The article presents a brief overview of 21 spider mite species (Tetranychidae) inhabiting ornamental plants in urbanized areas of Central Russia. It provides illustrations of damage symptoms to host plants: coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as cereals. Illustrations of some diagnostic characters of alien spider mite species widespread in Central Russia are presented: Eotetranychus thujae (McGregor, 1950) – a species of North American origin, inhabiting cypress trees; Eurytetranychus furcisetus Wainstein, 1956 – a species of Central Asian origin inhabiting ornamental spruce trees. Attention is paid to species of the genus Oligonychus, associated with conifers: O. ununguis (Jacobi, 1905) – main pest of ornamental conifers (Pinaceae and Cupressaceae); O. piceae (Reck, 1953) – a widespread species on pine trees; O. pinaceus Mitrofanov & Bossenko, 1975 – a rare species inhabiting pine trees; O. karamatus (Ehara, 1956) – on larches. The paper illustrates the diagnostic characters of Eotetranychus species occurring on deciduous trees (the form of the distal part of female and male peritremes and the aedeagus). It contains photographs of diagnostic characters (the cuticle striae and the aedeagus) of Tetranychus sawzdargi Mitrofanov, 1980, described from Moscow (Biryulyovo) and named after the professor of the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy E.E. Savzdarg. It is noted that on ornamental grasses, including lawn grasses, there often develops Tetranychus przhevalskii Reck, 1956 – a pest of grain crops, the dorsal cuticle striae of which can vary greatly. This publication is of interest to acarologists, specialists in the phytosanitary, plant protection and greenery planting.

The article provides an analysis of existing approaches to assessing the potential economic significance of pests (insects and mites) when conducting pest risk analysis. The insufficiency of the existing international and Russian methodological framework for conducting such an assessment is shown. The applicability and accuracy of available assessment methods were analyzed. The greatest practical applicability of the method of drawing up partial budgeting is shown. Based on existing methods and practices, an improved methodology has been proposed that takes into account empirical data on the harmfulness of insects and mites to agricultural crops and the adaptation probability (taken as the suitability of conditions), determined in accordance with a mathematical model of the potential species distribution. This approach is justified by an objective correlation between harmfulness and the number of pests, in turn determined by the suitability of environmental conditions. An approach to the qualitative assessment of potential economic losses is proposed based on the correlation of calculated indicators of potential damage and gross domestic product in the pest risk analysis area. The presented methodology can significantly increase the reliability and accuracy of assessing the potential economic significance of potentially dangerous species of insects and mites when conducting pest risk analysis, meets the requirements of legislation and methodological documents in the field of plant quarantine and is mathematically equivalent to assessment methods previously used in the practice of pest risk analysis in the Russian Federation. Prospects for further improvement of methods for assessing the negative impact of pests when conducting pest risk analysis based on more detailed models of agricultural production and economic relationships are noted.

Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) is a weed and a quarantine object absent in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The entry of invasive plants often occurs with imported cargo at the stage of dormant diaspores, represented by fruits for this plant. To prevent the entry, laboratory research is used to identify the fruits of the quarantine object in cargo batches. Identification of Bidens pilosa fruits during laboratory research is handicapped by the presence of similar non-quarantine weed species with a wide range, such as B. subalternans DC. and B. parviflora Willd., as well as the possibility of incorrect identification of the close quarantine species B. bipinnata L. Additional complexity is created by the lack of international, regional or national identification methods. In 2015, FGBU “VNIIKR” developed a methodic document for identifying Bidens pilosa fruits, but it has not yet been tested on a representative sample accumulated as a result of expeditionary research. Within this study, the applicability of the existing methodology was evaluated, and the possibility of identifying Bidens pilosa fruits by other characteristics was considered in a sample of 431 fruits from habitats with a wide geographical representation, including fruits of similar species. The accuracy of the existing identification method on the examined sample was determined to be 69.4%. Other identification methods based on 12 morphological fruit characteristics and their combinations were studied. A method providing identification of Bidens pilosa fruits with sufficient laboratory accuracy (not less than 95%) was not identified. Recommendations are given for expressing uncertainty in the existing method in testing laboratories

Wide trade relations with foreign countries, provision of food security of the country on grain resources, increased volume of transportation of agricultural cargoes constantly create a possibility of introduction and spread of dangerous weed seeds. Timely detection of seeds and fruits of weed plants in regulated articles is of great importance.
In 2023 regulated articles of Stavropol Krai (Alexandrovsky and Novoselitsky districts), supplied to Armenia and Belarus and transported within Russia, consisted of 7 types of food and technical grains – wheat, barley, corn, peas, flax, sunflower, rapeseed, as well as seed production. Specialists of the accredited testing laboratory of the Pyatigorsk branch of FGBU “VNIIKR” analyzed 436 samples during the year. Herbological examination of products was conducted in order to identify infestation with seeds of absent or limitedly present on the territory of the Russian Federation quarantine weed plants, as well as widespread non-quarantine species. Species composition of weed seeds in regulated articles is not distinguished by great diversity, consists of 14 species of weed seeds, the most part of which belongs to annual spring weeds with seed reproduction, and also to perennial suckering weeds. Thus, perennial suckering weeds Convolvulus arvensis L. and Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. have been identified. During the study period, 29 cases of occurrence of the quarantine object were detected – Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. – in commercial sunflower. The highest number of detections of non-quarantine weed seeds was observed in samples of food peas, flax, sunflower and wheat.