News

At the 2024 Digital Chairs marathon, 94 universities-participants of the Priority-2030 programme from 8 federal districts presented their 'digital chairs', shared practice-oriented projects and working experience with industry. During the marathon, there were 2,137 publications with a total reach of over 97 million people. In addition, broadcasts of the event on the VK platform gathered more than 140,000 views.
Rector Vladimir Trukhachev emphasized that the work of the Digital Chair at Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy is aimed at forming a new class of managers and specialists in agribusiness – comboprofessionals. Their distinctive feature is the mastery of disciplines such as crop production, animal husbandry and agricultural engineering, and the application of their skill set in the field of digital technologies at the same time.
The Project Institute for Digital Transformation of the Agribusiness, established on the university's basis, contributes to the fulfilment of this task. It comprises 8 ultramodern digital laboratories on an area of 1,500 square metres, more than 10 poster and research spaces, a co-working space and a negotiation centre.
At the roundtable discussion 'The Future of Digital Chair Graduates', faculty members and students discussed the prospects for cooperation and further work with representatives of federal executive authorities and leading Russian industrial companies. Also, the finalists enjoyed a master class made by MTS Digital and visited the VK network site.

More than 60 sheep and goat breeding farms from 12 regions of Russia took part in the exhibition, and they presented more than 400 heads of sheep and goats.

The opening ceremony was attended by State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Maxim Uvaidov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Oleg Bocharov, Head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov and the members of the Government of the Republic.

The experts of the exhibition were leading scientists and scientists working in the field of sheep and goat breeding. The members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professors Yusupzhan Yuldashbayev and Kharon Amerkhanov took part in the exhibition from the Timiryazev Academy.

In addition to the demonstration of animals, the event included a round table on the development of deep processing of sheep wool in Russia, as well as a general meeting of the members of the National Union of Sheep Breeders. Professor of the Department of Dairy and Beef Cattle Breeding of Russian State Agrarian University-Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Kharon Amerkhanov, who heads the Union, made a report on the measures taken to establish the processing of raw materials in the country. He claims that assistance to livestock farmers at the state level will increase in the future - the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia will continue to actively support the industry.

The Russian exhibition of pedigree sheep and goats is held annually and aims to promote the best practices in pedigree sheep breeding, to improve pedigree animal breeding, to share the experience of the advanced farms and scientific achievements.

The competition consisted of three stages, according to which our team entered the top three winners of the International Olympiad among agricultural universities in Russia and Belarus. The University also became the best among all participating agricultural universities in Russia.
In addition to participating in the Olympiad, the students completed a summer agricultural school at the Belarus State Agrarian Technical University. Future agricultural engineers attended lectures on agricultural machinery, crop cultivation technologies and trends in the field of livestock mechanization. Students also took part in a panel discussion on innovative technologies and digitalization in agriculture.
For his assistance in strengthening the Olympiad movement among students of agroengineering profile rector of the RSAU-MTAA, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Vladimir Trukhachev got a letter of gratitude from the rector of the BSATU.
The University was represented by 3rd year students of the Institute of Mechanical and Power Engineering named after V.P. Goryachkin: Mikhail Kuznetsov, Badma Karmanov, Ignat Revyagin led by Assoc. Prof. of the Department of Tractors and Automobiles Natalia Perevozchikova.

The delegation from Uzbekistan visited Institute of Amelioration, Water Management and Construction Named after A.N. Kostyakov, Institute of Mechanical and Power Engineering Named after V.P. Goryachkin and the Institute of Technology. The Timiryazev Academy scientists presented advanced laboratories, new classrooms and lecture halls equipped with the most modern research and multimedia equipment.

During the meetings, the results of cooperation between the institutes of RSAU-MAA with the universities of the Republic of Uzbekistan, prospects for further cooperation in science and education, academic exchange of students and teachers, participation in joint developments, publications, and grants were discussed.

As part of the incoming academic mobility program, the teachers from Uzbekistan gave lectures for students of different areas of the Timiryazev Academy on topics such as "Innovative Ways to Increase Soil Productivity in the Context of Global Climate Change", "Modern Agrotechnology for Growing Farm Produce, Innovative Storage and Processing Technologies", "Innovative Equipment and Technology for Processing Meat and Dairy Products", and spoke about their country and the institute.

