The aim of the study: analysis of the main areas of activity of the Simferopol department of the Imperial Russian Society of Horticulture at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, in particular, the work of research and educational institutions, that were created with its assistance, for the development of not only the horticulture of Crimea, but also the agro-industrial sector of Southern Ukraine in general during the specified period. Research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity, objectivity, methods of external and internal criticism of historical sources.

It was established that the field of horticulture in the South of Ukraine at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries required the solution of several new scientific and organizational tasks – the systematic training of qualified specialists, the organization of product sales, the dissemination of information about rational methods of technical processing of fruits, the establishment of processes for combating garden pests etc. In addition to the government and zemstvos, industry associations gradually joined to solve these issues, one of which became the Imperial Russian Society of Horticulture. Among the 9 departments of the society in Ukrainian lands, including the Crimea, one of the largest was the Simferopol department, opened in 1883. By 1917, the department had solved many issues for the practical needs of horticulture in the region. In particular, these include: 1) exhibition and presentation activities, which contributed to the popularization of new varieties and rational methods of horticulture among owners of different regions of the country; 2) settlement of issues of transportation of fruits by railway and use of refrigeration units in industrial fruit growing; 3) fight against horticultural pests; 4) collection of statistical data on horticulture; 5) improvement of the Crimean grape variety; 6) search for new foreign markets for Crimean fruits; 7) provision of consultations to the local population on various issues of horticulture, fruit growing, viticulture; 8) organization of industrial drying of fruits and production of canned goods, etc. The Simferopol department distinguished itself by thorough scientific development of various issues of culture and horticulture techniques, first of all in the direction of entomology, by the development of useful evidence and recommendations on plant breeding in general. Its contribution to the training of branch specialists by organizing courses in garden entomology and the Salgyr School of Horticulture is significant. Thanks to the long-term efforts of the department, in 1913, the first pomological research station in Ukraine began to operate in the Salhyrka estate, headed by a well-known biologist, zoologist, ecologist, entomologist, professor of the Tavria University S. O. Mokrzhetskyi.

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