VŠÚO is the only research institute in the Czech Republic dealing with the topic of fruit research of most fruit species of the temperate climate zone.

The history of the Fruit Research and Breeding Institute began in 1951, when the individual horticultural branches were divided into separate institutes as part of the reorganization of the Fruit and Wine Institute in Prague and the Fruit Institute in Průhonice. The Research Institute of Fruit Growing was located in the historic building of chateau in Holovousy, a small village in Eastern Bohemia, which is located about halfway between the towns of Jičín and Hradec Králové. Fruit growing has been traditional in this area.