Large Bunches Research Articles

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SEVERAL LOCAL AND INTRODUCED GRAPE VARIETIES: RESEARCH AND EVALUATION OF THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL SUITABILITY

The article presents the findings from a study evaluating the morphological, biological and technological characteristics of various table and technical grape varieties cultivated in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The research adhered to the descriptors of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). The study reveals a wide range in the size of grape bunches, with medium, large and small bunches being predominant. Notably, the local and introduced varieties Arna-grna, Khindogny, Hamashara, Shirvanshahy and Moldova exhibited superior morphological traits such as mass, volume and size of bunches. Juice yield, a key indicator of technological suitability, ranged from 45.5% to 80.0%. The Shiraz variety had the lowest juice yield (45.8%), whereas the Moldova (76.8%) and Uni Blanc (80.0%) varieties had the highest. Most varieties had small berries, but Arna-grna (481 g), Gyanjavi (341 g) and Moldova (317 g) were considered medium. The sugar content in the berries was categorized as average, high or very high, with Shirvanshahy having the highest sugar content (25.0 g/100 cm3). The titratable acidity of the varieties was low to average, while the active acidity was mainly low.

Prescribed fire and grass mulch impact on selected soil properties and amelioration potentials of amendments under an agricultural field in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Prescribed fire (slash and burn) tends to impede the sustainable functionality of soil in agricultural systems. However, the use of amendment has a potential to reverse these negative effects. Prescribed fire is still used by farmers in Nigeria for land preparation before planting. This has continued to increase soil degradation in Nigeria with no agronomic activities that could ameliorate this effect in view. This study therefore examined the influence of prescribed fire and grass mulch on selected soil physical properties and organic carbon immediately after burning, and the potential of amendment to improve the soil properties negatively affected by fire. The prescribed fire treatments consisted of 200 °C and 500 °C fire intensities using Megathyrsus maximus (a large perennial bunch of grass that is dominant in the study area) as the fuel and also served as the grass mulch. Cured poultry manure at 7.5 t ha−1 was combined with urea at 40 kg N ha−1 and applied as a combined amendment while a single dose of urea was applied at 80 kg N ha−1 as an inorganic amendment. The experiment was carried out across three cropping seasons on maize (Zea mays L.) in 2019 and 2020. Soil water repellency (SWR), bulk density (Db), soil unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (Kunsat), water stable aggregates (WSA), soil strength (SS), and soil organic carbon (SOC) were determined immediately after burning and three months after amendments were applied. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and means separated using the Duncan multiple range test at p≤0.05. Results showed that prescribed fires increased SWR by an average of 50.1 and 62.7 % for 200 °C and 500 °C intensities, respectively compared with the control. Three months later, the SWR was reduced by 25.9 % and 62.3 % for 200 °C and 500 °C, respectively when no amendment was added. Notably, the addition of sole urea and cured poultry manure + urea reduced the SWR by 50 % and 48.5 %, respectively in the 200 °C intensity, and 62.2 % and 62.7 % in the 500 °C intensity, respectively. Also, Kunsat was reduced by an average of 49.6 and 62.2 % by 200 °C and 500 °C intensities, respectively just after burning. However, it was not improved three months after the prescribed fires despite the applied amendments. The prescribed fire of 200 °C and grass mulch had no significant influence on OC just after the fire. Also, amendments did not significantly improve OC three months after prescribed fire. Therefore, the non-improvement of other soil properties, after the applied amendments, showed that further study is required to determine the required rate of the applied amendments that will significantly improve other soil properties negatively affected by prescribed fire in agricultural soils.

Matched phase sweep method for the optimization of bunching factor in dual rf systems of high-intensity hadron synchrotrons

The scheme of multiturn painting beam injection in a dual harmonic rf system is widely employed in high-intensity proton or heavy ion synchrotrons to alleviate space charge effects. With a momentum offset of the injected beams, a large bunching factor can be achieved at the end of multiturn painting injection process. However, the momentum offset can increase the instantaneous beam peak current during the first 1/4 synchrotron period, causing a reduced bunching factor during the beam injection process. To address this issue, a matched phase sweep method is developed. By matching the synchrotron oscillation frequency and beam injection period, an optimal curve for phase sweeping can be directly obtained. The effectiveness of the method has been checked via simulations and machine study, which are in good agreement. The matched phase sweep method is employed for the increase of the beam power in the upcoming upgrade project of the China Spallation Neutron Source and can also be generally applied for the operation in the presence of dual harmonic rf system in high-intensity hadron synchrotrons. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

ЭНОКАРПОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ГРОЗДЕЙ И ЯГОД НЕКОТОРЫХ АБОРИГЕННЫХ И ИНТРОДУЦИРОВАННЫХ СТОЛОВЫХ И ТЕХНИЧЕСКИХ СОРТОВ ВИНОГРАДА, ВЫРАЩИВАЕМЫХ В УСЛОВИЯХ АБШЕРОНА

The article presents the results of studying the enocarpological characteristics of bunches and berries of local and introduced table and wine grape varieties cultivated in the Absheron region. In the course of the studies, it was found that indicators such as bunch weight, stem weight, skin and pulp residue, juice yield, and the amount of solid residue varied over a wide range depending on the grape variety; in particular, large, medium and small bunches were observed. During the research, it was found that such table and technical grape varieties as Tuya-tish, wild form 2, Alphonse Lavallee, Nagshebi, Digah kechimemesi, Gyozel uzum, Ganjavi, Digah gorasy, Ag Kharji, Uzun salkhym, according to enocarpological indicators (bunch weight, stem weight, skin and pulp residue, juice yield, percentage of seeds in the berry, weight of 100 seeds, solid residue) were noticeably different from other varieties. In the studied table grape varieties, the enocarpological parameters varied over wide ranges, the average weight of the bunch was 210.0-974.0 g, the weight of the stem concerning the total weight of the bunch was 0.7-9.6%, the residue of the skin and pulp was 18.0-40.0 %, juice yield – 51.0-72.7 %, seeds – 2.4-10.8 %, amount of solid residue – 27.3-49 %, and weight of 100 seeds – 2.7-14.0 g. In wine grape varieties, these indicators differed from table varieties. They were estimated as follows: bunch weight 178.7-548.0 g, stem weight concerning the total weight of the bunch – 1.8-6.5 %, the skin and pulp residue – 14.7-31.6 %, juice yield – 64.1-76.2 %, seeds – 2.7-7.4 %, amount of solid residue – 23.8-43.0 %. The highest weight of the bunch, stem, remaining skin and pulp, number of seeds, weight of 100 seeds, and the lowest juice yield were noted in table varieties; for wine grape varieties, this ratio was the opposite. Key words: GRAPE VARIETIES, LOCAL VARIETIES, ENOCARPOLOGICAL INDICATORS, BUNCH, BERRIES

Impact of beam-coupling impedance on the Schottky spectrum of bunched beam

The Schottky monitors of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) can be used for non-invasive beam diagnostics to estimate various bunch characteristics, such as tune, chromaticity, bunch profile or synchrotron frequency distribution. However, collective effects, in particular beam-coupling impedance, can significantly affect Schottky spectra when large bunch charges are involved. In such conditions, the available interpretation methods are difficult to apply directly to the measured spectra, thus preventing the extraction of beam and machine parameters, which is possible for lower bunch charges. To study the impact of impedance on such spectra, we introduce a method for building Schottky spectra from macro-particle simulations performed with the PyHEADTAIL code, applied to LHC beam conditions. In this case, the use of a standard Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm to recover the spectral content of the beam becomes computationally intractable memory-wise, because of the relatively short bunch length compared to the large revolution period. To circumvent this difficulty, a semi-analytical method was developed to efficiently compute the Fourier transform. The simulated Schottky spectrum is then compared against theoretical formulas and measurements of Schottky signals previously obtained with lead ion beams in the LHC where impedance effects are expected to be limited. Furthermore, this study provides preliminary interpretations of the impact of beam-coupling impedance on proton Schottky spectra by incorporating longitudinal and transverse resonator-like impedance models into the simulations. A theoretical framework is also introduced for the case of the longitudinal impedance, allowing the extension of the existing theoretical formalism.

