Introduction
The Department of Crop Production consists of the Genetics and Plant Breeding Group and the Arable Farming, Gardening, and Grassland Management Group. The department operates at KIS locations in Ljubljana, Jablje, Komenda, and Ptuj. We conduct research in the fields of plant molecular biology, population genetics and the diversity of plant genetic resources, plant genomics and phenomics, methods of organic and conventional breeding, plant physiology, and the interactions of abiotic and biotic plant stress, secondary metabolites, and the quality of agricultural products. In our research on organic and conventional sustainable crop production technologies, we address areas such as water balance, nitrogen and other nutrient balances, soil carbon sequestration, and the impact of production technologies on soil fertility and the environment. Our professional work involves the collection, storage, and evaluation of genetic resources, the breeding of new crop varieties, variety testing and regionalization of crops, and the introduction of new sustainable, organic, and conventional production technologies. We coordinate the Public Service for Plant Gene Bank Tasks as well as the Public Services for Arable Farming and Gardening. The department includes the Genetics Laboratory, the Laboratory for Ecophysiology and Crop Evaluation, and the Tissue Culture Laboratory. Field trial operations are carried out at the Department of Infrastructure, Research and Knowledge Transfer in Jablje, Komenda, and Ptuj, as well as at external locations across Slovenia.
Areas of work
Production Technology and Plant Nutrition Physiology - In agrotechnical experiments, we determine the influence of different crop rotations.
Genetics - The work focuses on studying the genetic diversity and biological potential of plant genetic resources in agronomically important plant species to understand their evolution, adaptive traits, and breeding potential. The research integrates a broad spectrum of modern methods and approaches, linking phenomics, genetics, genomics, and NGS technologies.
Plant Breeding - In breeding new varieties, priority is given to resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, higher quality, improved nutritional value, and adaptability to modern production technologies and changing climatic conditions.
Infrastructure
Public services
Associates
Head of department
Peter Dolničar, PhD
He has served as a potato specialist at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia since 1991. His research covers potato production technology, seed potato production, virology, physiology, genetics, and potato breeding. His technical expertise focuses on potato cultivar testing, the maintenance of potato genetic resources, and the development of production technologies for integrated and organic seed and ware potatoes.
Researchers
Ana Kugovnik
Holds a Master’s degree in Molecular and Functional Biology. Her doctoral research focuses on the phenotyping and physiology of crop root systems, with a specific emphasis on barley.
Azra Šabić
Their research focuses on assessing, conserving, and restoring species diversity on agricultural land, particularly grasslands. This encompasses conducting phytosociological surveys and field mapping, as well as performing statistical analyses of plant species and communities as bioindicators of ecosystem health and agricultural land-use impacts. They also contribute to the Public Service for Plant Gene Bank Tasks, focusing on the conservation of genetic resources of crop wild relatives.
Barbara Pipan, PhD
She serves as Deputy Head of Department and has been working at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia since 2007. Her work began in population genetics and DNA markers and has since expanded to incorporate phenomics, genomics, and NGS-based applications in agronomically important plant species. She is Head of the Genetics and Plant Breeding Group, Head of the Genetics Laboratory, and Lead of the National Common Bean Breeding Program.
Gaja Ernecl
She holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture and has been pursuing her doctoral studies in Biotechnology at the Biotechnical Faculty since October 2025. She is employed as a Young Researcher in the Genetics and Plant Breeding Group under the supervision of Dr. Barbara Pipan. Her doctoral research examines the genetic and phenotypic dynamics of chimerism in common bean as a key source of agrobiodiversity.
🔗 SICRIS
Hajer Ben Ammar, PhD
She has been working as a researcher at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia since October 2024. Her research focuses on developing a reliable and efficient HPLC method for quantifying glycoalkaloids in agricultural produce, contributing to enhanced analytical precision in plant biochemistry and food safety assessment.
