Biodiversity and specificity of planktonic ciliate communities from the zone of Volga and Kama Rivers confluence

This paper is devoted to the study of free-living ciliates and generalization of data on their development in the reservoirs of the Volga and Kama confluence zone, i.e., directly in the Kuibyshev Reservoir and in other reservoirs adjacent to its basin considered as sources of the potential diversity of ciliates in the region. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to investigate both hydrological and hydrobiological parameters: ciliates is the most unexplored (compared to phytoplankton or zooplankton) component of plankton. Using the results of our research in 2006–2017, we have identified more than 269 species, of which 144 species occur in the reservoir. The significant heterogeneity of the fauna of the watershed reservoirs is confirmed by the relatively low similarity of the fauna from different water bodies with the strong difference in the composition of dominant species and the slight difference in the composition of background species, as well as by the fact that ?б-diversity is much lower than ?в-diversity. It is very important that the study broadens our understanding of the distribution of rare species (for the Volga-Kama cascade of reservoirs): Leprotintinnus pellucidus (Cleve, 1899) and Pelagovorticella mayeri (Faure-Fremiet, 1920) were previously found only in the delta of the Volga River and North Caspian Sea region. A significant contribution of the Kama fauna to the biodiversity of ciliates in the planktonic community of the reservoir below the confluence zone has been proved, despite the greater similarity of the ciliate fauna in the confluence zone with the Volga fauna. The restructuring of the qualitative composition, general and structural indices of the ciliate community appear in the confluence zone of two rivers along the longitudinal axis. The nature of this restructuring, often associated with deviation of most characteristics of the protozoan community (reduction of the species diversity and quantitative parameters, as well as simplification of the species composition and trophic structure, etc.) in the Volga and Kama Rivers confluence zone, does not allow to consider this community as a unique ecotone at this stage

INFLUENCE OF PLASTICIZER CONTENT ON ORGANOLEPTIC, PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS OF APPLE SAUCE-BASED EDIBLE FILM

Biodegradable edible films are developed as alternative packaging materials. Due to their unique chemical composition, apples can act as a raw material for the production of edible films. The aim of the work is to create an edible film from apple raw materials using the following plasticizers: agar, carrageenan or xanthan gum. Edible films have a yellowish color, characteristic for apple sauce. The film with the addition of xanthan gum as a plasticizer has the most acceptable flavor properties. Microscopic examination of edible film samples was carried out using a conventional and laser microscope. The structure of the edible film with an increase in the proportion of fiber becomes more homogeneous. IR spectra with a Fourier resolution of the analyzed edible film samples were obtained, which make it possible to isolate the presence of free hydroxyl groups. For edible films based on apple sauce with the addition of agar and xanthan gum as a plasticizer, there is a tendency to increase the tensile strength with increasing the amount of plasticizer (from 1.32 to 1.70 MPa for agar and from 1.68 to 3.50 MPa for xanthan gum). With a longer time of exposure to water and a higher water temperature, the edible film samples are destroye

USE OF AMAZONE PRECISION SPRAYERS IN RAPESEED CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY

The main attention in the work is given to the description of various technologies in rapeseed cultivation by precision technique for the application of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. A comparative evaluation of rapeseed crop cultivation is shown. The effect of precision spraying on the in-floor variability of weed plants is shown. The use of GIS technology for spatial positioning and differentiated application of a working solution of tank mixes pesticides relative to the distribution density in weed crops. The productivity of spring rapeseed sowing is indicated with the use of various treatments