The principal objective of the Technology and Mechanisation Laboratory is to ensure that the technical equipment (machinery, greenhouses, polytunnels, and the instruments required for carrying out tests and measurements and for processing seed) used in research, development and the production of seed and planting material operates to optimum parameters.
The laboratory plays an essential role in supporting applied research and in implementing innovative solutions that meet the current needs of the horticultural sector. The most remarkable achievement of this laboratory is the development and patenting of an innovative vertical greenhouse module, designed for the production of seedlings, vegetables and flowers, as well as for drying seed.
Research topics include:
- Optimising the operation of the technical equipment (machinery, greenhouses, polytunnels, instruments for testing, measurements and seed processing) used in research, development and the production of seed and planting material;
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Modernising and innovating the system of machines and equipment, including the design and patenting of specialised equipment, such as:
- The multifunctional complex unit;
- The machine for extracting seed from pepper receptacles;
-The machine for extracting seed from cucurbits; - Developing and patenting an innovative vertical greenhouse module, designed for the production of seedlings, vegetables and flowers, as well as for drying seed;
- Providing technical support for the maintenance of vegetable crops, in accordance with the cultivation technologies applied;
- Optimising the processes for conditioning and packaging seed of vegetables, flowers and aromatic plants, in order to guarantee superior quality parameters and to make marketing more efficient.
The main activity of the Seed Conditioning and Packaging Section is the conditioning (grading) of the vegetable, flower and aromatic plant seed produced at our Station, in order to secure superior quality parameters, together with the packaging/micro-packaging of the seed for marketing.