The National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) of Mendoza presented an innovation for crops: smart substrates for producing seedlings. They were presented by the Cuyo Innovation Hub (NiC) in the last days of the year.
These products are from Ghrẽtek, the first technology-based company incubated in the NiC.
The substrates are aimed at the productive sector for seedling multiplication, especially those that are more massive in the region and in nurseries for public sale.
This is how smart substrates from INTA Mendoza are
They are called smart substrates because they are created especially for each plant species and their needs, according to the phenological stage. That is, whether it is for the germination stage, planting, or growth.
Substrates are specific for each type of plant.
The main purpose of this development is to combine technology with sustainability, placing them within the regional circular economy.
“This development offers precise substrates for each plant species, optimizing plant performance and health based on a biotechnological design with agro-industrial by-products and nanoparticles,” explained Cecilia Salinas, specialist in agrobiotechnological business development and one of the founders of the company.
“We achieve precision in substrate design thanks to a predictive AI tool that creates differentiated formulas for each plant species,” she added.
According to her, smart substrates present “productivity values, vegetative expression, and germination for those species significantly high,” compared to substrates prepared without this technology.
“Our competitive advantage lies in scientific-technological knowledge materialized in a triple impact business,” clarified Salinas.
What is Ghrẽtek
Ghrẽtek is the first technology-based company born in the NiC. It adds value to agro-industrial by-products and incorporates them back into the food production chain.
NiC projects.
Furthermore, it focuses on the unsatisfied demand from the nursery sector, aiming to minimize production losses and increase seedling yields.
The NiC Incubator will be enabled to boost projects of technology-based companies with provincial endorsement, as well as receive specific financing to accelerate the development of science-based businesses.
“Transforming science into technology,” summarized AnalÃa DÃaz Bruno, executive director of the NiC Microbiotech INTA. She also emphasized that, for this, “INTA supports scientific teams and promotes encounters with other actors that make up the local innovation ecosystem.”
“For 2025, it will seek to expand its influence to the province of San Juan and start incubating ideas and projects from the province, among other lines of action,” DÃaz Bruno stated.
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