Ripening Trends of Vitis vinifera L. cv Sugrasixteen (SABLE SEEDLESS®) Table Grapes at Different Crop Loads and Bunch Sizes

Crop load and bunch size manipulation are two prominent viticultural practices used in the production of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sugrasixteen table grapes. However, their respective effects on berry ripening are unknown and were investigated in this study. A split-plot vineyard block design with three different crop loads (low, medium, and high) as the main treatments and two bunch size treatments (small and large) as the subplot factors were used. Weekly berry samples from veraison to harvest from each treatment were analysed for mass, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and pH. Data mining established the ripening trends and explored the possibility of estimating optimal harvest dates using EC50 values. Results showed that berries of large bunches had higher average mass than small bunches during ripening. Increased crop loads resulted in berries with lower mass, TSS and TSS: TA ratio, and delayed berry ripening. Conversely, berries from the low crop load increased in mass and accumulated TSS faster during ripening than higher crop loads, reaching EC50 two to four days earlier with accumulation starting to slow down at higher values. EC50 could be used to estimate harvest dates for low to medium crop loads, but not for high crop loads. This study provides the first in-depth analysis of SABLE SEEDLESS® ripening trends concerning crop load and bunch size management. The results have implications for the grape’s overall eating quality. The statistical prediction of optimal harvest dates for lower crop loads could have practical benefits for the industry.

Automated Passive Income from Stock Market Using Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics with Security Aspects

With the evolution of Machine Learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data Technologies, digital data has increased exponentially. To handle and process such a large bunch of data, high-performance computers are used across various fields. One of the fields has been the financial capital market of stocks, bonds, commodities, foreign exchange, and cryptocurrencies, where supercomputers essentially trade securities with high computational ability and intelligent algorithms. Large financial institutions with significant capital spend a lot of money on programmers and data analysts to develop the best accuracy trading algorithms to drive the overall market. A novice trader or investor with less to no experience in financial markets feels it difficult to search for good trades or stocks to invest their hard-earned money on a short to long-term time horizon. They rely on expert advice for stock recommendations and sometimes end up making significant losses. This paper focuses on developing a universal trend trading indicator that can analyze and predict the overall future trend of any stock, bond, commodity, forex, or cryptocurrency with the highest possible profitability. The historically traded extensive dataset of stock prices and investment reports of large financial institutions worldwide are gathered. Various machine learning and decision-making models are employed to perform technical and fundamental analysis across multiple securities. The output of the trend trading indicator is displayed on charting platforms, which can provide entry-exit levels at which even novice investors can decide where to invest their money. Multi timeframe analysis is deployed to predict short-term, mediumterm, and long-term overall trends, thus increasing the output accuracy. The indicator is helpful for all kinds of retail traders and investors worldwide who struggle to earn profits from financial markets. Our proposed system was able to achieve a profitability of 86.28% annual returns. The entire system, along with the trading orders, is automated so that anyone can earn extra passive income every month from the stock market.

Molecular mechanism of cellulose dissolution in N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide: A molecular dynamics simulation study

N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) is the only commercialised solvent to dissolve cellulose and produce lyocell. However, the molecular mechanism of NMMO-induced cellulose solubilisation is unknown which limits further process development. In this work, and for the first time the complete dissolution process of a large cellulose bunch was simulated in NMMO monohydrate using long microsecond molecular dynamic simulations. The dissolution process was also simulated in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EmimAc) as an efficient ionic liquid in cellulose dissolution and the results were compared with the aqueous conditions. While the cellulose bunch showed a stable and insoluble structure in pure water, it was completely and efficiently dissolved in both NMMO monohydrate and EmimAc. It was shown that the dissolution time of cellulose in NMMO monohydrate is almost twice that in EmimAc, which is in agreement with the experimental observations. Although it is revealed that hydrogen bonding is the main driving force of cellulose dissolution in NMMO monohydrate, one cannot explain the complete molecular mechanism of NMMO-induced cellulose dissolution only by considering hydrogen bonds. A straightforward molecular mechanism was proposed, in which the interactions of NMMO molecules, not with cellulose, but with the other NMMO molecules play a critical role in the dissolution process.

