Barley is one of the most important cereal crops globally. In Ukraine, it is grown on an area of 2.4–2.8 million hectares annually and is the second largest grain crop in Ukraine after wheat. Barley grain export is about 4.3 million tons p.a. At the same time, one of the limiting factors for obtaining a high-quality yield is diseases, in particular leaf spots. In recent decades, there have been significant changes in the technology of cultivation, the composition of varieties and the pathogenic complex. Net blotch (Pyrenophora teres Drechsler) in net and spot forms and spot blotch (Bipolaris sorokiniana Shoem.) remain the most common among the diseases of barley leaves. They occur in all regions where barley is grown. Barley scald (Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem.) Davis) is distributed mainly in the forest zone and western part of the forest-steppe zone and has become more widespread in recent years with rainy summers. Outbreaks of stripe spot (Pyrenophora graminea S. Ito & Kurib.) occur sporadically. Ascochyta leaf spot (Ascochyta spp.) was found in the Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions in 2020, and in the Lviv, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions in 2021. In the field, spots can be misdiagnosed as barley scald, so their prevalence may be much higher. In 2021, during the seed ripening period, ramularia leaf spot was found in the Kherson and Vinnytsia regions. The disease was diagnosed in the laboratory by obtaining a typical conidial sporulation of the fungus Ramularia collo-cygni B. Sutton & J.M. Waller on affected tissues (wet chamber). Therefore, in recent years, the composition of the barley leaf spot pathogens has become wider and requires further investigation.

Goal. Agroclimatic and agroecotoxicological zoning of the territory of Ukraine in order to justify ecologically safe zonal systems of chemical protection against harmful organisms, their optimization and adaptation to changes in climatic conditions and phytosanitary state of agrocenoses in different soil-climatic zones of Ukraine. Methods. Analytical-synthetic and experimental methods were used in the research. Literary sources, reports of the Institute of Plant Protection, data on the distribution and number of pests given in the annual reviews of the Department of Phytosanitary Safety of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, databases of the State Statistic Service and the Hydrometeorological Center of Ukraine, as well as the results of field experiments were analyzed. Phytosanitary and ecotoxicological monitoring was carried out according to generally accepted methods. The degree of hazard of pesticide use was assessed using an integral 7-point scale, the risk — according to the agro-ecotoxicological index (AETI). Results. Ecological and statistical analysis of long-term databases, dynamics of agrometeorological indicators allows us to come to the conclusion that during the last 10 years climate changes have accelerated. They manifested through the equalization of the temperature field across the country, the increase in the sum of effective temperatures, and a deterioration of heat and moisture supply. This led to a disruption in the functioning of agrocenoses, a decrease in tolerance to the pesticide load. Under conditions of extension of the specified trends, significant disruptions in the functioning of the agricultural sector should be expected, considering the speed of changes. With the help of the Arc GIS — Arc INFO software complex, the agroclimatic and agroecotoxicological zoning of the territory of Ukraine under conditions of climatic changes of 2010—2020 was carried out. A decrease in the self-cleaning ability of the territory has been established. This is especially noticeable in the Forest Steppe, where the zonal self-cleaning index decreased from 0.70—0.50 to 0.60—0.45. Maps of agro-climatic zones and regions of Ukraine with different self-cleaning capabilities have been created. Conclusions. Regular addition and update of agro-climatic regulatory information under conditions of climate change is used for the correct selection and placement of agricultural areas, crops, assessment of conditions for their growth and development, planning of field work periods, forecasting of crop production in a specific year. This information is necessary for improving the culture of agriculture, increasing the production of plant products along with the wide application of modern technologies of crop cultivation, in particular chemical protection against harmful organisms.

Goal. Ecotoxicological and economic substantiation of the biological system of apple protection against pests and diseases, its optimization and adaptation to the weather and climatic conditions and the phytosanitary state of apple agrocenosis in the Precarpathian province of the Carpathian mountain zone of Ukraine in order to reduce crop losses and improving its quality. Methods. Phytosanitary monitoring was performed visually and using pheromone traps. The degree of hazard of pesticides was assessed by an integrated 7-point scale, the risk — by agroecotoxicological index (AETI). Results. Based on the monitoring of the phytosanitary state of the apple agrocenosis in 2015—2017, scientific and methodological parameters of ecologically safe and cost-effective protection systems for apple trees adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of the Precarpathian province of the Carpathian mountain zone of Ukraine were developed: biological and biological-chemical. They are based on 7 treatments with biological or chemical and biological preparations, carried out in the phenophases of culture critical for the development of harmful organisms. The efficiency of the biological system against harmful organisms was in the range of 65.7—72.8%, the biological-chemical system — 66.4—96.5%. It is shown that replacing a number of chemical treatments with biological ones allows to minimize the negative impact of pesticides on the apple agrocenosis. Conclusions. A model of ecologically safe protection of an apple orchard against a complex of harmful organisms has been developed. It is shown that the modern assortment of biological protection means makes it possible to develop a system that provides effective protection of the apple orchard against a complex of diseases and pests. Calculations showed that the system of biological and chemical protection was more effective in terms of profitability during the years of research (71.4—127.23%). The profit obtained from the use of this system was from 49 898.9 to 107 586.4 UAH/ha.

