Unit Of Agronomic Research And Variety Testing
Goal: To develop and adapt environmentally friendly horticultural crop cultivation systems and technologies to provide sectoral aid in order to ensure production efficiency.
Activity directions:
- Horticultural crop technology research, development, and adaptation for fruit crops (fruits and berries) and vegetables, incl. fruit crop training, propagation, risk-reducing technologies, provisions of growth conditions (soil moisture regulation, irrigation, orchard maintenance, covering systems);
- Fruit tree, berry and vegetable cultivar and fruit tree rootstock, cultivar rootstock combination evaluation;
- Horticultural crop physiology research and solutions - to improve winter-hardiness, to provide photosynthesis efficiency, plant growth, and production regulation;
- Plant provisioning (incl. nutrients and moisture), study of soil resource, influence of soil properties and sustainable soil usage for horticultural crops;
- Sectoral aid - incl. consultations, seminars, training, practical lessons.
Research directions that the unit is taking part in:
- Diversification and breeding of horticultural crop cultivars suitable for Baltic Sea Region;
- Environmentally-friendly horticultural production systems;
- Storage and processing technologies of horticultural crops;
- Basic biological research for horticulture science
Staff:
- Edgars Rubauskis, Dr. agr., head of unit, leading researcher
- Daina Feldmane, Dr. agr., leading researcher
- Ilze Grāvīte, Dr. agr., researcher
- Jānis Lepsis, Dr. agr., researcher
- Līga Lepse, Dr. agr., leading researcher
- Valda Laugale, Dr. agr., researcher
- Dzintra Dēķena, Dr. agr., researcher
- Inese Drudze, M. agr., researcher
- Solvita Zeipiņa, M. agr., researcher
- Uladzimir Bury, M. biol., assistant
- Sanita Dzieviaciena, senior laboratory technician
- Ilze Randoha, laboratory technician
- Andra Lemberga, laboratory technician
- Indra Borisova, laboratory technician
- Gundega Sebre, B.agr., laboratory technician
- Evelina Jegorova, laboratory technician
- Monta Krista Jansone, senior laboratory technician
- Katrīna Anna Ozoliņa, laborante
Most important actual projects:
- Integrated system for interactive public garden development in Baltic Sea Region (Interactive Gardens) (2023 - 2026)
- Influence of agroecological conditions on the quality of vegetables in urban horticulture (2023 - 2025)
- Development of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles based decision-making system for smart fruit growing (2022 - 2024)
- Investigation of apple, plum and cherry cultivar and rootstock suitability and development of technologies for sustainable farming in different regions of Latvia (2015-2020)
- Examination of perspective berry cultivars for integrated cultivation in different climatic regions of Latvia, as well as development and improvement of cultivation technologies (2015-2020)
- SMART agriculture for innovative vegetable crop PROTECTion: harnessing advanced methodologies and technologies (SMARTPROTECT)
- Strip-cropping and recycling of waste for biodiverse and resoURce-Efficient intensive VEGetable production (SUREVEG)
- Agricultural Interoperability and Analysis System (ATLAS)
- Innovative, economically substantiated solutions to improve the efficiency of apple and raspberry production and fruit quality
- Improving the productivity and quality of organically grown crops by using of new mineral-organic fertilizers
- Wild Cherry (Cerasus avium Moench. syn. Prunus avium L.) propagation technology development and selection of perspective clones for the establishment of productive roundwood plantations under the climatic conditions of Latvia
- The necessity of nutrients for cherries and improvement of their availability
- Identification, collection and research of the genetic potential of in situ cultivated plants for food and agriculture and their wild relatives
- Development of new vegetable - edamame growing technology in organic production
- Modernisation of garlic growing technology for secure yield in organic farming
- Project of The Rural Support Service, Sub-Event “Support for the Development of New Products, Methods, Processes and Technologies” (Collaboration 16.2) “Growing opportunities of new plum cultivars in different regions of Latvia with innovative tree training system.”
Collaboration partners: