The Experimental Station (the full name of the Eeaoc is Obispo Colombres Agroindustrial Experimental Station) was born in 1909 with the objective of technologically supporting producers and industrialists in the province. This goal led to the achievement of innumerable progresses, among which the milestones selected below stand out.
1) The arrival in Tucumán of Javanese cane cultivars (POJ), whose implantation at the initiative of Mr. Alfredo Guzmán, promoter of the Experimental Station, “saved the Argentine sugar industry.”
2) The current programs to improve varieties of sugar cane, soybeans, beans, chickpeas, wheat, corn and even citrus rootstocks. This “ant task” gave, among many fruits, the variety of sugarcane most cultivated in the province, which is LCP 85384. In the last 12 years the Station released nine more varieties of identical or higher quality, and registered soybean patents transgenic whose use allows it to collect royalties in Bolivia and South Africa.
3) Studies of agronomic practices (fertilization, and pest, weed and disease control).
4) Solutions to overcome the health crisis of the mosaic (1910s) and the coal (1942-1943) of sugar cane; de la gomosis (1920s) and de la tristeza (1955) of citrus fruits; from frog’s eye spot (2000) from soybeans and geminiviruses (1978-1982) from beans.
5) The development of the first differentiated zone to produce seed potatoes in the country, in Tafí del Valle (1976), which made Argentina independent from the Dutch seed potatoes.
6) The generation of software products for the industry oriented to energy saving and technological packages for the management of different crops. In recent years, bio-inputs have been developed for a more sustainable management of crops (biofertilizers, biofungicides and biocontrollers).
7) The formation of a plant health team that allowed the productive sector of Tucuman to open new markets, and expand exports of citrus, blueberries and other vegetables. The Station played a fundamental role as the technical arm of Senasa (National Service for Agri-food Health and Quality) for the start and reopening of the citrus trade with the United States (photo), and for passing the audits of the European Union.
8) The impulse in the 1920s of the study of bioethanol by the then director William Cross. In the 1980s, Experimental contributed to the Alconafta Plan. The matter is part of the institution’s agenda, for example, through the Biofuels Quality Laboratory, which is the only one in the region that provides the complete list of anhydrous alcohol analysis required by Law 26,093. In addition, it continued to perform tasteful alcohol analysis and technical assistance to distillery laboratories.
9) The installation of 18 laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment accredited with quality standards, some with international validity.
10) Carrying out the first thermal studies in the sugar industry and liquid sugar production.
11) The incorporation of satellite technology to estimate areas harvestables and yields.
12) The services provided by the network of automatic meteorological stations (there are more than 45 throughout the province) that offer meteorological data in real time on the institutional website from 2006.
13) The Station’s “Engineering and Agroindustrial Projects” section has a reference testing and measurement laboratory in the NOA and NEA for monitoring gaseous emissions and particulate matter ( effluents from chimneys). It also has state-of-the-art instruments to evaluate process variables (temperature, pressure, flow rates of liquids, steam and gases, etc.) for energy efficiency studies with high demand in the regional industry.
14) The creation in 2013 of the Institute of Agroindustrial Technology of the Argentine Northwest (Itanoa) as an executing unit of double dependency between the Experimental Station and the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet). The Itanoa seeks to strengthen the articulation of agroindustrial scientific knowledge with the productive sector.
15) The organization for the first time in the country of the “Specialization in Citriculture” in conjunction with the Faculty of Agronomy of the National University of Tucumán and the San Pablo-T University. In addition, the Experimental Station carried out a series of postgraduate programs with the Tucumán Regional School-National Technological University, including a Master’s Degree in Bioenergetic Engineering. Added to this are weekly update sessions and training workshops on topics of interest to production and industry.
16) Cooperation with regional, national and international institutions.
17) The structuring of a unique “staff” of sugarcane researchers; fruit and vegetable growing; grains and industrial crops; horticulture; engineering and agro-industrial projects; environment and chemistry of agroindustrial products.
18) The publication of the institutional magazine Avance; of the Industrial and Agricultural Magazine of Tucumán; periodic and special reports, and annual reports.
19) Studies to obtain derivatives of lemon peel, an initiative that allowed the establishment of a pilot plant for the extraction of these compounds.
20) The maintenance of the Alfredo Guzmán Library, which has a specialized bibliographic collection of more than 60,000 volumes of periodical publications and 7,000 text copies.
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