RESEARCH IN OUR COLLEGE

OAs stated in the College mission, we are committed to the development of scientific and technological research.

The College of Agricultural Sciences is organized in 6 disciplinary Departments: Basic – Instrumental, Biology, Plant Production, Animal Production, Land Science and Technology, and Socioeconomic. Each Department includes a variable number of subjects and research teams. Researchers are members of the Faculty (Professor/Teacher-Researchers), the Scientific Research Career of UNR (CIUNR) and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Fellows, graduate and undergraduate students also participate in the development of the research projects. Many of the researchers participate in the Incentives Program from the National Ministry of Education.

Our institution encourages researchers to develop interdisciplinary and cross-institutional projects to improve the allocation of human and infrastructure resources and promote the interaction of professionals, students and graduates. We also support research projects by seeking funding sources for their development. Our College works jointly with other institutions such as INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology), other Colleges, private companies, and farmers’ associations, not only for developing research and technology transfer activities, but also for offering technical services related to the areas in our academic unit.

In addition to training human resources, we work to shore up growth in the research area by seeking funding from different sources (ANPCyT, CONICET, FOMEC, Municipality, Ministry of Production, Science and Technology of the Santa Fe Province, among others); and, whenever necessary, the College covers the extra costs incurred in the projects.

Two institutions linked to our College contribute to finance the research projects. The College’s Nonprofit Fundraising Organization (“Asociación Cooperadora de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias”) covers the costs of projects requiring land plots in the Experimental Field for carrying out field assays, always following a rationale of proper land allocation and observing environmental safety principles. The College of Agricultural Sciences Foundation (“Fundación Ciencias Agrarias”), registered as a Technology Link Unit, helps establish links between research teams and the production sector and promotes interinstitutional agreements for meeting specific needs, and also manages the projects whenever necessary. The Foundation also offers an annual grant to finance one or two research projects from the College.

About 80% of the projects conducted in our College are applied research projects, 15% are basic research and 5% are aimed at technological development.

The projects cover a wide range of topics, from the study of specific agricultural problems, socio-economic studies, management of animal production systems (cattle, pigs and sheep) and plant production systems (grasslands, forages, cereal crops, oilseed crops, fruit, vegetables, etc.), soil management and conservation, techniques for the genetic improvement of crops, plant physiology studies, analysis of the impact of climate conditions on production, crop health, safety and risks in rural work, market and commercialization studies, and survey studies and identification of native or spontaneous plant species for characterizing plant communities and studying the biology and reproductive behaviour of some species. Some projects have our educational community as their object of study, assessing the teaching techniques used in our classrooms.

Another institutional effort is the edition of the College’s Research Bulletin (“Revista de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias UNR”), where reviews and original papers communicating scientific works of regional relevance are published.

Institutional Policy

One of the key aspects for institutional development is the strengthening of research through the following science and technology policies:

Improve the infrastructure and equipment for scientific and technical developments in the College.
Create research areas to keep pace with the development of the institution.
Encourage teams to submit projects to different public agencies and programs which offer research support (such as ANPCyT, CONICET, Department for Science, Technology, and Productive Innovation of the Santa Fe Province)

Promote the submission of projects to programs launched by the University.
Promote interinstitutional agreements aimed at addressing specific needs.
Foster academic mobility, especially for younger researchers, between national and international organisms and institutions for improving human resources development and building long-lasting academic cooperation networks.

Promote the incorporation of researchers specialized in areas needed by the College.
Support the graduate studies of teachers and researchers in order to develop strong research teams in different disciplinary areas, by offering tuition fee discounts for the careers and accredited courses offered at the College.

Promote the development of research lines aimed at meeting regional needs related to the national agrifood system, and the transfer of results for addressing specific problems.
Promote the involvement of undergraduate students in the research projects being carried out in the institution.

Provide the community with all the information available about subsidies, fellowships, internships, exchange programs, and other opportunities.

Facilities for scientific and technological research

Our College is endowed with the necessary infrastructure and equipment to support the successful development of scientific and technological research projects.

Experimental Field

The Villarino Experimental Field, which comprises a total area of 507 ha, contains sectors used for research and practice activities (fruit, vegetable, and sheep production) as well as fields devoted to dairy production, cattle breeding, swine production, and farming, which are representative of local farm operations. The proximity of these sectors to the classrooms and laboratories facilitates the teaching, research, and extension activities. The experimental field also offers facilities for field trials and applied research on farming and animal production systems (sheep, beef cattle, dairy cattle, and swine). It is equipped with suitable infrastructure for conducting research projects, such as irrigation systems, a meteorological station, and an experimental dairy unit.

Greenhouses

A 100m2 greenhouse located near the central building, with concrete flooring and controlled environment. The Plant Physiology sector is equipped with 6 controlled-environment greenhouses with a total area of 1,300 m², two of which are covered with glass, and the other two with polyethylene. The Weeds sector has a 135m² greenhouse with polyethylene covering. The Horticulture sector is equipped with a 61 m² greenhouse covered with glass, and a 528 m² greenhouse with polyethylene cover.

