As part of his outreach activities, Dr. Dante Pinochet, an academic at the Institute of Agrarian Engineering and Soils (IIAS) of the Austral University of Chile (UACH) supports Agrícola Cran Chile SpA, in the development of a phenological model of Cranberry oriented to its fertilization.
It is a model, which relates degree-days with the phenological stages of Cranberry, which will improve the knowledge of this crop and thereby optimize its productive potential.
In this context, the company expressed its congratulations and thanks to Dr. Pinochet, as well as to the IIAS and the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences of this university for the collaborative work carried out.
Agrícola Cran Chile, is a company that produces Cranberries in the Los Ríos and La Araucanía region. Cranberries are destined for the agribusiness for the production of concentrated and dehydrated juice. Those that are exported, mainly, to Europe and Asia, explained Luz María Bennett, Farmer Manager, Agronomist of the company and who works in the development of the model together with Dr. Pinochet.
“The professor has a long experience in the field of fertilization and plant physiology. It supports us in the elaboration of models that allow us to understand more about our fruit tree and thus, to be able to plan in a better way the different operations that are carried out ”, indicated the professional, who carried out the Master in Plant Sciences of the UACh, thanks to the support of his company, and where he had classes with the academic.
For Professor Pinochet, “this knowledge transfer space is relevant, because it allows the university to contact companies in the professional field and develop practices applied to the regional reality, constituting a good research tool applied directly to field conditions” .
“For me as a professional and researcher, it is very significant to see that what we study at the university can have direct applications in agronomic practices that can be used in field conditions,” said Dr. Pinochet.
He stressed that the collaborative work with Cran Chile also provides feedback on what is really required to study at the university.
It is important to note that Cranberry is considered a functional food due to its high content of antioxidants and its contribution to the prevention of urinary infections.
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