The lines of research in this area aim to produce materials and technologies capable of increasing competitiveness and sustainability in the agrarian sector. The characterization and conservation of phytogenetic resources, the analysis of variability, and the identification of traits of particular interest all represent the first step in programs that aim to improve extant plant material. Once such plant material has been studied and improved upon, the next step is to design innovative strategies to optimize the handling of agrarian input – particularly of water and its use in irrigation – in order to improve farming techniques.
All of these steps follow the ultimate goal of obtaining products of vegetable origin in sufficient quality and quantity to ensure the profitability of agricultural exploitation, with an environmental impact that guarantees sustainability. Moreover, increased interest in foodstuffs of outstanding quality and the awareness of the relation between diet and health all make it necessary to gain in-depth knowledge of agrofood products and to establish scientific criteria to describe them, in order to attain quality production within a sustainable agricultural framework.
This area of investigation is coordinated by Pilar Errea, PhD, the Head of Department I, which comprises 29 members working in 10 different research groups.
This area includes 3 lines of research with 9 sub-lines and a total of 31 specific actions:
| Line 1. Genetic resources and their improvement | A12 A16 A43 |
A52 E52* T41* |
| Line 2. Optimization of agrofood production – Product quality and safety | A12 A15 A16 A43** H38** |
E52* T41* |
| Line 3. Development of sustainable agricultural production systems – Sustainability and the environment | A11* A12 A15 A16 A43** H38** |
T41* E52* |
| Line of research | CITA Groups | UNIZAR Groups |
*This group has no member assigned to Department 1, but makes occasional contributions to some of its strategic projects.
**Groups pertaining to CSIC or UNIZAR that include CITA researchers assigned to Department 1.
