Plant Protection Institute (PPI) was established on January 14, 1936, with Decree ? 14 of Tsar Boris III, based on the existing Service for Plant Protection. Prof. Dimitar Atanasov, a phytopathologist formerly working at the Faculty of Agronomy, Sofia University, was the first Director of PPI and the establishment of the Institute is mainly a result of his efforts. Prof. Dimitar Atanasov is the first Bulgarian to study agronomy in the USA. He graduated the Michigan School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and obtained his PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He returned to Bulgaria in 1925 to work as a Professor at the Phytopathology Department of the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry, Sofia University, as asked by Prof. Mollov and Prof. Stranski, giving up his position as a professor in the Netherlands and declining the offer of Wisconsin University to continue his work there.

The scientific work of Prof. Atanasov is connected to the development of Plant Protection science in Bulgaria. He is the author of the first Phytopathology textbook on the Balkans, which was translated in Serbian and Romanian, and he provides training for the first specialists in this field. He participates in the preparation of the first Law for Protection of Plants from Pests and Diseases (1930), and the Law for Protection of National Nature which declares Vitosha a national park. Prof. Atanasov was Minister of Agriculture for the period 1935 – 1936 and during his mandate he initiated the development of the Law for Control of Chemical Compounds Used in Agriculture. He played a key role in the process of qualification of the future professors at the Faculty of Agronomy, as well as at the Bulgarian Agricultural Institutes. He was appointed by the Rockefeller Foundation to select young and talented people for training in Europe and USA, whose scholarships were provided by the Foundation. Thanks to his recommendation, many recognized Bulgarian scientists got the chance to specialize in their respective fields: Prof. M. Hristov – Botany and Genetics, Prof. D. Kostov – Genetics, Prof. I. Kovachevski, Prof. A. Hristov, and Prof. D. Dodov – Phytopathology.

The first scientific workers at PPI were I. Kovachevski, D. Dodov, A. Hristov, S. Martinov, D. Petrov, P. Chorbadjiev, A. Lazarov, and N. Statelov, who were trained in leading universities in Germany and England. They established the Bulgarian schools of Virology, Phytopatology and Entomology, whose traditions last in time until today.

PPI was initially situated on the second floor of Sofia Agricultural Experimental Station, where it disposed of laboratories of Phytopathology, Entomology, Chemistry, Preparation and Sterilization of Growing Media, a dark room for developing photos and an insectarium.

After the establishment of the Institute, almost all important books and journals in Plant Protection in German, English, and French were immediately procured. The library was arranged after the classification system of the International Agricultural Institute in Rome, which is widely used until today. A permanent collection of insect pests and plants damaged by economically important diseases was established at PPI. Also, a mobile collection of mounts and plates, which was sent to exhibitions, organized by the Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, was prepared. In 1936, a vegetation house was built for the purposes of scientific research, and in 1943 experimental fields were provided, the largest one being 120 decars, situated in the region of the village of Birimirci. The “Plant Quarantine Department” was created in 1946 according to the Law of protection of the country against import and dissemination of dangerous pests and diseases of plants and its regulations. Prof. Vera Trifinova, Prof. Mihail Calev, Prof. Docho Stoyanov, Ass.Prof. Mincho Vitanov and prof. Boryana Choleva who worked there have left a lasting track in the scientific researches in the plant quarantine. In 1947, the area of the experimental fields expanded to 380 decars. The necessary crop rotation was scheduled and the agricultural premises and facilities, needed for a genuine experimental field, were procured. As the Institute moved to Kostinbrod in 1961, it inherited the buildings and the equipment of the Institute of Fruit-growing and the premises, as well as the experimental field area, expanded. In the 90’s, along with the democratical changes and the restitution of property, the Institute was left with a greatly diminished area of 60 decars, including the premises and the small experimental plots.

Dr. I. Kovachevski was the Director of PPI for the period 1941 – 1973. During this period, the Institute acquired the necessary equipment, organizational structure and staff potential. In 1961, a Laboratory of Biological Control of Plant Diseases and Pests, headed by A. Kajtazov, was established. Later, it turned into Laboratory of Problematic Biological and Integrated Pest Management, and in 2004 it became the Department of Biological and Integrated Pest Control. In the 70’s, independent departments of Plant Immunity, Virology, Economy, Organization and Mechanization of Plant Protection and a Laboratory of Radiobiology were established.

The scientists at the Institute created its image as a multidisciplinary center in Plant Protection and laid the foundations of the Bulgarian School of Plant Protection. The majority of specialists in Plant Protection science in Bulgaria have passed different qualification courses at PPI.


At present, the Institute consists of eight scientific departments:

1. Department of Biological and Integrated Pest Control
2. Virology
3. Entomology and Radiobiology
4. Quarantine
5. Prognosis
6. Toxicology
7. Phytopatology and Plant Immunity
8. Herbology

During its existence, the Institute had been a part of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Academy, and the National Center of Agricultural Sciences, and in September, 2003, it joined the structure of the National Service for Plant Protection (NSPP) at MAF. A gradual renovation of the equipment and a process of adaptation of the scientists to the future requirements, connected to the accession of Bulgaria to the EU, have started at the Institute, with the support of the governing body of NSPP.

The staff at the Institute consists of 42 researchers, 62 specialists and technical personnel. The total number of habilitated researchers is 21; seven young researchers have already defended their PhD thesis statements and four are working on their dissertations. At the moment, 7 PhD students are working at the Institute.

The main scientific priorities at PPI for the next decade are closely related to food quality and safety of plant production. The growing demands of the consumers for safe foods are a prerequisite for elaboration in the following fields: