Bioecological features and prospects for the introduction of Brahea armata S. Watson on the southern coast of Crimea

The history of the introduction of the Mexican blue palm (Brahea armata S. Watson, 1876) in the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens was given and the distribution of this species on the Southern Coast of Crimea was shown. Average quantitative biometric indicators of leaves’ growth and death were analyzed for the growing season on the basis of phenological observations of experimental plants, taking into account the existing agronomic background. The influence of various combinations of meteorological parameters on these factors was determined, causing one or another degree of freezing not only as a result of the effect of minimal negative temperatures, but also of the factor of soil and atmospheric moisture. The threshold values of exposure to extreme negative temperatures for B. armata at the lethal and sublethal levels were determined. Criteria were developed by which in the future it will be possible to provide scientifically grounded recommendations on the cultivation of this species in the conditions of the SCC and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The threat of settlement of representatives of the Arecaceae family (Arecaceae C.H. Schultz) with new species of phytophages and infection with fungal diseases was revealed. Recommendations for combating fungal diseases and insect pests were given.