At the Department of Agrotechnique and Vegetable Physiology the scientific research is performed concerning vegetable growing techniques. The trial activities are performed in the open field and in many greenhouses (with glass and plastic coverage). The research includes seedling production and the application of different resources for plant nutrition and soil fertilizers in vegetable production.
In seedling production, the main accent is on investigating various substrates and mixtures prepared on the end user request. Peat, special composted materials, perlite, pure and refined zeolites, in different proportions, are used for the preparation of substrates, optimal for certain studied plant species, primarily pepper and tomato.
The aim of the contemporary research in this area is to prepare substrates of good physical and chemical characteristics with minimal negative impact on environment. As a result of past researches in this filed, we were able to offer final product for the market. Many interested producers buy a certain amount of seedling from the Institute. The seedling of pepper, tomato, cucumber and cabbage are of very good quality. Having in mind the importance of proper nutrition of plants, very high attention is given to investigating way, quantity and time of application of well known and new fertilizers.
In the open field and in green houses, trials are being set on a regular basis, aiming to investigate biological nutrition value of plant fertilizers based on physiologically active maters. At the same time, samples are being collected and further investigated in accredited laboratories and the results are being used for systematic tracking of soil fertility and plans for fertilization are prepared according to this. Other investigation programs go toward different sawing and planting dates in vegetable production, watering of the crops, hybridization, application of suitable agrotechnique in different growing conditions, analysis of plant material etc. Dry matter content, total minerals in plant material and other minerals are being determinate in chemical laboratory as additional research in this area.
The results of these researches are implemented in vegetable production in greenhouses and in the open field, as well as in vegetable seed production. Development and training techniques of growing vegetable hybrids and varieties are the most important tasks of this department. All obtained knowledge and experience from the field are being shared with other researchers at the Institute in order to successfully obtain final product: vegetable seed, starting from breeding new vegetable hybrids and varieties to seed production. Collected data are of the extreme importance for education of agricultural producers.
Lately, this Department gave a significant contribution in the field of certified organic production. Following the contemporary tendencies and demands of the market, Institute for Vegetable Crops started research on the field of sustainable systems of growing vegetable. The first results had significant impact on improvement of vegetable production in organic system. However, new experiences were quickly applied in seed production, so in 2009 the first organic certified seed in Serbia was produced: it was the seed of snap bean, variety Palanačka rana. Besides that, in the meantime, certified organic seed production of other vegetable varieties was produced. The assortment of products has been extended, so since 2009, Institute can offer the organic seed of the following varieties: bean, zucchini, spinach, lettuce, beet and okra.