The article reviews the main aspects of assessing the vitality of ornamental shrubs. The authors have ranked the plants according to the resistance to air pollution of urban ecosystems based on the assessment of the vitality of ornamental shrubs, their vital activity and resistance to anthropogenic impact. The study has identified the promising species of ornamental shrubs recommended for planting in urban environment: Berberis thunbergii DC., Philadelphus coronarius L., Potentilla fruticosa L., Syringa vulgaris L., Crataegus sanguinea Pall., Lonicera caprifolium L., Philadelphus coronarius L., Physocarpus opulifolius L.

The article substantiates the role of innovation processes in the economy of agribusiness in Russia. The purpose of the study is to assess the economic efficiency of technological innovations in ecological agriculture. The object of the research is the potato farming industry. The article studies the technical innovations involved in Agriculture 2.0 and used in the crop production industry. These innovations allow effective soil cultivation, improve plant propagation and increase crop yields. The study examines the use of the technical innovations in one of the most important branches of agriculture in Russia - potato farming. It showed a positive economic impact of resource-saving technologies and agrotechnical measures on the crop cultivation. The profitability improved by 2.9 times, revenue increased by 2.5 times, and the total cost of production decreased by 6%. Thus, the implementation of a set of resource-saving measures provides positive dynamics in potato farming.

The authors have shared the experience of operating the John Deere 730 Air Disk Drill coupled with the John Deere 1910 Commodity Air Cart at the Scientific and educational production center ‘Integration’ (Orel, Russia). The study gives a qualitative assessment of the operation of the seeder unit taking into account field size and shape, and proposes the technology of seed sowing at the field edges. The article presents the technical characteristics of the seeder, shows the impact of seeder operating parts on the technological process, and demonstrates the results of comparative experiments of the quality of seeding down and variation curves of the distribution of intervals in terms of planting depth. The authors have noted that the evenness of seeding depth is ensured by the special characteristics of the opener with the hydraulic reloading system. It is proven that the John Deere 730 Air Disk Drill equipped with the autopilot system allows achieving productivity up to 190 hectares per day.

No abstract

Subject. Investment activity of subjects of regional agribusiness. Topic. Investment support for small businesses in the agro-industrial complex. Purpose. Development of a mechanism for managing investment activities of small businesses in the agro-industrial complex and substantiation of practical proposals for attracting investments in the development of the farming sector based on an assessment of their competitiveness. Methodology. During the research, traditional research methods were used: economic and mathematical, statistical analysis, monographic, computational and constructive, graphic, systemic and comparative analytical. Results. The theoretical understanding of the essence of «investment management» has been clarified in relation to small forms of management in the agro-industrial complex, the economic toolkit for attracting investment resources to the agricultural sector has been determined. The authors have developed a step-by-step mechanism for managing investment activities, taking into account the factor characteristics of agricultural production. Measures are proposed for the selection of peasant (farmer) households for the provision of state support, taking into account the assessment of their competitiveness in the agricultural market using the method of cluster analysis and taking into account the strategic priorities of the region. Application area. The results of the work can be used by regional authorities in the development of investment policy in relation to small forms of agribusiness. Conclusions. Management of investment activities of small businesses is interpreted as a set of management decisions to determine the source of investments, optimize their composition and purpose of use, with the subsequent accumulation of financial resources while reducing the cost of production. On the basis of the method of classification of multidimensional observations in order to determine the similarity or proximity between objects, indicators have been established that characterize the financial and economic activities of peasant (farmer) enterprises in the municipal districts of the Oryol region. Four clusters of peasant (farmer) households have been identified. It is advisable to use the results of cluster analysis as part of the selection procedure for peasant (farmer) households to participate in a competition for a grant from regional or federal government bodies. Keywords: small forms of economy, management, agricultural economy, investments, peasant (farm) farms, state, agriculture, financial resources, competitiveness, cluster.