Hort@’s experimentation comes under the company’s crop rotation scheme and aims to study the farming and agronomic factors that define the productivity of the main varieties of cereals grown in southern Italy. One of the most important parcel level tests is the agronomic study on varieties that have just entered the market, in order to identify the right balance between cultivation costs, revenue and respect for the environment, as well as to assess productivity and susceptibility to the most common plant diseases.
The effects of other cultivation techniques are also studied, such as seeding or transplanting periods, intercropping practices and cover crops, as well as new mechanical equipment. Experimental trials enable constant validation and calibration of the functions and the DSS databases, since they provide an insight into how the products and cultivation techniques used interact with the plant, soil and climate.
Since 2016, alongside experimental trials on cereals, test fields have been set up to study different species of legumes, especially peas, lentils, chickpeas, vicia faba minor and lupinus mutabilis.