “Don 21” and “Diva” respectively). The analysis of economic and energy efficiency identified the most effective variants of the trial. The variety “Don 21” had the second sowing period, the variety “Diva” had the third one, with the highest values of profitability (129.8 and 147.7%) and the energy efficiency ratio (2.03 and 2.18).

The current paper has presented the study results of the elements of cultivation technology (sowing date, sowing method, seeding rate) of grain sorghum in the southern part of the Rostov region. Field trials were carried out in 2018–2020. The object of research was the grain sorghum variety ‘Zernogradskoe 88’, included in the State List of Breeding Achievements for the North Caucasus region in 2013. According to the study results there was established that the lowest values of grain weight per plant and 1000-grain weight were formed with a seeding rate of 0.9 million of germinating seeds per ha.In the same variant of the trial, there was determined theworst plants’ preservation before harvesting. Sowing method had the greatest effect on plant density (69.5 %) and on 1000-grain weight (23.8 %); seeding ratehad the greatest effect on grain weight per plant (52.5 %). On average, through the years of study, there was obtained the maximum productivity of 4.14 and 4.12 t/ha with a seeding rate of 0.4 and 0.5 million of germinated seeds per ha, respectively. For grain sorghum, the sowing method with a row spacing of 0.15 and 0.30 m was the most acceptable, where there was yielded 3.70 and 3.65 t/ha. When sowing seeds in the 3rd decade of May (20–22 °C of warming up the soil at a seeding depth), there was identified a maximum productivity of sorghum grain with 3.92 t/ha. The greatest effect on productivity formation (41.6 %) was produced by the seeding rate, the share of the effect of the sowing date was 24.8 %, that of the sowing method was 3.6 %, weather conditions affected on 7.7 %.

The current paper has presented the study results of the effect of different dosages of the herbicide ‘Ballerina SE’ on the weediness of sorghum sowing, as well as the economic efficiency of the application. The purpose of the study was to estimate the efficiency of the use of the herbicide ‘Ballerina’ on grain sorghum and its effect on the weediness of the sowing and the amount of productivity. The field trials were carried out in 2017–2019 in the laboratory for cultivation technology of row crops of the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” (Zernograd). The experimental plot is located in the southern agricultural zone of the Rostov region (with insufficient and unstable moisture). The soil of the experimental plot was ordinary heavy loamy blackearth (chernozem) on forestry loams, with 3.2% of humus, 18.5–20.0 mg of P2O5 and 342–360 mg of K2O per kg of soil. The hydrothermal coefficient during the years of study ranged from 0.32 to 0.89, which characterized the insufficient moisture supply of the growing season. There was presented the information on the varietal composition of grain sorghum in the southern zone of the Rostov region. The applied dosages of the herbicide had a significant effect on the reduction of the weediness of grain sorghum after their application (the decrease ranged from 78.3 to 96.7%). The greatest decrease in weediness was noted for dicotyledonous weeds. When using 0.5–l of the herbicide ‘Ballerina SE’ per ha, there was obtained the highest conditional net income of 22,230 rubles/ha, with the lowest production cost of 4,329 rubles/ha and the highest profitability level of 163%.

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The results of long-term studies of the biological, morphological and phenological features of the introduced new culture of safflower in the Central, Volga and North Caucasus regions are presented. Optimum parameters of depth of seeding (5-6 cm), seeding rates (300-350 thousand pieces/hectare or 12-14 kg), ensuring high productivity, oil content and quality of seeds are established. For the first time, the relationship between moisture availability of vegetation periods with accumulation of oil content and a change in the fatty acid composition was established. Oilseed (in untreated seeds) in the regions was from 14,5 to 31,2%, in excessively wet 2013 – 6,4% in the Moscow region and 8,6% in the Saratov region. Fatty acid composition revealed a high content of oleic acid in Krasa Stupinskaya variety – 13,6-16,8%, linoleic acid – 68,5-75,7%. The yield of oil in the Moscow region was 240 kg/ha. The yield of Krasa Stupinskaya in the Moscow Region was 0,6 t/ha, the Rostov Region 0,8 t/ha and Saratov Region 1,2 t/ha, with an average weight of 1000 seeds, respectively, by regions: 40,0 g, 47,3 g and 40,9 g. The growing season for growing seeds was 105 days in the Moscow Region, 94 days in the Rostov Region and 95 days in the Saratov Region. It has been established that excessive moistening during the flowering and seed filling period increases the harmfulness of enzyme-mycosis seed depletion (EMIS) – biological injury during maturation (enzymatic stage), followed by the seeding of the seeds with the phytopathogen Alternaria carthami Chowdhury. In the breeding programs for productivity and oil content, it is recommended to use the varieties Moldir (Kazakhstan) and Krasa Stupinskaya (FGBNU VSTISP), the fatty acid composition of which is characterized by an increased content of oleic and linoleic acid, which is of particular value for storage and use for food purposes.