Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants
Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzento homepage

Institute for Crop and Soil Science

Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
Federal Research Centre
for Cultivated Plants

Head
Prof. Dr. Jörg Michael Greef

Address
Bundesallee 58
38116 Braunschweig, Germany

Office
Sigrid Ehlers
Tel: +49(0)531 596-2302

Sabine Wichmann
Tel: +49(0)531 596-2303

Mail: pb@ julius-kuehn. de
Fax: +49(0)531 596-2399

Download
Institute booklet

The Institute for Crop and Soil Science works on several issues of agricultural primary production considering the protection of natural resources. The research covers crop production, plant nutrition, fertilization and soil science. Special focus is put on original objectives like sustainability, production of high-quality human food and animal feed, or the adaptation of agricultural production to changing climatic conditions.

The Institute's research contributes to the definition and development of the" Codes of Good Agricultural Practice", and represents the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in international panels such as the HELSINKI Commission and the AGENDA21 for the Baltic Sea Region.

Furthermore, the Institute is continuously working on methods, criteria and indicators to evaluate the efficiency of agricultural production techniques in crop production and to estimate their environmental impacts. The Institute is responsible for the scientific organization of the International Centre for Fertilizers (CIEC), its International Symposia, and the World Fertilizer Congress.

The Institute supports the BMEL in political decisions with respect to crop production, plant nutrition, and soil science. At national level, the legal base is mainly derived from the German Federal Act for Soil Protection, the Fertilizing Act, the Act on Genetic Engineering, and the Seed Marketing Act. At European level, the Water Framework Directive, the Cross Compliance regulations for direct payments and the proposed Soil Framework Directive provide the legal basis for assessments.

Political guidelines will be scientifically evaluated in the short term. Recent examples are production of energy crops, renewable resources, and nutrient balances.