SUBTROPICS AND SUBTROPICAL CROPS (RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS’ STATEMENT) (REVIEW PAPER)

This paper presents an extensive material, which analyzes the great Russian subtropical scientists’ statements. By the end of the XVIII century, a large number of researchers, climatologists and botanists made efforts to justify theoretically a possible industrial breeding of subtropical crops on the Black Sea coast and Transcaucasia. According to the results of numerous expeditions to different countries, scientists have proposed a fairly large number of heat-loving crops such as tea, kaki, mandarin, soy, etc. for subtropical regions of Russia. The paper also deals with the Russian scientists' statements about climate resources within subtropical crops cultivation. The climate and microclimate of subtropics are considered, including the biological characteristics of subtropical crops frost resistance. Subtropical fruit crops are those plants that can grow in the open ground, where air temperature drops from minus 5 оС (lemon) to 25 оС (American persimmon, jujube). The main features of climate zones and their geographical location are reflected. The features of the main and transitional climate zones and their geographical location are shown. Data on the temperature regime of summer and winter seasons in the main subtropical regions are provided. The subtropical region is characterized by warm winter (air temperature-not less than 10 оС, in summer – 30–35 оС), and the sum of effective temperatures is more than 5 000 оС, precipitation is 1 500 and above mm. Here are data on the sum of effective temperatures (from 3 950 to 5 800 оС) and the average absolute minimum values (from –8.0 to –2.8 оС).