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EP
Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics

The Institute

What do crop pests look like and how do they spread? What damage can viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and rodents do to cereals and other crops? How do soil microorganisms influence crop health and fitness? The Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics provides answers to these questions.

Viruses, bacteria and fungi, but also animal pests cause considerable yield and quality losses in agriculture. Globalization and climate change facilitate the spread of pathogens and pests, and pathogens are constantly evolving. These are just some of the challenges the Institute faces.

Any measures to keep plant populations healthy require precise knowledge of the biology of the pathogens and their interactions with the plant. Similarly, specific methods must be available to detect pathogens effectively, reliably and with high sensitivity. Developing, optimizing and standardizing such detection methods is a focus of the institute.

Plants always interact with their environment. It is becoming increasingly clear to what extent plant-associated microorganisms play a role in determining plant health and plant growth. Harnessing this microbial potential to improve the health of our crops is a key goal of modern plant protection.

The spectrum of our research methods ranges from classical biological techniques and serological and molecular biological methods to different light and electron microscopy approaches. The institute maintains extensive reference collections of relevant pathogens and has a broad spectrum of diagnostic antibodies for pathogen detection. The institute is National Reference Laboratory for viruses on vegetables and legumes (EPV) and rust and blight fungi (EPM).

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Contact

Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI) -Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants
Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics
Messeweg 11/12
38104 Braunschweig, Germany

Head of Institute: apl. Prof. Dr. Johannes Hallmann

Secretary
Andrea Haberle-Kappei
Tel: +49(0)3946 47-6101
Fax: +49(0)3946 47-6106
ep@  julius-kuehn.  de