Thrace Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) is a governmental and regional body under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in Türkiye which carries out research and development activities in agriculture. The institute was found in 1924 as a seedling production facility and later it was established as an agricultural research institute in 1969 and later was given its present name in 1987. The institute does basic and applied scientific research in accordance with the needs of the regional farmers, has a duty to be a research center for economically important crops of the region. TARI acts as the country coordinator for rice, sunflower and safflower and as the regional coordinator for pasture and meadow amendment and eurygaster. There is ongoing activities about plant protection research, agronomical research about cultivation techniques, examining alternative plant crops for the region and extending techniques and cultivars. The institute provides counseling to plant breeding companies when it is requested. Departments consist of: Field Crops, Horticultural Crops, Plant Protection, Soil and Water Sources, Agricultural Economics, Quality Laboratory, Biotechnology Laboratory and Production. Technical personnel is 24 agricultural engineers who are mostly PhD and 11 agricultural technicians. There are about 35 workers. The institutes owns and performs its operation on about 330 hectars of land.
Among its various missions, the institute’s main field of activitiy is plant breeding and seed production in the crops specified below.
Rice, wheat, barley, oat, sunflower, safflower, soybean, flax, canola, forage crops, aromatic and medical plants.
Some projects that are being conducted currently which can be listed as examples of our work are:
Rice Breeding Program for Thrace-Marmara Region (varieties of the institute have about 90% share in the national market), rice breeding for several tolerances, Wheat and Barley Breeding Program for Thrace-Marmara Region (varieties of the institute have about 60% share in the regional market), Sunflower Breeding Program (varieties of the institute have about 8% share in the national market), sunflower breeding for several tolerances, Extending The Agricultural Innovations project which reaches to the farmers of the region about new techniques and cultivars, Occurrence of European Wheat Stem Sawfly (Cephus pygmeus L. Hymenoptera: Cephidae) in Türkiye and Determination of Reaction in Some Registered Wheat Cultivars, Determination of Tuta absoluta (meyrick) (Lep. Gelechiidae) and its natural enemies and monitoring its population in Thrace Region, Investigating the resistance mechanism of sunflower to mildew (Plasmopara halstedii (Farlow) Berl. Et de Toni)