Testing facility

Efficacy trials (GEP)

Since 1999, Repros holds the GEP (Good Experimental Practices) certification issued by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture for conducting evaluation trials on plant protection products for registration purposes (assessments, tests, field trials). Repros employs a trained staff that performs full field activities on plant protection products.

The GEP trials are performed following the EPPO standards on the evaluation of the efficacy of plant protection products in their most up-to-date version.

Our strengths

For years Repros has oriented its specialization towards efficacy trials on arable crops, in particular corn and cereals.

The area in which Repros operates, in fact, is one of the area most suited to the cultivation of extensive crops; thanks to a dense network of contacts with local farmers, together with a deep knowledge of the territory, we are able to locate the experimental trials where there is the maximum chance of success.

Wireworms

Thanks to an initial collaboration with the University of Padua and to our precise and constant research work, the target of one of the main areas of Repros' experimentation is about ground insects called Wireworms.

These polyphagous beetles, in the larval stage, feed on the roots of cereals, damaging the underground organs and the vegetative apex of the young seedlings causing them to dry out quickly.

Considerable damage is also found in potato crops - very common in the Vicenza and Verona area - where the wireworms larvae dig furrows and tunnels, so it preventing the tubers from being marketed.

The presence of these insects is recurrent in some areas of the Pianura Padana; Repros, through monitoring aimed at identifying the most infested areas, is able to locate and carry out ad hoc trials that guarantee a full success of the trial.

The methodology used for monitoring is divided into two phases:

• The identification of land with a high risk of infestation, achievable through contacts with local farmers, historical knowledge of the plots and numerous environmental factors.
• The installation of traps in the ground capable of attracting and capturing the larvae; in this way it is possible to identify, within the single plot, the area that is most affected

Granular distribution and seed-treatment

To carry out trials involving the distribution at sowing of granular and liquid products, Repros uses a sophisticated GPS system with RTK precision.

Thanks to this system, it is possible to distribute with extreme precision the seed and the products within each experimental plot.

Furthermore, thanks to the use of a wet tanner, we are able to treat corn seeds and cereals, so we can experimenting with numerous tanning products (fungicides and insecticides), which will then be sown with precision seeders.

Through the use of this technology, a high and uniform quality of tanning is guaranteed, working especially on small quantities; furthermore, thanks to the delicacy of the treatment, the germination capacity is not compromised.

Distribution with track-sprayer LUNA

An innovative kind of product distribution on different types of crops, such as corn (particularly useful at the end of vegetative development), grapevine and orchards, is the track-sprayer, called LUNA.

The instrument, conceived and designed by our technicians, is equipped with tracks, which allow it to be used even on rough or muddy ground.

In addition, the capacity of the tanks and the ease of use make it possible to considerably reduce the work times required to the operator.