The oil industry, transporting industry and processing industry is the most hazardous branches of the national economy as an increase of their production inevitably leads to an increase in volumes of petroleum pollution and waste. This is accompanied by an increase in environmental threats, a decrease in the area of economic lands, a decrease of soil fertility and a degradation of human health. The large-scale exploitation of subsoil and the increase in volumes of oil refining contributes to the increased risk of an environmental pollution, beginning from the stage of oil exploration and production and ending with the use of oil products. The pollution of environment takes place with the implementation of drilling processes and preparation of wells for operation. The drilling processes are accompanied by dispersed rock destruction, the formation of drill cuttings and removing it with washing liquid. The formation of significant quantities of oily wastes decreases the economic efficiency of enterprises in oil and gas industry due to the need of alienation of the territory of those enterprises for the oily waste storages, the increase of environmental payments for waste storage and pollutant emissions. According to Federal law “On production and consumption wastes”, every enterprise must develop “passports of hazardous waste”. The study of the chemical composition of a wide range of organic substances, metals and elements migrating to aquatic environments by modern highly sensitive methods of physical and chemical analysis provides the possibility to identify early unknown and unaccounted matters in oily wastes, which are capable of entering environmental water bodies. There were identified up to 100 organic compounds among substances that migrate to aquatic environments. The spectrum of detected organic substances is presented by aromatic, polycyclic aromatic, naphthenoaromatic hydrocarbons, biphenyls and oxygen-containing compounds, including alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, complex ethers, furans, quinones and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds. The analysis of the inorganic component of oily wastes that migrate to aquatic environments showed that among 70 metals and elements studied the largest mass fraction was in alkaline-earth metals (< 82%) and alkali metals (< 33%). There was established the presence of sulfur (< 1%), iron (< 0,25%) and heavy metals: copper and tin (0.002% in total). The studies of the anion composition of oily wastes’ water extracts established the presence of chlorine, carbonate and bicarbonate ions. The concentration of sulfate ion was below the method’s sensitivity level.

Study of parasites in recently established populations of invasive species can shed lite on sources of invasion and possible indirect interactions of the alien species with native ones. We studied parasites of the global invader Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the Caucasus. In 2012 the first established population of H. axyridis was recorded in the Caucasus in Sochi (south of European Russia, Black sea coast). By 2018 the ladybird has spread to the vast territory: Armenia, Georgia and south Russia: Adygea, Krasnodar territory, Stavropol territory, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia. Examination of 213 adults collected in Sochi in 2018 have shown that 53% of them are infested with Hesperomyces virescens fungi (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniales) and 8% with Parasitylenchus bifurcatus nematodes (Nematoda: Tylenchida, Allantonematidae). Examined H. axyridis specimens were free of parasitic mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae . An analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of Parasitylenchus bifurcatus based on 18S rDNA confirmed the morphological identification of this species. Hesperomyces virescens and Parasitylenchus bifurcatus are firstly recorded from the Caucasus and Russia, though widespread in Europe. It probably indicates that they appeared as a result of co-invasion with their host. Harmonia axyridis was released in the region for pest control, but laboratory cultures are always free of H. virescens and P. bifurcatus . Therefore, detection of H. virescens and P. bifurcatus indicates that population of H. axyridis in the Caucasus cannot derive exclusively from released specimens. We did not find H. virescens on 400 specimens of 31 other ladybird species collected in the same localities with H. axyridis in the Caucasus. No reliable correlation between infestation by H. virescens and P. bifurcatus has been found. Besides these two parasites an unidentified species of the order Mermithida is recorded. It is the first documented case of H. axyridis infestation by a parasitic nematode of this order in nature.

The purpose of the research is to study the effect of insect compost obtained as a result of the vital activity of insects of the Coleoptera order Ulomoides dermestoides on the quantitative and qualitative composition of soil nematodes of various ecological and trophic groups, as well as on the morphological and physiological state of plants and infection of tomato plants with root-knot nematodes.Materials and methods. Under laboratory conditions, soil containing a diverse fauna of nematodes was treated with 1% dry and 0.5; 0.75 and 1% aqueous solutions of biocompost. Insect compost was obtained by keeping the U. dermestoides on a dry nutrient mixture. Then a mixture of lawn grasses was sown in the ground. After 30 days, the composition of nematodes was analyzed. The ability of insect compost to suppress parasitic nematode species was studied using the tomato-knot nematode model system. Tomatoes were infected with Meloidogyne incognita at a rate of 500 larvae (J2) per plant and simultaneously treated with a 0.5% aqueous biocompost solution.Results and discussion. The insect compost U. dermestoides has an effect on quantitative and qualitative indicators in the community of soil nematodes, increasing the number of predatory and saprobiotic nematodes and displacing parasitic ones. And due to the content of various biologically active compounds, it affects the development of rootknot nematodes in tomato roots. When tomatoes are treated with an aqueous solution of insect compost, the infection score and the number of nematodes that penetrate the roots are reduced. The introduction of compost when growing a mixture of lawn grasses and tomatoes can improve the condition of the plants.

