According to the Institute's Regulations the Institute conducts research in agriculture, physics, chemistry, and biology. Activity of the Institute is focused on basic and applied research on topics related to environmental management and protection, sustainable agriculture, post-harvest processing and agricultural-food industries.

At present the research  is focused on the following areas:

PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

• Physical, chemical, biological and physicochemical properties of soils and their relation with mass and energy transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere system
• Data bases and systems of control of the hydrophysical and thermophysical properties of soil
• Time and space variability within the soil environment
• Phenomena and processes determining the physical quality of soil
• Soil aeration status
• Emission of greenhouse gases from soils to the atmosphere
• Environmental quality

PHYSICS OF PLANT MATERIALS

• Physical properties of plants and agricultural crops
• Physical processes in harvesting, transport, storage and processing of raw plant materials
• Microstructure of plant materials
• Identification of damage to agricultural crops and quality estimation of agricultural materials and products
• Technologies enhancing the quality of food materials, products and fibers

AGROPHYSICAL METROLOGY

• Development and improvement of physical methods and equipment for measurement, monitoring and analysis of physical parameters of soil and atmospheric conditions important to environmental and agricultural processes
• Standardisation of measurement methods

MONITORING AND MODELLING

• Development of methodology and measuring devices for monitoring of physical and physicochemical processes in the environment related to plant growth
• Predictive models for optimisation of food safety based on new technologies and the influence of the environment
• Computer simulation of physical and physicochemical processes due to environmental effects and processing of agricultural products