IMSI

Department of Plant, Soil
and Nano Systems

Mission

The mission of the department is to encourage fundamental and applied multidisciplinary research in the frontier areas of plant-soil-environment interactions with nanotechnology in highly productive and sustainable agricultural production and forestry systems, but also in natural ecosystems.

Vision

The vision of the department is to increase its international recognition in global scientific frameworks. To achieve this, a better connection between basic and applied research from molecules to (agro)ecosystems is needed.

Research

Research in the department takes place in two laboratories:

In the long term, the focus of the department’s interests is: 1) understanding the process of mineral nutrient utilization in the rhizosphere and their further use in the plant, as well as discovering new metabolic functions of mineral elements in plant resistance to stress; 2) studying natural and anthropogenic sources of pollutants and their impact on the environment and plants; 3) understanding the ecophysiological adaptations of plants in the process of spontaneous restoration of disturbed ecosystems, especially post-mining soils; 4) studying the electronic, optical and transport properties of molecules and nano-phase systems.
  • EU FP7 NMP project “NanoTools for Ultra-Fast DNA Sequencing”, GA214840 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89663/factsheet/en
  • Switzerland SCOPES: Joint Research Projects, “Growth, Characterization and Modelling of Magnetic Nanostructures at Surfaces” http://p3.snf.ch/Project-152406
  • HPC-Europa3 Transnational Access programme “Protein sequencing in graphene and nanoferronics nanogaps”
  • Bilateral project Serbia – Montenegro (2019-2021) “Transport and thermodynamic properties of new materials: superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructure”.
The department is equipped with an Induced Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) and a Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulfur (CHNS) analyzer that enable fast, reliable and modern analyses of mineral elements in soil samples, plant tissues, fertilizers and irrigation water. Based on our knowledge and extensive experience, we can help agricultural producers, as well as their consultants, in establishing advanced fertilization strategies for different crops and production systems.
Of particular importance for our agricultural producers are:
  • control and monitoring of soil fertility using modern reference analytical methods, depending on the specifics of the soil,
  • foliar analysis and diagnostics for field, vegetable and fruit and grape crops, with its own databases of reference values ​​for different plant species and phases of growth and development,
  • analysis of irrigation water and recommendations for improving its quality according to specific requirements for individual field, vegetable and fruit and viticultural crops,
  • recommendations for optimizing fertilization in order to achieve stable yields of good quality, with minimal fertilizer input and environmental pollution.

The department also provides services and

  • Raman and optical spectroscopy,
  • AFM characterization of material surfaces,
  • vacuum deposition of thin coatings,
  • electron transport in the liquid and gaseous phases.

1. Elemental CHNS Analyzer Vario MICRO Cube

Manufacturer: Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH, Hanau, Germany
Year of purchase: 2014.
Department: Одсек за биљне, земљишне и нано системе (Plant Nutrition Laboratory)
Person in charge: др Љиљана Костић Крављанац

2. Induced Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES), SpectroGenesis EOP II

Manufacturer: Spectro Analytical Instruments GmbH, Kleve, Germany.
Department: Одсек за биљне, земљишне и нано системе (Plant Nutrition Laboratory)
Person in charge: др Мирослав Николић

3. High-pressure microwave sample destruction system, Speedwave MWS-3+

Manufacturer: Berghof Products + Instruments GmbH, Eningen, Germany.
Year of purchase: 2008.
Department: Одсек за биљне, земљишне и нано системе (Plant Nutrition Laboratory)
Person in charge: др Предраг Боснић

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