Bringing crop science to Benacazón, Spain with SGS’s new experimental station

Date:08-09-2023

SGS has established a new experimental field station in Benacazón, Spain. The new station is located in Sevilla, southwest of Andalucía on the A49 and is just 34 kilometers from Seville Airport.

The field station is the home base of the GLP testing facility for SGS in Spain, which successfully passed inspection in April 2023.

As well as having an office wing with space for 10 employees and a meeting room for visitors, the facility also provides local quality assurance, paper archive, specimen storage and test item handling services.

The area southwest of Andalucía is ideal for SGS services, as it is well known for its good soil, adequate water supply, and a variety of fruits, vegetables and other arable crops.

The approximately 1.1-hectare site with recently upgraded buildings is safely secured against unauthorized access by a fence and monitored gate. The facility is able to run field trials within a radius of roughly 150 kilometers around the site.

Strategically located in the heart of the main agricultural region

To the west is the coast of Huelva. Here, berries are the biggest group of crops, but a huge variety of other crops grow in this area, including citrus fruits; olives, mangoes, avocados and other stone fruits; persimmons; and grapes.

150 kilometers to the south of the facility is the coast of Cadiz. This area is used to grow vegetables, fruits, and grains in both greenhouses and open fields, such as potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, citrus fruits, olives, rice, winter cereals, maize, sugarbeet as well as natural fibers, including cotton.

Meanwhile, 150 kilometers to the north, major crops including citrus fruits, cotton, maize, winter cereals, olives and other stone fruits, pistachios, grapes, sunflowers, asparagus, and other open-field vegetables are grown.

150 kilometers to the east, olives, citrus fruits, wine grapes and table grapes, open-field vegetables, cotton, winter cereals, and maize are grown.

What does the station in Benacazón offer?

The station in Benacazón has irrigation installed, as well as many specialized facilities for crop science, including:

• Two walk-in plant growth chambers and eight greenhouses

• A shade house with a fogging system

• A laboratory for tests with nematodes

• A microbiology laboratory for the production of fungus and bacteria for artificial contamination

• A room for phytopathological diagnostics

• Areas with orange and tangerine trees and for growing vegetables

SGS carries out a range of experiments in the greenhouses, such as experiments with pollinators (like honeybees and bumblebees) and testing under drought conditions.

SGS also supports the testing of new crop protection products, fertilizers and biostimulants, underpinned by a network of field stations across Europe. In Spain, another SGS station is situated in the north near Valladolid, and tests with biostimulants can also be carried out in Portugal under the direction of the team from Spain.

By investing in expanding testing capabilities under controlled conditions in Spain, SGS is demonstrating its commitment to empowering crop scientists throughout their research, as well as enabling integrated pest management with new, alternative and safer products.

Why SGS?

SGS is focused on supporting new product developments in research and development as well as post-commercialization studies.

SGS offers a wide network of field research facilities around the globe, as well as dedicated analytical laboratories for physical-chemical, ecotoxicological, environmental, microbial and residue studies.

SGS also runs seed research and development projects from early breeding to seed treatment trials. SGS is a trusted outsourcing partner for the crop protection, biotech and seed industry, helping to demonstrate product performance and safety under controlled, open-field and practical farming conditions.