This Division deals mainly with the research topics “Sustainable Plant Production”, “Agricultural Ecology and Biodiversity”, “Harmful Organisms and Allergens in and on Plants and Plant-based Products”, “Animal Feeding and Feedstuffs” and “Foodborne Diseases and Zoonoses”, as well as “Bee Protection”.
Research focuses on causal studies, method development, generating data and basic principles, as well as on measures and recommendations for avoiding or minimising the contamination of food and feedstuffs, soil, water and air, for food security, for sustainable and environmentally friendly, integrated agriculture and for optimisation strategies for the increasingly scarce and expensive resources soil, water/irrigation and use of operating materials and equipment in sustainable production systems.
Key issues that can be attributed to the research topic “Sustainable Plant Production” (also under the aspect climate adaptation) are:
- Measures to maintain soil availability and fertility, as well as fertilisation recommendations• Soil cultivation systems, culture measures and crop rotation systems
- Expanding integrated plant cultivation and protection Systems
- Assessing varieties and evaluation, identification and characterisation of plant-genetic resources with regards to their production potential for human and animal diets, biomass and material use
- Effect of plant protection measures and plant protection agents
Key issues that can be attributed to the research topic “Agricultural Ecology and Biodiversity” are
- Soil protection
- Avoiding or minimising contamination of soil, groundwater, surface waters and air with chemical and microbial contaminants
- Maintaining biodiversity
- Sustainable plant production, plant protection and animal feeding in regards to climate protection and climate adaptation
- Climate protection and climate adaptation activities in the integrated approach as part of the human-animal-plant-soil cycle
Key issues that can be attributed to the research topic “Harmful Organisms and Allergens in and on Plants and Plant-based Products” are:
- Methods for the identification, characterisation and typing of allergens, toxic seeds, plant-related quarantine pests, invasive neobiota and allergenic neophyta, as well as the development of appropriate examination methods and validation of new examination methods in comparison to standard and reference methods
- Measures to avoid or minimise the contamination of soil, seed and plant material with pests, GMOs and undesired additives, toxic seeds and pathogens.
Key issues that can be attributed to the research topics “Animal Feeding and Feedstuffs” and “Foodborne Diseases and Zoonoses” are:
- Methods to identify, characterise and typify pathogens, GMOs, chemical and microbial contaminants, avoiding or minimising contamination of feedstuffs with such contaminants, clarification of outbreaks and transmission vectors, as well as the development of appropriate examination methods and the validation of new examination methods in comparison to standard and reference methods.
Key issues that can be attributed to the research topic “Bee Protection” are:
- Surveillance and control of pathogens and parasites,
- Questions on exposure relating to plant protection agents,
- The assessment of “bee care products” with preventative effects
- Activities to promote bee pastures (supply with pollen, nectar, honeydew).
AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
