Plant tissue cultures, or the growth of plant materials in "in vitro" conditions is a fairly new discipline whose significance in the world is growing. The Institute, with creating the possibility of applying these methods had a specific goal. First it need to solve some practical aspects in production of seedlings of carafiols and gerbera. This is primarily related to the regeneration of carafiols (freeing the plants from the phytogenetic viruses, bacteria and infections) and the quick multiplication of gerbera (a new type of clone reproduction). However the work is continued on specific cultures, the technology of growing, integrating new problems concerning selection and crossing.

The second task of the Department is finding and applying new knowledge to other cultures of the Mediterranean region. Especially those activities of the Institute that resulted in new interesting selections from the fields of fruit growing, viticulture, and vegetable growing, etc. The Department is researching nine cultures (three flower, five fruit, and specific sorts of grapevines). Here is exclusively applied the scientific aspect of new work methods, and we believe that these methods can answer to some demands by the nursery production in the Republic of Croatia.

In the previous period, the workers of plant tissue cultures have made great contributions presenting their discoveries at different scientific conferences and in turn contributed to the spreading of the methods use.

The Department has the necessary conditions for the so called "bank of healthy elite material". Today the Department's orientation is on the following: