HISTORY

The Chair of Plant Physiology was established as an independent unit of the Faculty of Agriculture, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in September 1952. In the first years of its activity, the Chair had no head, but was supervised by trustees: Professor Adam Paszewski PhD, Professor Adam Wondraush PhD, and Professor Jadwiga Ziemięcka PhD. It was only in 1956 that Professor Anna Nowotny - Mieczyńska PhD was appointed the head of the Chair and served in this position until 1963. In 1964-1966, the Chair was taken over by trustee Professor Kazimierz Matusiak PhD. From 1969 to the end of September 1995 the Chair was headed by Professor Zofia Uziak PhD, and from 1995 to 2015 Professor Edward Borowski PhD was the head. Since his retirement in August 2015, Barbara Hawrylak-Nowak PhD has been acting Head of the Chair.

Dissertations defended at the Faculty of Agriculture or Horticulture: Z. Uziak (1960), Z. Koter (1964), A. Oczoś (1970), E. Szczypa-Wolska (1973), M. Szymańska (1975), E. Borowski (1976), R. Stanek (1977), Z. K. Blamowski (1979), U. Kruszelnicka (1982), I. Rukasz (1983), L. Kozłowska (1988), W. Michałek (1990), R. Matraszek (2000), A. Świąder (2001), S. Michałek (2002), M. Makowska(2003), B. Hawrylak- Nowak (2004), and K. Rubinowska (2009).

Degrees of Associate Professor in plant physiology: Z. Uziak (1967), K. Olech (1968), A. Oczoś (1982), E. Borowski (1986), M. Szymańska (1988), and W. Michałek (2002).

For many years, two independent researchers were affiliated with the Chair: Associate Professor Eugeniusz Gawroński working from 1959 to 1985, when he was appointed the head of Chair for Horticultural Seed Production and Nursery, and Associate Professor Kazimierz Olech employed from 1960 to his untimely death in 1978. Since 1970, he was also the director of the Institute of Plant Production Basics at the newly created Faculty of Horticulture.

Retired staff:

Professor Edward Borowski PhD

Professor Maria Szymańska PhD

Irena Rukasz PhD

Ryszard Stanek PhD

Zbyszek K. Blamowski PhD

Marianna Ćwiklińska MSc

Krystyna Modzelewska-Paczos MSc

Maria Wawron MSc

Elżbieta Jarosz MSc

Zofia Harassek MSc (died in 1978), Associate Professor Kazimierz Olech (died in 1978), Maria Gwoździak MSc (died in 1991), Lidia Kozłowska PhD (died in 2010), and Professor Zofia Uziak PhD (died in 2015) were long-time employees of the Chair.

DIDACTICS

The employees of the Chair run classes in the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Agrobioengineering, Biology and Animal Breeding, and Food Sciences and Biotechnology.

RESEARCH

Since the beginning until now, the research problems in the Chair are focused on aspects of mineral nutrition of crop plants, their response to abiotic stress factors, and potential factors inducing increased plant tolerance to stress.

Research problems addressed currently at the Chair of Plant Physiology cover the following issues:

• Phytotoxicity of trace metals, in particular nickel and cadmium, and methods for alleviation of their adverse effects on plants,
• Effects of abiotic stresses on plants, especially drought, cold, heat, and salinity stress on plant growth, metabolism, and productivity,
• Effect of LED light and its spectral composition on growth and selected parameters of photosynthesis,
• The physiology of aging of ornamental plants and methods for extension of the life of selected species of cut flowers and greenery,
• Effects of pharmaceuticals present in wastewater on physiological parameters of seed germination

The research conducted at the Chair and the scientific cooperation between the workers and other research institutions have resulted in a number of scientific publications addressing typically physiological and ecotoxicological problems and horticultural issues in the broad sense. Over the last three years (2013-2015), the staff of the Chair published 28 original research papers, including 21 in journals from the JCR database. Many of them published were published by leading international scientific publishers, e.g. Elsevier, Springer, or Taylor & Francis. In addition to the statutory activities, the employees of the Chair implemented or participated in research projects funded from external sources (MNiSW, NCN grants).

RESEARCH PROJECTS

• N N310 430939- (2010-2014) „ Selenium biofortification of selected vegetables in the aspect of an increase in their resistance to salinity or heavy metals”- Head investigator: Barbara Hawrylak-Nowak PhD
• The employees of the Chair have been or still are co-investigators in research projects associated with:

- Assessment of the suitability of wheat and rye straw as substrates for greenhouse cultivation of tomatoes

- Ecology and protection of relic populations in the Polesie Lubelskie region

- Physiological response of ornamental potted plants to biotic stress caused by Coccus hesperidum feeding and honeydew secretion

RESEARCH FACILITIES

The experimental research facilities at the Chair include three vegetation rooms, which facilitate experimentation in controlled conditions of the intensity and spectral composition of radiation, photoperiod, temperature, and air and substrate humidity. The Chair has three laboratories for physiological-biochemical and microscopic analyses as well as portable equipment for evaluation of the parameters of the intensity of photosynthesis, transpiration, chlorophyll fluorescence, surface and water potential in leaves, and the degree of stomatal opening. The scientific research facilities offer full control of the plant cultivation process and a possibility of detailed assessment of the impact of perse environmental conditions on the growth and physiological processes.

Scientific research offer of the Chair

The employees of the Chair declare the ability to perform the following analyses and expert opinions:

• determination of the resistance of crop plant species and cultivars to environmental stresses,
• optimization of the conditions of crop plant growth in covered cultivation systems with the use of a portable apparatus for measurement of the leaf microclimate reflecting the intensity of photosynthetically active radiation, the intensity of photosynthesis and transpiration, and stomatal conductance,
• assessment of the effectiveness of commercial formulations on the growth of plants and their tolerance to abiotic stresses and on extension of post-harvest life of cut flowers and greenery,
• determination of the level of phytotoxicity of a variety of substances and formulations,
• counselling for inpiduals and groups of producers in the diagnostics of physiological diseases affecting crops.

The Chair declares commitment to cooperation with other partners and businesses in the scope of these research issues. If you are interested, please contact us by email (fizjologia.roslin@up.lublin.pl).