Agricultural pests cause serious problems in crops, especially under the climatic conditions of Greece, where they develop in high populations. In addition to the direct damages, some species are potential vectors of very important diseases of trees, vines and vegetables.
In the context of continuous change (invasion of new species, climate change, restriction of use of conventional plant protection products), our team studies the biology, ecology, genetics and evolution of insect, mite and nematode populations of agricultural interest and implements research projects aimed at developing new technologies, tools and methodologies for their integrated management and crop protection.
Research on agricultural pests is carried out by Dr. E. Tzortzakakis who specializes in phytoparasitic nematodes, Dr. K. Varikou in bio-ecology of herbivorous insects and integrated management, Dr. A. Kalaitzaki in bio-ecology of insect pests and parasitoids and Dr. A. Tsagkarakou specializing in molecular entomology and genetics of insect and mite populations. Our research team interacts with the disease team as well as with Dr. K. Tzerakis in frames of developing new technologies.
The team is staffed by technical scientists Ms. E. Peraki and C. Sergentani as well as postdoctoral scientists and other young scientists working on the current research projects.