The beginning of pedologic research dates from the first years of the Institute. The time of the establishment of the Institute and the first applications of artificial fertilizers in these regions were evenly dated, so the newly established institutions engaged in the popularization of their use, researching their effectiveness, and type of use. All those researches were followed by pedologic soil analysis. Every year before the harvest, beside the analysis of must, tested was a greater number of soil samples from the major producing regions in order to determine pedologic characteristics of (viticultural soils) and tied to the quality of completed wines.

The work was divided into two groups: the first groups task was the chemical and mechanical analysis of soil for agricultural purposes, taking into consideration the determination of maximum capacity of water in the soil; the second group researched soil and climactic conditions in the actual field.

Chemical analysis encompassed the determination of major components of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium and humus and pH. With chemical analysis usually was given expert suggestion concerning the agroamelioration of tested soil and suggestion concerning the suitability of soil for the growth of individual cultures.

The first more significant pedologic research was done on the grounds of the State stud-farm in Vrana (on the lake of Vrana) and the live stock station grounds in Livno (In the Livno fields). In both cases the studies had the purpose of researching the pedologic conditions on the state grounds and researching the possibility and type of their production value.

After 1945 the staff at the Department is increased and adapted are rooms in which is placed the laboratory for researching the chemistry and the physics of soil. At first, after the renewal, the activity of the Institute was mainly of pedologic researc h and mapping character. Those works included the elaboration of geographical, geological, hydrological, and climactic traits tied to the development of soil, determining the widespreadedness of individual types and subtypes of soils with their genesis, determining agricultural traits of those soils with analysis of the present level of productivity with the suggestion of measures for increasing their fertility.

In the period between 1954 and 1960 researched and mapped were the regions in the Split district, Dubrovnik, Sibenik, Knin, BraŸ, Hvar, Vis, and Solta districts, and in 1972 the work continues on pedologic mapping of the entire Adriatic area.

In the framework of those activities special mention goes to the pedologic research of rocky terrain. Rocky terrain represents production potential of special interest for the development of intensive agricultural production. Together with the river valleys, on the Adriatic coast, they cover 63 000 acres or 50 000 in Dalmatia. The water system not being regulated left most of that area unworked or in a primitive situation. With new agrarian politics, especially with the new concept of 1957, came the plan of developing large state territories and naturally with that special attention was demanded by the surfaces of rocky terrains concerning their hydromelioration and agromelioration. Then started first systematic pedologic research of rocky terrain concerning their melioration and productivity. Up to 1965 all rocky areas are pedologically researched in Dalmatia. In the framework of that activity special attention goes to the work in 1962 done in the framework of the FAO organization - the pedologic study as a base for the project of meliorating the Neretva river delta. In the next period many detailed pedologic studies of individual productive fields occurred either for raising new fruit nurseries and vineyards or for resolving problems for some other production organizations or individuals. In order to get better acquainted with the soils of this region, also were researched red soils and lithogenic carbonated soils, and then were comparatively tested analytical methods for determining their individual traits.

The experts of this Department included a project of pedologic mapping of Croatia as an invaluable base for planning and using the potential territories for agriculture, forestry, natural conservation, area planning,etc. The results of this research in the framework of the project contributed much to the natural sciences, while the pedologic map, intended for the use of a large number of individuals, represents an expert base for researching areas.

Beside the mentioned semidetailed pedologic maps for general purposes, for the purpose of economic aspects in agriculture, forestry, and for the needs of executed projects and territorial planning, made were detailed pedologic maps with diminutive measurements. Among the mentioned research a significant place place is taken by the detailed pedologic and pedocartographic research of the Neretva valley. Significant innovations and investigations of further work are brought by computer technology with contemporary numerical methods to all phases of pedologic research.

Naturally the problems concerning the nutrition and fertilization of the plants has been the task of the Department from the establishment to today. In the first years that work was limited to chemical analysis of the soil, control of fertilizer and propagation of their use, and since then it has been growing and with ties to all problems concerning plant nutrition.

In the framework of that work, from 1958 to 1960, brought in was the method of folial diagnostics, with which extensive research was done on the influence of nutrition on the fertility and quality of the following: wine and table grapes, olives, corn, and wheat. Many publications on the subject are in existence.

From 1978 to 1980 the methods of determining the micro-elements in the soil and leafs by the method of atomic spectrophotometry absorption were incorporated, and with this was completed the wholeness in the analytical sense. This was needed for the department to function in a normal way.

The activity of plant nutrition is manifested in the control of soil fertility, improvement in managing and creating new substratum of vegetable and flower kind, and as well the fruit and viticulture cultures in the open and covered areas.

During the year set up are an exact number of fertilizer tests on the mentioned cultures so that through those tests many problems are solved that are tied to the plant nutrition: fertilizing periods, determining the expiration of fertilizer value, relations of each individual fertilizer, concentration of water soluble salts and ph, expounding on the humus and the movement of the nitrogen, the level of the supply in the soil and leafs, macro and micro nutrients.

On the educational plan researched are problems of supply of soil and leafs with macro and micro elements, of the dominating cultures in the Dalmatian region, so that the inventory of nurturing elements of this region is made, to facilitate the work of the experts who deal with nutritional problems.

The plant nutrition resolves many problems directly tied to production, either by permanent presence or periodically, in coordination with evident problems and needs.

The Department workers have made a large number of "economic bases" for the interesting individual localities, rocky terrain and wider areas. Those researches regularly dealt with climactic, pedologic conditions, the filming of economic-producing characteristics of the existing production and the suggestion (program) for the hydrotechnical and agromeliorational measures for sanation of surfaces with a program for adopting new productions. The results of those researches served as a base for raising, equipping and organizing a line of social institutions for creating investment programs.

The last few years, the work of the Department was following: Cartography, making of pedologic maps for scientific and expert activities from the fields of agriculture, forestry, area planning, conservation of human environment, and others. The basis of the intentional pedologic maps had the goal of rationally using the soil and acclimating it to the cultures, or more precisely ensure its conservation. Prevention, degradation and destruction of all components of the habitat is one of global and most significant problems that face science. In resolving the mentioned problems it is necessary to find the most suitable measures of caring and of using the earths resources, and for that purpose the maps showing the condition of the ground are made: