Laboratory of Plant and Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
In the laboratory of Plant and Environmental Biotechnology (LPEB) we study the interactions of plants and microbes with the environment aiming to develop and provide solutions that will contribute to enhanced primary production with a low environmental footprint, mitigation of climate change and environmental protection
Website Laboratory: https://plantenvlab.bio.uth.gr/
ACTIONr – Research Reaction Network for Reducing Reactive Nitrogen Losses from Agricultural Ecosystems (Website: https://www.actionr.eu/ )
In the EU project ACTIONr, we focus on the development of solutions that promote nitrogen use efficiency with reduced greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate leaching. Part of this goal is to exploit the capacity of plants to produce in their root system compounds (biological nitrification inhibitors) that have the capacity to inhibit nitrification microorganisms and hence decelerate nitrification and the leakage of reactive nitrogen forms that are deleterious to ecosystems.
RATION – Risk assessment innovation for low risk pesticides (https://www.ration-lrp.eu/)
Our laboratory coordinates the EU project RATION which aims to develop a new risk assessment paradigm devoted to the new generation of low risk biopesticides like microbials, botanicals, pheromones and. The implementation of this scheme will unravel the full potential of these biopesticides and facilitate their rapid introduction in the EU market as safe and environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional pesticides.
ΒΙΟΚΛΙΝΕΣ – Application of on–farm full scale biobed systems for the mitigation of point contamination of the water resources of Greece with pesticides (Website: https://bioklines.gr/ )
Our laboratory in collaboration with the farmers’ association THESSTO and other partners constructed the first biobed systems in Greece. Biobeds are simple systems that are placed in the areas where sprayer preparations are taking place, and receive the effulents from these activities. They are pits of 1 m depth and 20-40 m2 surface that are filled with a bioorganic mixture composed of straw, soil and compost that supports a microbial community that actively degrades pesticides. The project (Μ16ΣΥΝ2-00397) is funded by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food, Sub-Action 16.1 – 16.5 “Cooperation for Environmental Projects, Environmental Practices and Actions for Climate Change”