The Czech Agrifood Research Center (CARC) is a public research institution established by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, with headquarters in Prague. It was formed on 1 January 2025 by bringing together the Crop Research Institute, the Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering and the Food Research Institute Prague. CARC conducts interdisciplinary research in agriculture, food science and technology, environmental sciences and the bioeconomy. Its mission is to generate scientific knowledge and practical innovations that strengthen sustainable agricultural production, food quality and safety, climate resilience and the responsible use of natural resources.
CARC's research is organised into five divisions: Crop Management Systems; Crop Protection and Plant Health; Genetics and Plant Breeding; Agricultural Engineering; and Food Science and Technology. Research spans conservation and use of plant genetic resources, crop genetics and breeding, plant protection, soil fertility and nutrition, sustainable cultivation systems, precision agriculture, agricultural biomass and circular bioeconomy, and food processing, composition, quality and safety. The combination of biological, analytical, technological and applied research creates opportunities for collaboration across the agri-food value chain, from crop diversity and production to food products and their sustainable use.
Within CARC, the Genetic Resources of Vegetables and Special Crops research team is located in Olomouc and belongs to the Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding. The team focuses on the conservation, characterization and sustainable utilization of genetic resources of vegetables, medicinal, aromatic and spice plants. A major strength is its extensive collections containing thousands of accessions. These collections provide valuable material for preserving agrobiodiversity, studying genetic variation and identifying useful traits in traditional varieties, locally adapted germplasm and underutilized crops. They offer opportunities for research into diversification, adaptation to changing environmental conditions, crop improvement and the development of more resilient and nutritious food systems.
The Olomouc team's activities include documentation and evaluation of accessions, characterization of morphological and phenological traits, assessment of agronomic performance and yield, and investigation of resistance to diseases and pests and responses to abiotic stresses. Research also addresses nutritional composition, phytochemical diversity, and the content of biologically active compounds. Molecular and biochemical characterization can help identify promising genotypes and traits for breeding and sustainable cultivation. The team contributes to research on cultivation practices for selected vegetable, medicinal and aromatic species and works with complementary scientific expertise where required.
Analytical chemistry and plant metabolite profiling are important components of the research associated with the Olomouc team. Advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques, including LC-MS/MS, UHPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS, are applied to characterize phenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, polyamines, organic acids, sugars, fatty acids and other metabolites. Method development and validation support precise comparison of plant genotypes, investigation of metabolic responses to environmental conditions, assessment of bioactive compounds, and evaluation of crop and food quality. Recent methodological work on nitrogen-related metabolites and alkaloid profiling in food-grade poppy illustrates the value of these approaches for plant research and quality assessment.
For Horizon Europe Cluster 6, CARC and particularly its Olomouc team can offer relevant expertise for projects addressing biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of plant genetic resources, organic and diversified cropping systems, climate-resilient agriculture, food security and nutrition, and the valorisation of plant-based resources. Potential contributions include selecting and supplying suitable genetic material in accordance with access conditions, characterizing plant diversity, assessing physiological and biochemical responses to stress, profiling metabolites, evaluating nutritional and functional traits, and identifying promising crops or genotypes for further research and application.
The team is interested in collaboration with universities, research organisations, breeders, farmers, food-sector companies and other partners. Its combination of extensive plant collections, crop-specific knowledge and analytical expertise provides a strong basis for interdisciplinary projects connecting agrobiodiversity with sustainable agriculture, food quality and the bioeconomy.
