Comprising about 900 hectares, La Quercia farm is our experimental-demonstration farm site dedicated to trials on cereals, pulses and olives.
La Quercia is an extension of Hort@ where cereals, legumes and olives are the star crops.
The experimental trials
Experiments are carried out in collaboration with public bodies, such as CREA in Foggia, and important production plants including: CON.CER cooperative, Agroalimentare Sud malting plant (specializing in the production of brewing malt for important breweries such as Heineken), SAPLO malting plant (which produces malt for Peroni beer), Andriani mill (specializing in the food innovation sector and dedicated to the production of gluten-free products).
In general, our experimental trials allow constant validation and calibration of DSS functions and databases, as they provide insight into how different treatments and cultivation techniques interact with plants, soil and climate.
New monitoring techniques
We are testing new monitoring technologies at La Quercia as part of European and national projects. For the LIFE AGRESTIC Project, prototypes have been installed for the real-time detection of greenhouse gas emissions from the soil. This will make it possible to check the mitigation potential of ECSs (Efficient Cropping Systems) and to calibrate a model for estimating greenhouse gas emissions.