Goal. To analyze the multi-year population dynamics of the main pests of winter rape (Brassica napus L.) in different soil-climate zones of Ukraine in order to determine the impact of climate changes on the phytosanitary state of agrocenoses in 2012—2022. Methods. Analytical-synthetic method and computer modeling were used in the research. The results of monitoring of the development and spread of pests in agrocenoses of winter rapeseed and the forecast of their phytosanitary status during 2012—2022 were used as initial data. The long-term database of the Hydrometeorological Center of Ukraine was used to analyze the course of natural warming. The sums of effective temperatures for the development of insects were calculated for each soil-climate zone of Ukraine. Results. Ecological and statistical analysis of long-term data bases of winter rapeseed pest populations, dynamics of agrometeorological indicators was carried out. It was established that during 2012—2022, the sum of effective temperatures constantly exceeded the climatic norms in all soil-climate zones of Ukraine. There was a deterioration of heat and moisture supply during the growing season. As a result of climatic changes, the complex of pests is undergoing transformations. Conclusions. It has been established that as a result of climate changes, the area favorable for the cultivation of winter field crops, in particular winter rapeseed, is decreasing. The ability of the territory to self-cleaning falls. The long-term dynamics of the populations of the harmful entomocomplex of winter rape demonstrates a consistently high number of cruciferous fleas, rape flower beetle, rape stem borer and a tendency to increase the number of the latter. The crop is most vulnerable to phytophages in the seedling and budding-flowering phases, which must be taken into account when developing crop protection systems.

Goal of the research is to consider the main concepts used in the probit-analysis method, the features of its application to determine the toxicity of pesticides, in particular insecticides, acaricides and fungicides. Methods. To determine the toxicity of pesticides, the method of probit-analysis was used. It consists in determining the dose of a substance necessary to achieve a certain level of mortality of test organisms, based on the transformation of the S-shaped «dose-effect» curve into a straight line. Results. The article describes in detail the main stages of probit-analysis: selection of biological material; determination of the pesticide dose range to be used and preparation of working solutions; processing of biological material; assessing the mortality of the studied objects; processing of the obtained results. The peculiarities of its use in determining the toxicity of insecticides and fungicides of different chemical groups and with different mechanisms of action are shown. As an example, the application of the method for determining the toxicity of insecto-acaricide Vertimek 018 EC against the spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch.) is given. Conclusion. The results of the research show the effectiveness of the probit-analysis method in determining the toxicity of pesticides, the possibility of its application for assessing the sensitivity of pests and pathogens to pesticides, and monitoring of their resistance.

Aphids are the dominant pests in the complex of harmful fauna of stone fruits in Ukraine. In plum orchards mealy plum aphid Hyalopterus pruni Geoffr. (Hemiptera: Aphidinae) causes serious economic damage. Insect predators have an important role in the regulation of agricultural pests. Our goal was to determine the role of predation in the dynamics of the mealy-plum-aphid population. Investigations were carried out during the period of mass development of the mealy plum aphid in the experimental plum-orchard garden of the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. For this purpose, model trees were selected and isolators were installed on four branches of each tree with aphid-infested leaves. Different species of entomophagous predators were placed in the isolators and assessments were performed on a daily basis. According to our observations, Adalia bipunctata L., A. decempunctata L., Syrphus ribesii L., S. balteatus Deg, Chrysopa perla L., and Ch. carnea Steph. dominated among aphidophagous predators. Coccinella septempunctata L., Calvia quatuordecimguttata L., and Propylaea quatuordecimpunctata L. were less common. Syrphus and Chrysopa larvae had the highest predation activity. The influence of weather conditions on the efficiency of aphidophagous predators was analyzed. Optimal conditions for A. bipunctata, A. decempunctata, S. ribesii, S. balteatus, Ch. perla, and Ch. carnea during June–July were as follows: mean daily temperature, 17–20 °C, precipitation 0.1–1.5 mm, and relative air humidity 57–67%. The threshold ratios of dominant aphidophagous predators were determined. The high predation activity of Syrphus and Chrysopa larvae and coccinellids indicated that the ratio of entomophages to aphids must be taken into account when making decisions about control measures