НОРМА НАГРУЗКИ ПОБЕГАМИ И ГРОЗДЯМИ КУСТОВ ВИНОГРАДА ПОДАРОК НЕСВЕТАЯ

The table grape variety Podarok Nesvetaya has a high production responsiveness to the optimization of the structural elements of the bush. The purpose of the research is to study the effect of the differentiated load of bushes with shoots and bunches on the agrobiological properties of grapes, to substantiate the variety-oriented technology for the Podarok Nesvetaya grape variety. The research was carried out in the Central Agroecological viticulture zone of the Krasnodar region in covered culture with drip irrigation. Planting scheme is 3.5×3.5 m. The soils are low-humus, leached powerful chernozems. The climate is moderate continental. The average annual air temperature for 1991-2020 is +12.7 ºC, the minimum drops to -27.7 ºC, the maximum rises to +40.7 ºC. The sum of active air temperatures above +10 ºC on average for 30 years is 3945 ºC. The total precipitation is 729 mm. A change in the bunch weight and the grape yield is observed under the changes of bush load with shoots and bunches changes in these conditions. The largest bunch weight, 548 g, is formed with a load of 57 shoots and 43 bunches per bush, the highest yield capacity, 25.88 t/ ha, with a load of 45 shoots and 70 bunches per bush. The correlation between the bunch weight and the number of shoots is direct and average, r = 0.51, and the inverse and strong dependence on the number of bunches, r = -0.71. The dependence of grape yield capacity on the number of shoots is direct and moderate, r = 0.32, on the number of bunches – direct and strong, r = 0.90. To obtain stable and high yields of grapes of Podarok Nesvetaya variety on the rootstock of Berlandieri × Riparia SO4 in the Central agroecological zone of irrigated viticulture of the Krasnodar region, the norm of loading of bushes with 45 shoots and 70 bunches per bush is recommended. For obtaining large bunches – the norm of loading with shoots is 57 pcs./bush and bunches is 43 pcs./bush.

Farmers' preferences for East African highland cooking banana 'Matooke' hybrids and local cultivars

BackgroundAn understanding of farmers' preferences of new banana cultivars and their characteristics is critical for developing and selecting cultivars that meet consumer needs. Therefore, phenotypic selection in a genetically variable population remains an important aspect of plant breeding.MethodsThe participatory varietal selection approach for preference ranking was used on 31 'Matooke' secondary and primary triploid hybrids and local banana cultivars evaluated between 2016 and 2019 in Uganda and Tanzania to investigate how farmers' preference attributes could help breeders identify superior cultivars. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The qualitative data from farmers' focus group discussions (FGDs) were described using content analysis. The Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon's signed-rank test were used to confirm the difference in farmers' preferences between groups.ResultsFarmers' approaches for defining characteristics were multivariate, and their preferences varied by site and country. Large fruit, a large bunch, market acceptability of the banana bunch, a sturdy stem, and an attractive appearance of the banana plant were the characteristics most preferred by farmers in Tanzania and Uganda. Tanzanian farmers preferred large bunches over other characteristics like bunch marketability and robust stem. Large fruit, drought tolerance, a strong stem, and phenotypic similarity to local cultivars were prioritized by Ugandan farmers. Both men and women farmers were more concerned with production-related characteristics, but the former valued marketing-related characteristics more, while the latter preferred use-related characteristics. Their preferences did not differ statistically, but the relative importance assigned by each group to the selected attributes was different.ConclusionFarmers' varietal preferences are frequently based on some assumed requirements, resulting in cultivar rejection or non-adoption. Therefore, determining the value attributed to each characteristic by various farmer groups is crucial in developing 'Matooke' banana cultivars with desired attributes that will boost the rate of adoption on-farms. Breeding initiatives that establish a system of integrated approaches and rely on thorough diagnosis of both production and consumption characteristics will best serve farmers' diverse preferences. To accomplish this, planning for varietal improvement initiatives at various levels—including internationally, regionally, nationally, and locally—would require a strong participatory structure that is gender inclusive.

Rudist reef structure: Insights from orientation of hippuritids at l'Espà (Campanian, southern Pyrenees)

Rudist were common Mesozoic reef builders, but rare examples exist to evaluate reef structure. The l'Espà locality (southern Pyrenees) is approached to study rudist reef structure by a quantitative assessment of the individuals' position (growing vs reworked) and its sedimentary context. This late Campanian reef is exposed along some 20 × 6 m outcrop. Builders are mainly Hippurites radiosus, although other rudists, such as Hippuritella lapeirousei, Hippuritella sp. and Mitrocaprina sp. are also present together with corals. The orientation of 325 specimens of mainly H. radiosus was plotted in stereographic and cartesian projections. Orientations and microfacies permit to differentiate 5 vertically stacked intervals (settings) along the outcrop: (1) Distal reef setting (reef-talus slope), with rudists reworked as large bunches of grouped specimens, with scarce erosion and preserving both valves articulated; (2) Halfway distal-proximal reef setting (close cluster reef), with abundant reworked, isolated, and flat-lying specimens. In this zone, endo-epibiont colonization on rudist shells is common, together with the presence of large (up to 1 m) branching and massive corals; (3) Proximal reef setting (frame/close cluster reef), where specimens are in life position; (4) A proximal back reef unit (spaced cluster reef) with few highly reworked specimens; (5) Distal back reef setting (very spaced cluster reef), with hardly any rudist fragments. This succession provides a reef tract model resembling that of most coral reefs and differs from smaller rudist reefs. The structure of the studied reef is well preserved as a result of high accommodation space related to thrust emplacement.

Multi-Objective Optimization of a Heat Sink for the Thermal Management of a Peltier-Cell-Based Biomedical Refrigerator

Both storage and transport of medical products remains a challenging task because of many variables as well as infrastructures, territory, and so on. Among these variables, monitoring the medical products temperature is fundamental to guarantee their safety. On the other hand, for sectors like aerospace delivery, weight has a crucial role too. For such applications and especially for strongly variable external temperatures, Peltier cells might be employed for either cooling or heating medical products to be stored. Accordingly, this study addresses the optimization of a heat sink for the thermal management of a Peltier-cell-based biomedical refrigerator. In detail, a brute-force multi-objective optimization of an impinging-flow finned heat sink for the Peltier cell is carried out here. Thermal resistance, weight, and pressure drop are chosen as the three-objective functions to be minimized, with both geometrical and volumetric flow rate as design variables. The results present a very large bunch of optimal solutions to design such devices. With the utopia optimum criterion, Rth = 0.159 °C/W, msink = 0.550 kg, and Δp = 14.99 Pa are obtained. Finally, both multiple-linear regression and artificial neural networks are employed to relate design variables with the objective functions, in order to provide the final user with a practical tool for the optimal design of such devices.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF MARKETING ACTIVITY OF THE ENTERPRISE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF IMPROVING ITS COMPETITIVENESS

Today, in the economic space there is a very large number of organizations and enterprises, each of them is trying to occupy the highest positions in the market, the competition between them is increasingly intensifying and therefore the problem of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in general and their goods and services, using the features of the marketing activities of enterprises, is simply extremely relevant. For effective functioning, further implementation of its activities, an enterprise must understand the level of competitiveness of its goods, services and the organization as a whole. Today marketing is given a special place, many companies and organizations owe their high level of efficiency and the ability to bypass other enterprises in the competition to marketing. The marketing activity of the company is quite diverse, it involves research and analysis of the market, identifying the preferences of the consumer audience, development, implementation and control of certain marketing activities. Marketing helps to find new solutions for the goals of the enterprise and to implement them. The article deals with the problem of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in modern economic conditions, characterized by variability, rapid development, dynamism and the role of the marketing activity of an enterprise in the formation of its competitiveness. The functions of marketing, stages of marketing activities, their content and how they affect the activities of the enterprise have been investigated. It was revealed that marketing activities have a direct impact on the success of companies, because marketing contains a large bunch of processes that together aim to increase the attractiveness of an enterprise in the eyes of consumers, gain their loyalty, and satisfy their needs.

Application of Pollen Germination Media on Stigmas during Pollination Increases Seed Set in East African Highland Cooking Bananas (Musa spp.)

Seed set in East African Highland Cooking bananas (EAHBs) is extremely low and therefore hampers breeding. Pollen–pistil interaction is a key contributing factor. We assessed the effect of pollen germination media (PGM) on seed set in EAHBs. Five EAHB cultivars were pollinated with pollen from the wild banana ‘Calcutta 4’. Glucose-based PGM sprayed on freshly emerged stigmas significantly increased seed set per 100 fruits per bunch. Increases were 73.5% in ‘Enzirabahima’, 39.9% in ‘Mshale’, and 302.4% in ‘Nshonowa’. However, PGM did not increase seed set in the female sterile ‘Mlelembo’ and ‘Nakitembe’. As larger bunches were more fertile, good field management practices are also recommended to get more seed to improve breeding efficiency.

