Department of Field Crops

The work of the Department of Field Crops as a unit of UKIM Institute of Agriculture consists of the following main activities: scientific-research, publishing, applicative and production activities.

The scientific-research work of the Department of Field Crops is mainly conducted through projects financed by national and international funds. The research focus is on studying and finding practical solutions to the problems associated with production of field crops, mainly cereal crops (wheat, rice, corn, barley, triticale, etc.).

To address problems in cereal production and other field crops, the department's research is directed towards studying and introducing new crop varieties into production through field experiments and laboratory analyses. The new crop varieties need to respond to the challenges of climate change, the application of new production technologies and the market needs and demands. To this end, the department has created new genetic material and conducted continuous introduction, collection and studying of the same.

The publishing activity of the Department of Field Crops is not an independent one, but it takes place within the Institute, through the publication of proceedings, bibliographies, catalogues, independent publications, etc.

The applicative activity of the department is largely regulated by the Law on seeds and seedlings of agricultural plants of the Republic of North Macedonia. The Institute and the Department of Field Crops are authorized and tasked with expert seed control of agricultural plants with cereal crops in authorized seed production companies. Upon the conducted examination, the Institute issues certificates of professional control. In the laboratories at the department, the quality of cereal and rice is examined according to adopted bylaws and rulebooks after which appropriate documentation is issued. The department has conducted post-control trials, pre-commission trials as well as all the necessary examination for introducing new cereal varieties and hybrids.

The production activity of the department consists in mercantile production of field crops on area of 18 ha. The largest part of the land (11.5 hectares) is used for rise production, while the rest is used for wheat, barley, corn and other field crops production. The department also produces pre-basic cereal seed.