The purpose of the article is to highlight the life path, as well as the creative contribution of one of the founders of the field of domestic sericulture, the organizer of higher professional education V. O. Bertenson. On the basis of the complex use of the principles of historicism, scientificity and objectivity, general scientific, interdisciplinary and special historical methods, as well as the use of a diverse source base, the main trends in the development of the sericulture industry in Ukrainian lands are highlighted.

For the first time, the achievements of V. O. Bertenson as Secretary and Chairman of the Sericulture Committee of the Imperial Agricultural Society of Southern Russia is summarized. On the basis of the study of foreign and domestic experience, he developed a project for the organization of an experimental station for sericulture in Odesa, substantiated the possibility of conducting several successive breeding of silkworms during one summer, proving the profitability of the development of this industry in the south of the country. As a teacher of the sericulture course at the Odesa Agricultural Institute, he prepared the first textbooks and guidelines for the training of specialists in the organization of sericulture farms, breeding and selection of various breeds of silkworms.

It is proved that V. O. Bertenson left a significant mark in science not only as a developer of the scientific foundations of silkworm breeding, an organizer of industry research institutions, but also as a popularizer of the achievements of domestic and foreign scientists, as well as advanced specialized farms in the field of sericulture. His scientific works were systematically published in the most authoritative domestic agricultural journals and republished as separate editions.

1. Bertenson, V. A. (1897). Vinogradarstvo na peschanykh pochvakh [Viticulture on sandy soils Viticulture on sandy soils]. Odessa [in Russian].
2. Bertenson, V. A., & Zabyj-Vorota, F. R. (1934). Praktychne shovkivnyctvo [Practical sericulture]. Kharkiv [in Ukrainian].
3. Bertenson, V. A. (1922). Nastavlenie k razvedeniiu shelkovitcy i k vykormke shelkovichnykh chervei [Instructions for the cultivation of mulberries and for the rearing of silkworms]. Odessa [in Russian].
4. Bertenson, V. A. (1891). O shelkovodstve vo Frantcii i Italii [About sericulture in France and Italy]. Odessa [in Russian].
5. Bertenson, V. A. (1890). Peschanaia pochva i vinogradnaia loza, kak sredstvo zashchity vinogradarstva ot filloksery [Sandy soil and vine as a means of protecting viticulture from phylloxera]. Odessa [in Russian].
6. Bertenson, V. A. (1927). Praktychne shovkivnyctvo [Practical sericulture]. Kharkiv [in Ukrainian].
7. Bertenson, V. A. (1896). Proekt shelkovodstvennoi stantcii v Odesse [The project of a sericulture station in Odessa]. Odesa [in Russian].
8. Bertenson, V. A. (1890). Razvedenie vinograda na peschanykh pochvakh (filloksera) [Cultivation of grapes on sandy soils (phylloxera)]. Odessa [in Russian].
9. Bertenson, V. A. (1900). Po iugu Rossii. Selskokhoziaistvennye ocherki, nabliudeniia i zametki [In the south of Russia. Agricultural essays, observations and notes], issue III. Odessa [in Russian].
10. Borodai, I. S. (2010). Z istoriji stanovlennja ta rozvytku shovkivnyctva v Ukrajini [From the history of the formation and development of sericulture in Ukraine]. Sumsjka starovyna – Sumy's antiquity, 26–27, 42–48 [in Ukrainian].
11. Borodai, I. S. (2012). Teoretyko-metodologhichni osnovy stanovlennja ta rozvytku vitchyznjanoji zootekhnichnoji nauky [Theoretical and methodological bases of formation and development of domestic zootechnical science]. Vinnycja [in Ukrainian].
12. Verghunov, V. A. (2006). Bertenson Vasylj Oleksijovych [Bertenson Vasyl Oleksiyovych]. Encyklopedija Suchasnoji Ukrajiny – Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine. URL: http://esu.com.ua/search_articles.php?id=39499 [in Ukrainian].
13. Gholovko, V. O., Braslavsjkyj, M. Ju., & Pylypenko, B. F. (2001). Selekcija shovkovyci ta shovkovychnogho shovkoprjada [Selection of mulberry and mulberry silkworm.]. Ghenetyka i selekcija v Ukrajini na mezhi tysjacholitj – Genetics and selection in Ukraine on the threshold of millennia, Vols. 1-4. Kyjiv, 4, 380–399 [in Ukrainian].
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15. Kozikov, E. Ja., & Ghoncharenko L. K. (1968). Korotki pidsumky naukovo-doslidnoji roboty v ghaluzi shovkivnyctva [Brief summaries of research work in the field of sericulture]. Shovkivnyctvo – Sericulture. Kyjiv, 4, 3–6 [in Ukrainian].
16. Majstrenko, Kh. (1907). Zakhody proty gholodu [Measures against hunger]. Rada – Council. 248. 4 nojabrja (nedilja) [in Ukrainian].
17. Osobova sprava Bertensona Vasylja Oleksijovycha [Personal file of Bertenson Vasyl Oleksiyovych] // Arkhiv Odesjkogho siljsjkoghospodarsjkogho instytutu [Archives of the Odesa Agricultural Institute]. Sprava N 89. 16 ark. [in Ukrainian].
18. Postanovy j protokoly centraljnykh orghanizacij ta metarialy pro stan rozvytku shovkivnyctva na Ukrainy (25 bereznja 1930 – 17 lystopada 1930 r.) [Resolutions and protocols of central organizations and materials on the state of development of sericulture in Ukraine (March 25, 1930 – November 17, 1930)] // CDAVO Ukrainy [TsDAVO of Ukraine], f. 27, op. 11, spr. 203. 60 ark. [in Ukrainian].
19. Shevchenko, V. (2010). Pryvatne bankirsjke pidpryjemnyctvo v Odesi (ХІХ – pochatok ХХ st.) [Private banking enterprise in Odesa (XIX – early XX centuries)]. Kyjiv [in Ukrainian].