The IPM fair is for the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) an "annual must" to showcase selected areas of its research. As Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants we focus on integrated plant protection and biological pest control in horticulture breeding research in vegetables and ornamentals or breeding new fruit varieties are featured in Essen as well. You will find our scientists on the fair grounds in the Galeria (GA-19) at the booth of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

In 2024 our presentation focuses once again on Plant Health. We would like to increase awareness among the public and policy makers for plant health issues, invasive species and quarantine pests. Hence the JKI aims to raise awareness for plant health issues amongst the visitors of the IPM. The worldwide increasing trade with plants and plant products as well as tourism involves the risk of the introduction and spread of new plant diseases and pests. These may significantly affect economy and ecology once they have established in a crop or area.

The JKI investigates the dangers posed by non-native species such as such as the asian longhorn beetle, the pinewood nematode or the xyllella-bacterium to our ecosystems. It reveals the pathways of their introduction, calculates spread scenarios, assesses risks and elaborates measures to prevent the entry and spread of invasive species. In it capacity as competent federal authority, the JKI fulfils numerous official tasks, e.g. it cooperates on national and international level in the preparation of phytosanitary standards and regulations, which are a basis for inspections and measures against quarantine pests.