Preparedness in biological control of priority biosecurity

The Research — Development Institute for Plant Protection (RDIPP) is a unit of research and development with public right and public utility under the supervision of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu Sisesti” and it has its origin in the departments of Phytopathology and Agricultural Entomology of the Agronomical Research Institute founded in Romania in 1929. The main direction of the institute are: (1) development of integrated pest management systems tailored to the current agricultural dynamics as well as decision support systems based on phytosanitary risk maps, (2) development of new technologies to increase the safety of food chains in order to achieve sustainable development objectives in agriculture, (3) identifying and reducing sources of environmental pollution generated by plant protection activity, (4) development of biological means to control pest and diseases, (5) the study of the bio-ecology of pests (pathogens, arthropods, weeds) and the development of rapid diagnostic techniques, (6) selection of agro-technical and chemical methods for plant protection with minimal impact on the environment and stimulation of biological agents for prevention and control, (7) the development of databases (GIS/GPS) on the spreading of pests and toxigenic microorganisms, including the identification of populations resistant to the action of plant protection products, (8) to carry out studies and research on ecotoxicology necessary for the approval of plant protection products, in accordance with the Community acquis, (9) to apply national and international strategies on plant protection research and their correlation with other agricultural disciplines.