Modern problems of forest protection and ways to solve them. Belarus should serve as an example for us in coordinating the efforts of forest science researchers with educational institutions, enterprises of the National Academy of Sciences system, the Plant Protection Institute, forest protection services, etc. The absence of such coordination in Ukraine hinders both knowledge exchange and proper management decisions.

At the end of 2020, the II International Scientific and Practical Conference was held to mark the 95th anniversary of Professor Nikolai Ilyich Fedorov's birth and the 90th anniversary of the Department of Forest Protection and Wood Science at the Belarusian State Technological University (BSTU). The conference was attended by scientists from Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Nigeria, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Sweden and various regions of Russia (from Kaliningrad to the Far East), who presented about 60 reports.

This article focuses on the department's activities and its recent scientific achievements implemented in the forestry sector. Due to the epidemic situation, most speakers participated "online", while local participants wore medical masks, but this did not prevent the conference participants from hearing more than 20 reports and reviewing 40 posters.

The head of the jubilee department, V.B. Zvyagintsev, spoke about its glorious history. From the first direction of "wood science and forest commodity science", the department's activities gradually shifted towards forest protection, which is reflected in its current name - Forest Protection and Wood Science. However, wood science as a direction still occupies a prominent place. The department maintains the first xylotheque in Belarus - a unique collection of wood from different regions of the world.

For us, the characteristic coordination of activities between forest science researchers, educational institutions, enterprises of the National Academy of Sciences system, the Plant Protection Institute, forest protection and plant quarantine services in Belarus should serve as an example. The absence of such coordination in Ukraine, differences in terminology, and lack of joint conferences and other events hinder both knowledge exchange and proper management decisions, particularly regarding forest protection and preventing the spread of invasive organisms.

Lecturers from the Department of Forest Protection and Wood Science at BSTU, in close cooperation with the Institute of Microbiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, have developed and implemented in forestry production the drug "Flebiofin", intended to protect coniferous stands from root rot. The drug is not inferior in effectiveness to Western European analogues but is significantly cheaper.

In Belarus, all new types of traps, adhesives and preparations suitable for plant protection are tested by scientists from the Forest Institute and BSTU together with "Bellesozashchita" and manufacturer representatives. For comparison, many agricultural firms and other private organizations in Ukraine produce means of accounting and plant protection that could be used in forestry, but bureaucratic rules prevent their legal use if they are not included in the list of those permitted in forestry.

Contacts between Ukrainian forestry institutions and quarantine and plant protection services are virtually absent. Quarantine measures regarding Chalara fraxinea have already lost relevance for Belarus, as the entire forest area of the country is affected. At the same time, according to international requirements, such measures should be carried out in the same way as we consider the American white butterfly a quarantine pest, which has already been spreading in most regions of Ukraine for more than 50 years.

To implement the "Comprehensive Program...", BSTU scientists have developed "Recommendations for monitoring the condition of ash stands", according to which stands with more than 75% of affected trees are considered severely affected, and nurseries - with more than 30% of plants with necrosis of branches and trunks. Measures for artificial restoration of ash stands involve selection of planting material in three stages: selection and sowing of seeds from resistant trees in nurseries; selection for reforestation of plant batches with weak damage to trunks, branches and leaves; rejection of all seedlings and saplings with signs of disease.

Speakers from various regions reported on the deterioration of the condition of certain tree species, the spread of adventive invasive harmful organisms whose biology may change in new ecological conditions, means of their detection, forest protection and increasing stand stability. Some of these issues will be considered in subsequent articles.