Center of Territorial Studies (CTS)

The Center of Territorial Studies (CET), established in 2008, is an academic space, oriented to study different components of the rural and urban land.

It participate in instances related to the interventions that promote and facilitate the design and implementation of policies, strategies, programs and projects of public and private organizations, with emphasis on integrated development at different scales. It has strengths in research skills and tasks based on a solid group of trained researchers, fellows in training and science and technology.

The CTS is linked with other centers and institutes with similar profiles as part of an interactive network that addresses the land issue, mainly in the search for solutions to problems of high impact on the conservation of natural resources and the quality of life of society.

Laboratories:

– Disciplinary Research Laboratory (Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Plant Pathology, Genetics, Plant Breeding). The facilities of this lab are shared by disciplinary research teams for the development of their projects.
All laboratories meet the hygiene and safety standards required by current regulations.

Plant Physiology Lab
This facility, made up of three labs and greenhouses located in the Villarino Park, serves research activities in plant pathology with a special focus on the physiology of soybeans. It is also equipped with facilities for in vitro culture, especially of ornamental species.

Molecular Biology Lab
This lab is located in the Central building. It is used for studies on molecular biology and plant biotechnology, especially in the areas of genetic markers, genetic transformation, and in vitro culture.

Lab of soils and land managment
This lab is located in the Central building

Plant and Microbial Biodiversity Studies Lab
Located in the central building and dedicated to study the biodiversity of plants, artropods and agronomic interest microorganisms.

In Vitro culture chambers
Located in the central building, they are used for in Vitro culture in controlled environment.

Plant growth chamber
Built in the central building. This chamber is used to complete the life cycle of crops both within and beyond their growing season, in strict compliance with biosafety regulations.

Outstanding Technological Developments

Research lines in the The Collage of Agronomy – UNR

Publications

Scientific equipment in our College

The scientific and technological equipment available in our College comes from different sources:

  • Institutional projects approved by Ad Hoc funding programs.
  • Research projects which obtain funding for the purchase of specific equipment needed for their execution.
  • Donations

After the equipment has been purchased, it is available for all research activities in the College.
Some of the equipment available in our laboratories includes: a microparticle accelerator for genetic transformation; laminar flow cabinets; benchtop and refrigerated centrifuges; conventional, temperature gradient, and real-time PCR thermal cyclers; spectrophotometers; optical and fluorescence microscopes; HPLC-quality water purification system; HPLC chromatography system; power sources; vertical and horizontal electrophoresis systems; NIR spectrometer; NMR equipment; Soxhlet extractor; thermostatic baths; thermostatic orbital shakers; -80 and -20 freezers; scales; heaters, and liquid nitrogen tanks, among others.

Interinstitutional Cooperation in Science and Technology

Our College offers its facilities and hosts researchers and fellowship holders from CONICET and ANPCyT, fostering the development of human resources with postgraduate qualifications. The institution also works jointly with INTA in the development of numerous projects.

The College offers its facilities to undergraduate students from the College of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Rosario National University) who conduct the experimental work needed to complete their theses to obtain their first degree in Biotechnology. These students complete their studies in our institution.

The Faculty of Agronomic Sciences is open to initiate new academic collaborations with national and international institutions to develop research projects of agronomic interest. It promotes the human resources formation at the postgraduate level in the execution of research.

Research and Society

Guided by a strong commitment to interacting with society, our institution strives to deliver the outputs of its research efforts to the community through the dissemination, transfer, and extension channels created for that purpose.

Researchers formulate their projects with the aim of systematically building new knowledge and articulating it with all the dimensions of the needs of society and, therefore, of the country.

Thus, our institution supports research projects and programs in strategic areas for national development which engage the researchers/teachers and society as a whole.

Our institution is permanently seeking resources and tools to integrate the knowledge-building process with the agricultural sector through different interaction channels such as agreements, partnerships, volunteer programs, and pre-professional practices which connect our research lines with the community.

The College promotes the active involvement of different local sectors in research and technology activities carried out with the purpose of solving their problems and improving their quality of life.

Currently, our College is developing projects to scale which involve processes, chains and webs encompassing the multiple dimensions of the territory. Thus, we perform trials on crops and crop inputs, assess techniques, conduct surveys of resources, propose alternative land uses, coordinate joint tasks with other institutions, and collaborate with different social activities, forging more, new bonds between academic research and the needs of the community.

Integration is addressed through a systemic approach with a continuous feedback rationale, in which collective needs are the inputs for research efforts. When these needs have been satisfied, new situations are created which once again call for the participation of researchers, feeding a dynamic process which strengthens the relationships between the academic and social sectors.

Research envisaged as a service requires a clear, sound political stance which allows our researchers to obtain support from science and technology promotion organisms.