The Plant Production and Crop Technology Unit of CIRAM conducts applied research aimed at improving productivity, quality, resource use efficiency, and sustainability in Mediterranean agricultural systems. Its activity integrates agronomic, physiological, biochemical, and ecophysiological approaches through laboratory and field experimentation, in both protected and open-air systems, with a special focus on crop productive responses to various environmental and management factors.
One of its main research lines focuses on optimizing water use, addressing the determination of water requirements, evapotranspiration, and crop coefficients, as well as the design and evaluation of deficit irrigation strategies aimed at improving water use efficiency without compromising productivity or production quality.
Complementarily, the Unit integrates precision agriculture, remote sensing, spatial analysis, growth and yield modeling, and advanced data analysis tools to characterize spatial and temporal crop variability, identify limiting factors, and develop decision-support tools. Combining experimentation, modeling, and digital technologies makes it possible to advance from understanding physiological and agronomic processes to designing specific, quantifiable management strategies adapted to each cropping system.
Close collaboration with companies, cooperatives, public administrations, associations, and other entities in the agri-food sector facilitates the validation of these strategies under real growing conditions and promotes technology transfer, contributing to the development of the agri-food sector.
Research Lines
- Assessment of crop water requirements and irrigation strategies to improve productivity and water-use efficiency.
- Technological management of protected crops to optimize horticultural production.
- Assessment and agronomic management of crop yield and quality.
- Characterization of the physiological, biochemical, and ecophysiological bases of plant production and crop response to abiotic stresses.
- Assessment of plant nutrition and its relationship with crop physiology, yield, and quality.
- Development of crop adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change and other abiotic stresses.
- Application of digital technologies, remote sensing, and precision agriculture for crop monitoring and management.
- Assessment of biostimulants to improve productivity and production quality.
- Crop growth and yield modeling to identify limiting factors and improve agronomic management.
- Development of crop propagation and establishment techniques.
Service Portfolio
Experimentation and Evaluation of Crop Technologies
- Design and execution of agronomic experiments in the field and under protected cultivation.
- Evaluation of biostimulants, fertilizers, rootstocks, plant material, and other production technologies.
- Comparison of management strategies and their effects on yield, quality, and resource-use efficiency.
- Results analysis and preparation of scientific-technical reports.
Diagnosis and Optimization of Agronomic Management
- Characterization of the agronomic and physiological status of crops and identification of limiting factors.
- Analysis of crop response to water stress, salinity, adverse temperatures, and other abiotic stresses.
- Optimization of irrigation, plant nutrition, and other agronomic practices.
- Preparation of management recommendations and protocols.
Agronomic Irrigation Scheduling
- Determination of water requirements, evapotranspiration, and crop coefficients.
- Definition of deficit irrigation strategies and efficient water use.
- Irrigation scheduling adapted to the crop, environmental conditions, and production goals.
Digital Monitoring, Modeling, and Decision Support
- Crop monitoring using remote sensing, digital technologies, and agronomic data.
- Characterization of spatial and temporal variability.
- Development of predictive models for growth, yield, and quality.
- Application of decision-support, precision agriculture, and agronomic management tools.
Advisory Services and Transfer to the Agri-Food Sector
- Scientific-technical advice in plant production and crop technology.
- Preparation of specialized studies and reports.
- Participation in R&D&i (Research, Development, and Innovation) and technology transfer projects.
- Validation of technologies and strategies under real growing conditions.
- Training, technology transfer, and knowledge dissemination activities in the agronomic field.