St. Petersburg Federal Research Center
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Scientists of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg FITZ RAS) presented their developments at one of the largest agro - industrial exhibition sites - the 30th international exhibition-fair "Agrorus", being held in St. Petersburg. At its exposition, the Center presented technologies beneficial for the crop yields increase, as well as methods for analyzing bottom sediments in water reservoirs for safe aquaculture breeding, and other developments.

One of the main exhibits at the site of the Center was a drone, applicable to agriculture. Thanks to algorithms developed by researchers of SPC RAS, such a drone is able to independently move around a certain area where agricultural crops are grown, and treat them with a laser beam of special characteristics. The laser installation and the technology of its application were developed by Novbiotech, a partner of SPC RAS. Studies on real agricultural plants revealed that such a procedure significantly increases the content of useful substances in the cultures used in crop production.

Another project being developed by SPC RAS together with the “Plant Factory” company is a laboratory complex of aeroponic technologies for vertical cultivation of plants for food consumption. The solutions developed at this complex allow the manufacturer, in particular, for reducing the cost of mineral fertilizers, developing the environmentally friendly products, as well as for enhancing its productivity and growth.

In addition, the staff of the Сenter prepared exhibition booths and posters concerning the projects aimed at calculating the load of nitrogen and phosphorus on water bodies from nearby agricultural enterprises. These methods help to reduce the harmful environmental impact. A number of posters contained recommendations on effective ways of involving overgrown arable land in circulation and methodological approaches to organic farming that can be implemented by farmers in the Arctic zone. A separate exhibition booth somewhat summarized the developed by SPC RAS eco-friendly methods for the bottom sediments monitoring.  They are expected to be useful for companies engaged in fish farming.

"We presented photos of the bottom sediments study in Lake Ladoga. For example, the chemical composition, the content of heavy metals are being studied, their parameters are measured. This allows for diagnosing the pathogenic environment of the water reservoir, able under unfavorable conditions to result in fish starvation. I think that our methods of studying bottom sediments may be of interest to businesses engaged in aquaculture," says Artem Lapenkov, a Junior Researcher of the Laboratory of Geography and Hydrology.

This year "Agrorus" is held for the 30th time. The event, to end on September 5, is the only agricultural exhibition and fair in the country recognized by the World Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF). The purpose of the fair is to promote the development of small farms and enterprises, as well as an exchange of experience by agribusiness participants.