The purpose of the research is to compare the accumulation of phenolic compounds of different species and varieties of mint, zoned in Central Russia against the background of plant infection by Meloidogyne incognita.Materials and methods. Plants were grown from cuttings in a growing experiment in open ground. Mentha × piperita L. (varieties: Tik-Tak, Orange, Minneola, Mojito, Mitchum, Chocolate), M. spicata L. (varieties Morocco, Crispa) and M. longifolia L. (Longifolia) were taken for the study. A month later, the rooted plants were infected at the rate of 1000 sp. infective larvae of M. incognita per plant. After 8 weeks leaves were fixed in ethanol. The total content of phenolic compounds (PC), phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and catechins was studied using a spectrophotometer. The determination of the total content of PС was carried out using the Folin-Cecolte reagent with measurement at 725 nm, phenylpropanoids – by direct measurement of optical density at 330 nm, flavonoids – by reaction with aluminum chloride at 415 nm, the total content of flavans (catechins - flavan-3-ols), their oligomeric forms – proanthocyanidins, as well as leukoanthocyanidins were assessed by reaction with vanillin at 500 nm.Results and discussion. It has been shown that the accumulation of phenols is related to the species of plants. The varieties Mentha × piperita L. in most cases contained more phenols than M. spicata L. and M. longifolia L. A significant number of PC was noted in the violet-colored varieties Mitchum, Chocolate and Orange. The total content of PC almost completely correlates with the content of their precursors – phenylpropanoids. In terms of the content of flavonoids, the Mitchum variety stands out noticeably, and in terms of the content of catechins, the Orange variety stands out. Nematode infection in most varieties causes a noticeable increase in the total accumulation of soluble PC, phenylpropanoids and flavans, but leads to a decrease in the content of flavonoids.

The Collection of sedentary nematodes of the Laboratory of plant parasitic nematodes of the A.N.Severtsov IPEE of the Russian Academy of Sciences was established three years ago in order to maintain cultures of live nematodes, which are harmful agricultural pests. Currently, the Collection contains two species of root-knot nematodes: Meloidogyne incognita Chitwood, 1949 and Meloidogyne hapla, Chitwood, 1949, and four cyst-forming species: Heterodera schachtii Schmidt, 1871, Heterodera filipjevi Stelter, 1984, Heterodera glycines Ichinohe, 1952, Globodera rostochiensis Skarbilovich, 1959. The Collection is used as a repository of invasive material necessary for conducting research on plant parasitic nematodes. Materials of the Collection are used for demonstration during practical seminars for students, postgraduates and plant protection specialists. Also, according to the existing agreement, the collection material is intended for exchange with colleagues nematologists from specialized scientific research institutions of the Russian Federation. The present publication contains data on the technical equipment of the climatic room for plants, light and temperature conditions, materials used in the creation of the Collection, the species of nematodes maintained in the Collection and the maintenance guidelines.

Essential oils (EOs) of Mentha spicata var. crispa (Benth.) Danert and M. × piperita var. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq. and EO components are widely used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hygiene products, the food industry, and other fields, and have a high commercial value. The variety Mentha spicata var. crispa is also used as an ornamental plant due to its distinctive curled leaves. Studying the influence of growing conditions and harvest timing on EO yield and the major compound concentrations is one of the key research directions for Mentha species, aimed at the ascertainment of the ways of increasing EO production and quality. Gas chromatography analysis of the component composition of EOs from leaves of Mentha spicata var. crispa “Kurchavaya” (MscK) showed that it remained stable both in July and September, with carvone predominating (81% and 85%, respectively). In contrast, the EO composition from M. × piperita var. citrata “Apelsinovaya” (MpcA) leaves changed in the course of the vegetation period. In July, menthofuran dominated (30%), while in September, linalool and its acetate were predominant (34% and 47%, respectively), which was typical for this chemotype. At the same time, the content of EOs and the density of glandular trichomes (GTs) (the OE storage sites) in MscK were higher in July and decreased by September, whereas in MpcA, both EO content and the number of GTs increased from July to September. These changes may have been caused by temperature fluctuations. Thus, MscK proved to be more resistant to environmental factors than MpcA.