Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute

Main research directions

• Identification of new species and strains of beneficial organisms that could be used as agents of biological control of organisms harmful to crops; Studying their biological properties, environmental conditions and methods of effective application in the protection of conventional and organic crops.
• Improvement of methods and evaluation of the effectiveness of biological protection of plants in field crops – studies on the impact of agrotechnical treatments, neighbouring crops, ecological refuges, etc. on the occurrence of pests and beneficial organisms.
• Evaluation of the effectiveness and improvement of methods of application of commercial biological agents containing microorganisms, nematodes, insectivores, various forms of biostimulants, etc.
• Evaluation of usefulness and environmental safety of macroorganisms used as agents of biological pest control according to current EPPO / IOBC protocols.
• Diagnostics and development of strategies for the control of pests in indoor crops;
• Investigating the ability of beneficial microorganisms and natural substances to induce natural resistance of crop plants.
• Studying biodiversity and its impact on the stability of agricultural environment in organic and conventional production systems.
• Improvement of the agroecological aspects of plant production – rational selection of fertilisation and plant protection methods for the purpose of creating the foundations for the use of natural production methods in organic farming systems.
• Studying the identification of sources of environmental threats and implementation of methods for restoring areas affected by industry for agricultural use.
• Studying the physical and chemical properties and structure of soils and their impact on sorption properties of soil complex as an important element of environmental management.
• Detection and identification of the quarantine nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and development of prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the spread and harmfulness of this pest in Europe.