90 years of Agrophysical Institute as a history of priority achievements in Russian and world agrophysical science

The article described the main stages of the formation of the Agrophysical Research Institute over 90 years of its existence. Since its foundation in 1932 as part of the Lenin All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VASKHNIL) at the initiative of Abram F. Ioffe and Nikolai I. Vavilov, the Agrophysical Institute focuses on establishing mechanisms of genotype-abiotic environment interaction in order to control the production process in agricultural plants both in the field and under controlled growing conditions. Accepting the ideas of N.I. Vavilov, A.F. Ioffe put forward the concept that the agrophysical science, relying on the achievements of physics, mathematics and biology, will ensure the transition from descriptive agronomy to agronomy based on measurements and calculations of factors of productivity, growth and development of plants and crops. This allows agricultural practitioners to manage crop formation and productivity. It is emphasized that the main objectives still are understanding the fundamentals of the functioning of agroecological systems and the development of scientific foundations, methods and means to research physical, physicochemical, biological and biophysical processes in soil-plant-active layer of the atmosphere. The research studies also aim at simulation mathematical models of these processes. The development of theoretical foundations, methods and tools for managing the productivity of agroecological systems for effective and sustainable agriculture and crop production in natural and regulated conditions are relevant. The development and creation of technical means of obtaining information about the state of plants and their habitats also are in focus. Nowadays, the Agrophysical Institute, as a leading research institute, implements scientific and technical programs and projects based on agronomic physics and related sciences, e.g., agroecology, soil science, genetics, biophysics and plant physiology, agroclimatology, computer science and computational mathematics, cybernetics and instrumentation. The Agrophysical Institute successfully develops new areas of research focused on the methods for effective management of the growth, development and productivity of crops through physical, physicochemical and other abiotic factors affecting the habitat of plants in order to modernize and intensify agriculture and the entire agro-industrial complex.