Defense of the dissertation by Maksym Borysovych Serhiienko

On August 11, 2026, at a meeting of the ad hoc specialized academic council of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Maksym Borysovych SERHIІNKO successfully defended his dissertation titled «Heterosis-Based Breeding of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. et. Nakai) under the conditions of the Forest-Steppe Zone of Ukraine» for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the specialty 201 – Agronomy.

Research Advisor – Oksana Mykolaivna SHABETIA, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher, and Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.

A one-time specialized academic council composed of the council chair, Dr. of Agricultural Sciences, Professor Tetiana Volodymyrivna IVCHENKO, head of the Laboratory of Genetics, Genetic Resources, and Biotechnology at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; reviewers: Serhii Ivanovych KONDRATENKO, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher, and Head of the Department of Breeding and Seed Production of Vegetable and Melon Crops at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; Nataliіa Oleksandrivna BASHTAN, Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher, and Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Genetics, Genetic Resources, and Biotechnology of the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; official opponents: Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor Tetiana Ivanivna HOPTSII, Head of the Department of Genetics, Breeding, and Seed Production at the State University of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Senior Researcher Nataliia Ivanivna VASKO, Scientific Secretary; and Chief Researcher at the Laboratory of Barley Breeding and Genetics of the V.Y. Yuryev Institute of Plant Growing of the NAAS, unanimously adopted a decision regarding the compliance of the dissertation with the requirements of the “Procedure for Awarding the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy and for Revoking the Decision of a One-Time Specialized Academic Council of a Higher Education Institution, a scientific institution regarding the awarding of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,” approved by Resolution No. 44 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 12, 2022, and awarded Maksym Borysovych SERHIІENKO the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of knowledge 20—Agricultural Sciences and Food, majoring in 201 – Agronomy.

 We sincerely congratulate the candidate and the institute’s staff on this remarkable occasion!