BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES OF <i>URTICA DIOICA </i>L.: AREAS OF STUDY AND PROSPECTS OF USE
The review provides an analysis of the scientific literature for 1959-2019 on the main directions of study; use and introduction of dioeciously nettle ( Urtica dioica L.) into the culture. U. dioica is considered as a feed, food, spinning and medicinal culture, an alternative to feed antibiotics. The danger of using wild- growing nettles growing in anthropogenic disturbed areas where heavy metals are highly likely to accumulate as a raw material for the production of pharmaceuticals and animal and bird feed is shown. The cultivation of nettle under controlled conditions of agrocenoses can solve the problem of obtaining environmentally friendly raw materials, provided that varieties are developed and their cultivation technology is developed. The prospects of introducing nettle into agriculture are considered. The importance of creating genetic collections of nettles based on the study and collection of local adapted material with a set of economically useful traits is shown. The main directions of breeding work in Russia and in the world with U. dioica are analyzed. The register of selection achievements admitted to cultivation on the territory of the Russian Federation in 2019 included the first variety of dicotyledonous nettle ‘Avicenna' for fodder purposes, the methodology for distinguishing tests was developed and approved, uniformity, stability. The Avicenna variety was obtained by individual family selection from local populations growing on carbonate soils in the south of the Central Russian Upland. The variety isresistant to diseases and pests. Green mass productivity is higher than the standard by 39.5 %, seed yield - by 31.2 %, foliage - by 11.1 %, height of the first mowing on green mass - by 42.7 %, second mowing - by 66.6 %. It is concluded that it is necessary to further study the biological resources ofU. dioica to obtain new domestic varieties with desired economically useful properties.