The Department of Biological and Integrated Pest Control investigates the taxonomy and bioecology of entomophages, acariphages and entomopathogens. It works on development of Integrated Pest Management for agricultural crops and elements of Organic Agriculture, investigation of side effects of pesticides and bioinsecticides on key bioagents, and Risk Analysis and Assesment of Plant Protection Products.

Scientific staff:

Nikolai Angelov Balevski
Professor, Ph.D.
Head of department of Biological and Integrated Pest Control
n.balevski@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Fauna, taxonomy, systematic and bionomic of hymenopterous Braconid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).
• Insect mass rearing methods, store and applying of the ectoparasitoid Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and it’s laboratory host - wax moth Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).
• Biology and trophic relationships between Braconid parasitoids ((Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and phytophagous insect pests and interactions between Bracon hebetor (Say) and entomopathogenic viruses and fungi in biocoenoses.

Nionka Vuchkova Velcheva
Associate Professor, Ph.D.
n.velcheva@ppi-bg.org

Research Iterests and Main Activities:
• Good plant protection, integrated pest management in orchards and “organic” (biological) fruit production;
• Systematic, biodiversity, dynamics of populations and forecasting of the pests of family Tortricidae and some other Lepidoptera in orchards;
• Action of biological active compounds - pheromones, insect growth inhibitors, insect growth regulators and plant insecticides against key pests in orchards.

Slavimira Atanasova Draganova
Associate Professor, Ph.D.
s.draganova19@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Biodiversity of entomopathogenic fungi in agricultural and forest biocoenoses, diagnostics and identification of entomopathogenic fungi;
• Estimation of isolates’ virulence in bioassays with arthropod pests - mites and insects on vegetable, fruit, cereal crops and store products;
• Species interactions – entomopathogens, parasitoids, arthropod pests.

Anton Jordanov Atanasov

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
a.atanassov@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Granulosis virus on Codling moth.
• Virus diseases on insect pests in Apple Orchards;
• Ecology and Insect pathology;
• Biological methods for insect pest control in Fruit Orchards;
• Bioinsecticides - development of biological active mixtures from pathogens, plant extracts, oils and soap in pest control of Codling moth (Laspeyresia pomonella; Lepidoptera; Tortricidae) and other pests; Biotechnology of microbial bioinsecticides.

Mariela Radoslavova Marinova
Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
m.marinova@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:

• Mite-host plant relationships;

• Biology and ecology of mites from families Tetranychidae and Phytoseiidae;

Emanouela Emilova Stoianova
Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
e.stoyanova@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
Ph.D thesis “Interactions between parasitoid (Bracon hebetor Say)(Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and entomopathogens on some larvae of Noctuidae and Pyralidae (Lepidoptera)”

• Specialization on PlantProCENTRE project at the laboratory of “Agricultural Entomology and Pathology of Insects”, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain on “Biological and molecular identification and characterization of entomopathogenic viruses of Baculoviridae and studying the interactions between different baculoviruses and ectoparasitoids on some Noctuidae species”

Penka Ivanova Peeva
Senior expert agronomist, Ph.D.
p.peeva@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Insect pests in apple orchards
• Organic production
• Pheromones

• Specialization on PlantProCENTRE project in Station de recherche Agroscope, Changins-Wadenswil, Switzerland on “Mating disruption in apple orchards and vineyards”

Daniela Petrova Georgieva
Ph.D. student
d.georgieva@ppi-bg.org

Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Biodiversity of entomopathogenic fungi in agricultural and forest biocoenoses, diagnostics and identification of entomopathogenic fungi;