Seed Set Patterns in East African Highland Cooking Bananas Show Asymmetric Distribution in Bunches and Fruits

Low female fertility in bananas is the biggest hurdle for banana breeding. The aim of this study was to determine seed set patterns in East African Highland Cooking bananas (EAHBs) to inform future decisions on a more targeted approach of increasing seed set and subsequently banana-breeding efficiency. Matooke (AAA) and Mchare (AA) bananas are genetically distinct but belong to the same genetic complex, referred to as EAHBs. Seed set patterns in “Enzirabahima” (AAA), “Mshale” (AA), and “Nshonowa” (AA), all with residual fertility, were examined after hand pollination with a highly male fertile wild banana “Calcutta 4” (AA). Seed set in “Enzirabahima” is predominant in distal hands. Mchare cultivars have a slightly more even distribution of seeds in their hands compared to “Enzirabahima”. There is a gradual increase in seed set from proximal to distal hands with a slight drop in the last hand. This pattern is more definite in “Enzirabahima” and “Mshale”, while “Nshonowa” has a somewhat inconsistent pattern. There is also a drop in seed set per 100 fruits per hand from small to larger bunches. However, larger bunches have a higher pollination success compared to smaller bunches. They therefore set more seed on 100 fruits per hand and per bunch basis, if bunches without seed are accounted for. Pollination success rate increases from smaller to larger bunches of EAHBs. Seed set is biased toward the distal third part of fruits of examined EAHBs, as well as tetraploid Matooke hybrid “401K-1” (AAAA), and improved diploid “Zebrina” GF (AA) that were used for comparison. In comparison, in the highly female fertile “Calcutta 4”, seed set is along the entire length of the fruit. Seed set bias in the distal hands and distal end of fruits suggests a systematic mechanism rather than a random occurrence. It is expected that this information will provide a foundation for increased crossbreeding efficiency in bananas.

Who Gains from Housing Market Stimulus? Evidence from Homeowner Grants with Threshold Prices

Governments utilize home ownership schemes for the dual purpose of alleviating housing affordability and stimulating housing construction. This paper studies how the housing market responds to assistance policies by exploiting a natural experiment in Sydney, Australia, where buyers of new homes priced up to $600,000 were eligible for government subsidies between July 2010 and June 2012. We find this policy causes large distortions to the sales volume, price level, as well as area size of home transactions. Specifically, we find a large bunching just below the threshold price of $600,000, over 8 times of counterfactual density. This large bunching is from both buyers moving down the price range as well as new entrants attracted to the market by the policy. We also find new homes just below the threshold are associated with an overpricing of about $3,000, offsetting up to 56% of the received benefit. Further, we find homes are about 25% smaller in size than comparable homes in prior periods. Last, we document a wealth effect generated by these housing subsidies, where neighborhoods that receive more housing subsidies increase their new car purchases. Overall, our study sheds light on the effectiveness and externalities of housing stimulus in the form of subsidies to improve homeownership.

ПЕРСПЕКТИВНЫЕ СТОЛОВЫЕ ГИБРИДНЫЕ ФОРМЫ ВИНОГРАДА ПРИВАТНОЙ СЕЛЕКЦИИ

The development of the table grapes market is directly related to the renewal of the assort-ment and technological modernization of pro-duction, taking into account the growing re-quirements of consumers. Equally important is the discrepancy between the tastes of con-sumers of fresh grapes and the quality indica-tors of the grapes supplied by the industry, therefore, an important task is to improve the assortment. Recently, a large number of pri-vate breeders have joined the breeding work on the breeding of table varieties, the results of whose work often have no scientific as-sessment. The article presents the results of a variety study of five selected promising table hybrid forms of grapes obtained by amateur winegrowers. Variety studies were conducted in 2018–2020 at the experimental vineyard of the experimental field All-Russian Research Institute for Viticulture and Winemaking – Branch of Federal State Budget Scientific In-stitution «FRARC». The methods used for the assessment were generally accepted in vit-iculture. Vineyards grafted, covering, non-irrigated, planting scheme 3×1.5 m. The agro-biological characteristics are given, the yield is estimated, the uvological, tasting and eco-nomic assessment of hybrid forms is given. The studied varieties have desirable character-istics: high quality, attractive appearance, large and very large bunches and berries, dense pulp consistency, different tastes, bright color of berries.

