Plant Health Department

Plant Health Laboratories

The laboratories are found in two main centres

The Plant Biotechnology Centre at Lija is responsible for the diagnosis of virus, virus-like diseases, plant bacteria as well as the production of plants by tissue culture. As the Virology and Bacteriology Laboratory is equipped with equipment to carry out molecular techniques, the diagnosis of bacterial diseases has now shifted to this laboratory. This Centre also carries out clonal selection of plant species at the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory. It also houses three screen houses. One of these is used for Plant Quarantine purposes, while the other screen houses are used for positive and negative controls. A fully computer-controlled acclimatised glasshouse also serves for the acclimatisation of plants besides the additional purpose of biological indexing on indicator plants.

The Għammieri Centre houses the Chemistry and Entomology Laboratories as well as the Seeds and other Propagation Material Unit. The Laboratories carry out routine work in pests and disease identification and research work mainly in entomology, nematology and mycology. Farmland and greenhouses adjoining the laboratories are used for experimental purposes.

It is the intention of the Plant Health Department to participate in inter-laboratory proficiency testing programmes with Member States and to seek accreditation for particular procedures.

The laboratory staff conducts annual surveys on fungi, insects and nematodes.