Fruit growing
and viticulture of South Russia

Annotation

The article summarizes the results of long-term multi-aspect basic research supervised by Prof. G.V. Udovenko using more than 7000 varieties of different crops studied within a single programme of salt, drought, frost and cold resistance. We show the parameters that are most closely connected with the level of resistance of the plants on the basis of the analysis of ecological and physiological mechanisms of resistance and adaptation of the cultivated plants with juicy fruit (fruit, berry, citrus and vegetable plants) to the extreme influence of the environment and to the impact of various endogenous factors on the level of resistance. We point out two categories of differences in the reactions of plants to various types of stresses: quantitative and qualitative. The data analysis indicates that many parameters of plants have a common qualitative character of change under the influence of heterogeneous stresses. The identity of the qualitative aspect testifies to the non-specific adaptation of the plants to the stresses. The qualitative differences reflect the actually existing phase level of resistance of the plants. It has been established that the formation of fruit organs substantially increases the functional activity of the vegetative organs and significantly raises the general resistance of the plant to extreme effects. During adaptation to stresses a self-adjusting decrease in the changes of fruit load manifests itself to stabilize the resistance of the plant to extreme effects. We suggest methodological approaches and techniques based on the assessment of physiological and genetic changes to be used in plant cultivation and breeding. The devised methodology of researching and preserving fruit and berry resources enables singling out the valuable genotypes for long-term storage.