Voltage-Controlled Anodic Oxidation of Porous Fluorescent SiC for Effective Surface Passivation.

This study investigated the fabrication of porous fluorescent SiC using a constant voltage-controlled anodic oxidation process. The application of a high, constant voltage resulted in a spatial distinction between the porous structures formed inside the fluorescent SiC substrates, due to the different etching rates at the terrace and the large step bunches. Large, dendritic porous structures were formed as the etching process continued and the porous layer thickened. Under the conditions of low hydrofluoric acid (HF) concentration, the uniformity of the dendritic porous structures through the entire porous layer was considerably improved compared with the conditions of high HF concentration. The resulting large uniform structure offered a sizable surface area, and promoted the penetration of atomic layer-deposited (ALD) Al2O3 films (ALD–Al2O3). The emission intensity in the porous fluorescent SiC was confirmed via photoluminescence (PL) measurements to be significantly improved by a factor of 128 after ALD passivation. With surface passivation, there was a clear blueshift in the emission wavelength, owing to the effective suppression of the non-radiative recombination rate in the porous structures. Furthermore, the spatial uniformity of emitted light was examined via PL mapping using three different excitation lasers, which resulted in the observation of uniform and distinctive emissions in the fluorescent SiC bulk and porous areas.

СОРТ ВИНОГРАДА REGAL SEEDLESS В УСЛОВИЯХ НИЖНЕГО ПРИДОНЬЯ

Nowadays, table grape consumers prefer seedless grape varieties, so the market promotion of seedless varieties continues at a rapid pace. Responding to consumer preferences, the breeders have developed numerous various-flavour seedless varieties with large berries and bunches. The study purpose is to assess the prospects of cultivation and use in breeding of a new seedless Regal Seedless grape variety bred in South Africa. By origin, this is an intraspecific hybrid of the species V. vinifera L., with an early middle ripening period. The author carried out the variety study to assess agrobiological, economically valuable traits and properties and compiled a short ampelographic description. The study was carried out in 2017–2019 at the experimental vineyard of Ya.I. Potapenko All-Russian Research Institute for Viticulture and Winemaking – Branch of Federal Rostov Agricultural Research Center. The study focuses on non-irrigated covered and grafted vineyards, the Kober 5BB rootstock, the planting pattern of 3 × 1.5 m, and a fan-shaping thankless bush. As to a set of positive parameters (yield, high vendebility, natural seedlessness without the use of gibberellin, large size characteristics, and good taste), the Regal Seedless variety is of certain interest for industrial viticulture, and this variety can also be recommended for use in further breeding as a source of seedless and large berries. According to preliminary studies, the ripened berries of this variety should not be kept long on the bush to prevent peel browning and deterioration in vendebility. The variety is recommended as a highly commercial table grape without the PPP use, but it is not suitable for the production of raisins due to insufficient sugar accumulation. It is recommended that the variety should be grown in areas of sufficient moisture or as an irrigated crop.

Enhancing mechanical and surface properties of Eucalyptus wood

Eucalyptus is one of the most fast-growing trees. Therefore, in the last decades it has been extensively planted and harvested so that nowadays Eucalyptus is one of the most popular trees of the planet. There are many genres of this plant and they are often treated as a large bunch of the same timber characterized by moderate mechanical and surface properties which hinder their usage for any sight application (e.g. flooring, cladding, ceiling). In this study four species of Eucalyptus: E. grandis, E. dunnii, E. cloeziana and E. tereticor-nis were undergone to densification through hydro-thermo-mechanical treatment (HTM) first and then to oil heat-treatment (OHT) in order to improve their mechanical properties and hydrophobicity. It was observed that low density species (E. grandis) reaches higher compression degrees while heavier species (E. tereticornis) reach densities over 800 kg/m³; however, HTM decrease the variability of the properties. Treatments at higher temperature (160 °C) involves higher compression degree, lower set-recovery and higher surface hydropho-bization, but also weaker mechanical properties. The hot oil post- treatment helps to contain the springback effect and to reduce the wettability of each specimen. Densified samples present similar surface hardness. The tailored application of the two treatments improves the properties of every Eucalyptus which can gain market also for nobler end-usages