The prepared material aroused great interest among future specialists. In addition, the students were actively interested in various aspects of education in universities in Uzbekistan, the conditions for the cultivation and care of crops, and the processing of raw materials.

On the part of Uzbekistan,the Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technologies Jasur Allayarov, the head of the Department of Technology for the Storage and Primary Processing of Agricultural Products Muabara Khakimova and the assistant of the department Kholmurod Saidmurodov took part in the academic mobility program.

The delegation from the Republic of Uzbekistan expressed gratitude to the colleagues from the Timiryazev Academy, personally to Rector, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Vladimir Trukhachev for the opportunity to exchange experience.

Ideology, methods and tools of quality management penetrate into all spheres of human life. This is especially true for technical products, since they are the main driving force of progress. Thе machines for agriculture occupy a separate niche among a great variety of the equipment.

In comparison with foreign agricultural equipment, the domestic one is cheaper, easier to maintain, but of lower quality. The concept of "quality" includes such reliability indicators as durability, preservation and maintainability. Scientists have analyzed quality problems according to the 5M principle – men, methods, materials, machines, and measures.

For example, cheap grades of steel, cast iron and other materials used even in the Soviet period are rather outdated now and do not correspond to the production requirements. It all results in a rapid depreciation rate, corrosion and power loss.

The problems in the agricultural machinery industry were influenced by the 1990s and early 2000s - there was no one to buy domestic machines. Large foreign holdings came to the Russian market with their equipment and technologies. As a result, there is a shortage of designers, worn-out machine tools, weak design and testing equipment.

"Without high-quality research, there are no new technologies. The share of devices with an age limit from 10 to 50 years in agro-engineering universities and research institutes of the country is more than 50%. At the same time, in colleges in Japan, the period for changing equipment and technologies is 3-4 years and is significantly ahead of industrial enterprises," the authors note.

Scientists emphasize the need to rigidly set up a control system, determine the cost of measurement and quality, and mainly for internal and external losses from defects. The experience of domestic machine-building plants (e.g., of the GAZ Group"companies) in product quality control and internal certification of suppliers is successful. However, small-scale agricultural machine building and repair production still need further improvement.

Pavel A. Mikheev, head of the Department of Agricultural Construction and Real Estate Expertise of Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy points out that the heterogeneous flow structure affects the distribution of fish in the living section of the river.

"This is especially noticeable in the lower reaches of waterworks during spawning migrations with uneven discharge of water from the reservoir through spillway dams. A flow is formed on the tail of the fish, which is a kind of ordered coordinated system of vortex formations. It is obvious that the kinematics of such a flow is favorable for the advancement of fish that follow it in a shoal, and, therefore, it can be used in the design of hydraulic fish protection complexes and structures," he explains.
The scientists noted the main patterns of formation of the turbulent flow structure and its interaction with a hydraulic structure (channel), such as the pulsating nature of the aquatic environment, heterogeneous structure, gradient character and vortex structure. Then they analyzed the advantages and features of the influence of three-dimensional flow-forming elements on the fish behavior.
"Gradient velocity distribution is naturally created by the entire surface of the riverbed, streamlined solid objects (rocks, trees, ledges, etc.), vertical channel ridges and planned meanders. Vortices of the natural turbulence of the river allow the fish to use their energy to accelerate their movement upstream to the spawning site," adds Dmitry M. Benin, Director of the Institute of Amelioration, Water management and Construction named after A.N. Kostyakov.
Based on the data obtained, the authors developed a design and methodology for designing a bottom flow-forming element to control the behavior of fish in a river stream, justified geometric parameters, and created the optimal location of bottom flow-forming elements in artificial channels. After that, they provided an assessment of the use of technical solutions for fish protection structures and water intakes to control the behavior of fish in the stream.
It turned out that the optimal conditions for fish movement during spawning migrations are those that are formed with various forms of natural watercourses, complex terrain, providing a wide range of speeds and shapes of currents for a rational combination of orientation functions, movement, rest, spawning, etc. According to scientists, the best form for passing fish along the riverbed is a dune (an element of a small ridge modeled by reefs). It not only directs the fish, but also ensures the safe transfer of smolts from the fish protection facility to the fish receiver.

In her speech, Oksana Lut presented plans for the development of the main areas of the Russian agro-industrial complex. In recent years, the industry has achieved significant results, with harvests and volumes of animal products allowing the country's domestic needs to be met annually with raw materials. As a result, most of the indicators of the Food Security Doctrine have already been met. In other areas, self-sufficiency is systematically increasing. Russia also maintains a strong position on world food markets.
These results are largely due to systematic work on creating favourable conditions for agricultural producers. The four state programmes for which the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible provide a mechanism for supporting all the main areas of production and processing of agricultural raw materials, the fisheries complex, as well as involvement of agricultural land into turnover and the creation of comfortable living conditions for people in rural areas.
Speaking about the plans for 2024, Oksana Lut said that the task is to maintain the achieved results and further increase production. In general, the current situation in all sub-sectors allows us to count on this.
Despite difficult weather conditions, the new harvest will ensure that food security targets are met. The Ministry of Agriculture also forecasts growth in livestock breeding, the fishing complex and processing by the end of the year.
Implementation of other areas also continues. For example, by the end of the year, the activities of the State Programme for the Comprehensive Development of Rural Areas will cover 11.5 thousand settlements and 14 million people, or one third of the population living outside large cities.
The medium-term goals of the industry are first of all defined by the presidential decree. In particular, the agro-industrial complex is expected to increase production by 25 per cent by 2030. According to Oksana Lut, the Ministry of Agriculture is currently drawing up a work plan to achieve this goal. In order to further develop the export of agricultural products, it is planned to adjust the system of support measures, including the fine-tuning of existing mechanisms.
To ensure systematic work in the future, the Ministry of Agriculture is developing a national project "Technological support of food security". Oksana Lut explained that it includes eight federal projects in different areas that will be completed by 2030. As a result, a significant increase in the level of technological independence of the agro-industrial complex and growth in production volumes are expected.

Plant diseases caused by bacteria of the Pseudomonas syringae species are a serious threat to many crops. The group of proteobacteria Pseudomonas syringae plays an important role in the study of the pathogenesis and resistance of plants to bacterial diseases. The study described for the first time the genetic and phenotypic diversity of 57 strains of Pseudomonas syringae isolated from affected soybean, cereal, sunflower and other plants in the Russian Federation from 1950 to 2019.
The MLSA (Multilocus Sequence Analysis) method was used to assess genetic diversity, including analysis of fragments of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh), subunit D of RNA polymerase (rpoD), gyrase B (gyrB) and citrate synthase I (gltA) genes. The synthesis of syringomycin and coronatine was evaluated using sensitive strains of yeast, barley, tomato and sunflower sprouts, as well as checking for the presence of toxin genes confirmed by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). The pathogenicity of the strains was confirmed on the sprouts of the most frequently affected crops, namely peas, soybeans, sunflower, barley and wheat. The sensitivity of bacteria to 10 antibiotics and two bactericidal commercial products was tested using the standard disk method.
The results showed a high genetic homogeneity of the Russian P. syringae population infecting various crops, as well as an increase in the proportion of antibiotic-resistant strains over time. Thus, this study is important for the effective control of bacterial diseases of plants, as it gives an idea of the nature of the spread and characteristics of pathogenic strains, which allows us to develop more accurate strategies to combat them.
The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae is considered a model object in phytopathology and the functions of the genes responsible for virulence were shown on it, methods of genetic analysis of the population of phytopathogenic bacteria were worked out. A special feature of our study, which was carried out jointly with Professor A.N. Ignatov from the Agrobiotechnological Department of the RUDN University, was a comprehensive analysis of the population structure of this bacterium, including the so-called polyphase characterization, that is, analysis by different methods. The results showed that the pathogen population in Russia is genetically homogeneous, which is typical for subpopulations around the world. In the future, based on these data, it is planned to answer the question "How pathogen strains adapt to the conditions of a changing climate and, most importantly, what to do so that as a result of this their virulence and losses from them do not exceed current indicators and, ideally, decrease," said one of the authors of the study, assistant of the Department of Plant Protection - Rashit I. Tarakanov.

This year's event in honour of 9 May was part of the city-wide campaign "Victory Flowers" under the auspices of the Moscow Committee for Public Relations and Youth Policy. According to the organisers' plan, more than 2500 young activists laid flowers at monuments and memorials across the city.
Together with the cadets of the Military Training Centre and other participants of the solemn celebration, singers of the University's vocal show studio performed a folk composition "Victory Day".
The students and academic staff of the solemn event honoured the heroes fallen during the battles for the Motherland with a minute of silence and laid flowers at the monument to the victims of the Great Patriotic War.