History

The Station of Maize-culture of Bergamo was constituted in 1920 thanks to the contribution of several organizations and local institutions. Since 1968, it has become a part of the Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura as a Peripherical Operational Section (DPR n° 1318 - 23.11.1967). In august 2007, and following the activation of a reorganization plan with the goal to reorganize and rationalize the territorial distribution of the network of those institutes performing agronomical research and experimentations, the Section of Bergamo of the Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura has assumed the denomination Unità di Ricerca per la Maiscoltura (Maize research Unit) [CRA-MAC].

From the very start, this structure has contributed to the development of the Italian maize culture with the creation of varieties which were adapted to the national pedo-climatic conditions and, immediately following world war II, with the introduction and adaptation of hybrid maize. Currently, this Unit performs research on the genetic improvement maize. Of particular relevance is its scientific sector, which attempts a genetic approach to productivity improvement, using genetic, biochemical, physiological, and molecular strategies. All this thanks to the e normous increase in productivity due to the use of today's cultivated maize hybrids, which allow a rapid amortization of research costs.

Aims

Our research aims at the augmentation of scientific and technological insight into the productivity processes of maize, in order to improve the adaptability and the quality of production and to realize the transfer of the acquired information in innovative commodities. The scientific and operational interests of this Unit are orientated towards basic as well as applied research related with the genetic improvement of maize and performed in the framework of finalized projects of national and international interest.

Current research and experimental themes relate to agronomic difficulties, the physiology of production, formal and quantitative genetics, biochemical, physiological, and cellular genetics, molecular biology, and studies regarding the genomic organization of maize.