Hourieh Tavakoli Hasanaklou, PhD
She works as a researcher at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia. As a plant physiologist, her work focuses on field trials, crop phenotyping, and data analysis, including the measurement and evaluation of agronomic, developmental, and physiological parameters. Through this work, she contributes to investigating crop diversity and advancing sustainable agriculture.
🔗 SICRIS
Lovro Sinkovič, PhD
His scientific research encompasses crop quality, plant genetic resources, nutritional value, biochemical composition, and primary and secondary metabolites. He conducts his work within the Agrobiodiversity research program group and across national (ARIS, CRP) and European projects (HORIZON, ECPGR, PRIMA, LIFE). As part of the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (NAP-IPM), he contributes to drafting plant protection guidelines for various vegetable crops.
Mateja Grašič, PhD
She works as a botanist at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia within the LIFE FOR SEEDS project, which aims to restore key threatened grassland habitat types, establish a seed bank of characteristic species from these habitats, and formulate three conservation measures for national agricultural policy post-2027. Her work on other projects includes vegetation monitoring on agricultural land and vegetation assessments along railway lines.
Professional and technical staff
Boštjan Ogorevc
His work focuses on the conservation and management of plant genetic resources, particularly beans, lettuce, and grasses. Within the Public Service for Plant Gene Bank Tasks (JSRGB), he contributes to the collection, characterization, and maintenance of accessions for these crop species.
Projects
RevAgroForMed – Revitalizacija silvo-pastoralnih sistemov z agro-ekološkim pristopom za povečanje pridelave na kmetijah v sredozemskem območju
CLIMAGROW – Celostne rešitve za rastlinsko pridelavo v času podnebnih izzivov: Nadgradnja znanja, kompetenc in infrastrukture
PRIRAST – Uvajanje trajnostnih in naravi prijaznih tehnologij pridelave in sodobnih pristopov v žlahtnjenju poljščin in vrtnin ter semenarstvu za blaženje učinkov podnebnih sprememb
EIP KOŠEK – Poskusna pridelava avtohtonega semenskega materiala za različne tipe slovenskih travnikov
EUKI 2 – Izboljšanje bilanc ogljika ekoloških kmetij s sekvestracijo atmosferskega ogljika
Measures to reduce the content of cadmium in vegetable and potato crops (V4-2420)
Rajonizacija kmetijske pridelave Slovenije za potrebe trajnostne rabe kmetijskih zemljišč, zmanjšanje okoljskih in ekonomskih tveganj pridelave in prilagajanja kmetijstva podnebnim spremembam (V4-2405)
CARBON 4 SOIL QUALITY: Zajemanje in shranjevanje atmosferskega CO2 za izboljšanje kakovosti tal
Carbon Farming CE: Razvoj gospodarjenja z ogljikom v kmetijstvu v Srednji Evropi
Možnost izboljšanja produktivnosti in zmanjšanja odvisnosti od uporabe kemičnih fungicidov v kmetijstvu z uporabo plinske plazme (V4-2001)
LIVESEEDING – Ekološka pridelava semena in žlahtnjenje rastlin za pospeševanje trajnostnih in raznovrstnih živilskih sistemov v Evropi
EUKI: Izboljšanje bilanc ogljika ekoloških kmetij brez živine za sekvestracijo atmosferskega ogljika
LIFE for Seeds: Ohranjanje prioritetnih travniških habitatnih tipov v Sloveniji z vzpostavitvijo semenske banke in obnovo in situ (LIFE20 NAT/SI/000253)
Razvoj metod in vzpostavitev sistemov uradnega preizkušanja ekoloških sort in heterogenega materiala izbranih poljščin in zelenjadnic (V4-2007)
INCREASE – Inteligentne zbirke genskih virov stročnic za evropske agroživilske sisteme
Publications
Projekt ECOBREED: sodelovanje kmetov pri poskusih v Sloveniji v letu 2021
ECOBREED Organic Breeding Conference, 17-19 January 2024, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Book of abstracts
