About the Institute

Institute of Plant Sciences and Environmental Protection

The educational and research profile of the Institute of Plant Sciences and Environmental Protection is defined by the two disciplines in its name, which are in themselves diverse, but at the same time interlinked in many ways. Due to the wide range of disciplines covered, the Institute plays a significant role in the teaching of basic and professional subjects in Agribusiness and Rural Development Management, Agricultural Engineering, Wildlife Management Engineering, Agricultural and Business Digitalization, as well as being responsible for the specialisation in Plant production and horticulture.

For the Institute's staff, teaching is a priority in the master's degrees in the Plant Protection, the Agricultural Environmental Management Engineering and the Nature Conservation Engineering.

The Institute also plays a major role in the teaching of the Agricultural and the Medicinal Plants and Herbs higher vocational training programs.

The optional subjects cover the sub-areas of horticulture, plant production, plant protection and nature conservation.

The further education of students is also supported by the Institute’s postgraduate specialist training programs, such as Sustainable Precision Horticulture, Medicinal Plants and Herbs production and Processing, Precision Agriculture Management and Plant Protection specialist training programs.

The main objective of the Institute's lecturers is to familiarise all students with the basic concepts and technologies of plant production, horticulture, plant protection and environmental conservation. In addition to traditional methods based on the use of chemicals, they are also made aware of the possibilities of introducing agrotechnical, physical and biological methods to ensure sustainability, and the importance of integrated crop production and plant protection. It is important that students gain a realistic understanding of the consequences of the wasteful use of natural resources and of irrational industrial and agricultural activities, of the accelerating degradation of the natural, economic and living environment, and of the possibilities for preventing this.

In addition to theoretical education, it is of particular importance for students to learn the practical aspects of crop selection, cultivation technology, and the recognition of diseases caused by pathogens, animal pests and weeds.

We aim to provide our students with the basic plant science and environmental conservation knowledge that will enable graduate engineers to identify and solve the most common plant production, horticultural, plant protection and environmental conservation problems on farms, while at the same time they can be further developed through master's and postgraduate specialist training programs.

In addition to teaching, the Institute's staff are active in both basic and applied research. Current major research topics include: improvement of sweet potato cultivation technology and production of propagating material, research on invasive plants, antioxidant studies in different types of peppers, the impact of alternative nutrient sources and plant conditioners on the yield development of field, vegetable and fruit crops, the study of sustainability in agriculture and rural development (irrigation, moisture conservation tillage, soil health, etc.), and the development of new technologies for the production of sweet potatoes, climate adaptation options in land and urban development, precision farming (digital data recording, soil mapping, soil data evaluation, drone use, etc.). This results, in addition to the theses, in regular and successful participation in faculty and national scientific student conferences. The partners cooperating in research include both domestic and foreign research centres and institutions.