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1. Overview
2. Activities
3. Salient Facilities
4. Collaboration

Plant Protection Division (PPD) at NIAB is involved in R & D activities for better health and production of crops by decreasing incidence of diseases and infestation of insect pests below their economic threshold levels after careful field and laboratory analysis. Production of insect bio-control agents has been improved by using gamma radiations for their survival, shelf life and parasitic potential. Insecticide resistance management and some other safer bio-rational methods have also been incorporated in integrated pest management (IPM) programs to decrease the plant protection costs. Work is also being carried out on screening of crops’ germplasm by exploring plant pathogen interactions against economically important viruses, fungi, bacteria & phytoplasma diseases using conventional, biochemical, molecular and biotechnological approaches.. Molecular characterization and identification of plant pathogens and insects associated with economically important diseases are also in progress. Moreover, plant disease management using environment safe chemicals, nano-formulations, and bio-antagonists for broad-spectrum plant protection measures are also within the scope of this division.

The division has following research groups:

1. IPM/Biocontrol

2. Field Crops Entomology

3. Plant Pathology

4. Molecular Phytopathology

Activities

• Rearing of beneficial insects for biological control of major pests of field crops

• Production of biorational pesticide for the management of sucking insect pests

• Eco-friendly tools for pest monitoring in fields, orchards and tunnels

• Testing of new pesticides as a federal agency for registration by regulatory body (DPP, Karachi)

• Host plant resistance in major field crops through biochemical and morpho- physiological traits

• Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM)

• Phenological and ecological modelling of insect pests

• Development of bio-insecticide formulations

• Screening of cotton, tomato, chickpea, lentil, blackgram, mungbean, rice, wheat, sesame and castor-bean germplasms against economically important diseases and insect pests

• Plant disease diagnostics and management 

• Molecular identification and characterization of plant pathogens

• Biochemical and molecular basis of plant pathogens interactions

• Phenotyping and imaging of disease resistant and susceptible crop plants

• Development of environment friendly nano-pesticide formulations against plant diseases

• Providing analytical facilities to public and private sectors for pesticide and aflatoxins residue, radiation detection, plant defensive enzymes analysis, water testing and molecular characterization of plant pathogens

Salient Facilities

• Insects Rearing Facility for biocontrol (Beneficial insects)

• Rearing laboratories of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) and mealworm for protein source

• Rearing laboratory of fruitflies for various research activities

• Microscopes with digital camera (Morphological identification of pathogens and capturing of images of microscopic subjects)

• Incubators Shaker (Incubation of cultures at specific temperature)

• PCR Thermal Cycler (Molecular characterization of pathogens)

• Micro plate ELISA reader (Detection and quantification of viruses in plant samples)

• Freezers (-20°C and -80°C) (to store chemicals and samples)

• Glasshouse (Germplasm characterization following artificial inoculation against diseases under controlled environment)

• Nethouse (Germplasm characterization following artificial inoculation against diseases under natural environment)

• HPLC (Pesticides and mycotoxins residue analysis)

• Liquid Scintillation Counter (Detection of low level radiation)

• Insect Imaging system (Insect anatomy)

• High-speed grinding mills (To grind samples)

Collaboration

• Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)

• International Foundation for Science  (IFS)

• Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB)

• Agricultural Linkages Programme (ALP)

• Sugarcane Research and development Board (SRDB)

• Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF)