SAU
SLOVENSKA POLNOHOSPODARSKA UNIVERSITA V NITRE (Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra)
SAU is the only university in Slovakia oriented to agricultural education and research. Department of Plant Protection (DPP) was included to many scientific projects concerned insect pests and plant pathogens, especially biocontrol. In the last European projects the research team cooperated in tasks concerned to protection of the benefits of Bt toxins genes and it is included to studies with GM maize genotypes.
Role
SAU will participate in WPs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11. SAU will carry out laboratory and field studies, including GM maize field trials and monitoring of GM maize commercial fields. Furthermore, it will have important task to contribute to data collection for long term effects, analysis and prediction and in field studies.
Staff members’ profile
Prof. Dr. Ludovit Cagan (SAU coordinator), is head of DPP at SAU. His research areas include entomofauna of maize field, ecology and genetics of entomopathogenic fungi, genetically modified maize plants – their management, reaction of target and non target animals, biological control of weeds. He was national coordinator in 13 international projects.
Dr. Peter Bokor is assistant professor. His research work is oriented to agroecological studies of insect pests and plant pathogens in maize and sunflower fields. He has experience with identification of insects in pitfall traps, studies of insect parasitoids and ecology of plant pathogens.
Dr. Monika Tothova is assistant professor. Her research was oriented mainly to biocontrol of weeds and many aspects of sustainable agriculture and development. She has a lot experience from field and laboratory studies of insect population dynamics and behaviour.
Dr. Peter Toth. Academic background and work skills of Peter Tóth are focused on entomology, biological control of weeds and insects, and chemical ecology. He applies to tritrophic interactions, host plant-parasitic plant-herbivores during the last 3 years and led his own Marie Curie project 7RP N° 220177 dedicated to the parasitic host selection by Phytomyza orobanchia.
Dr. Andrea Cerevkova (cooperator from Slovak Academy of Science) works in Parasitological Institute in Kosice is a research institution of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. She is researcher in the field of plant nematology focusing on the study of free living and plant parasitic nematodes their bionomics, taxonomy, systematics and ecology.