SAVING WATER
Project: 2020-1-CZ01-KA204-078269
Check the reports on EPALE (Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe) in different languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian and Czech.
Training course " Saving Water in the Crop Production "
ONDO is a smart farming solution created by farmers for farmers. The company’s team of agricultural experts and agronomists have very good experience in the building and integration of solutions for automated drip irrigation, precise plant nutrition and climate control for greenhouses and open fields. Together with a skilled team of experienced software and hardware specialists, they worked to create a reliable technology solution that meets the needs of farmers while keeping it easy to use.
The ONDO irrigation system is an automatic system. It consists of a water source (underground or surface), a pump, a control unit, pipes and nozzles. Equipment for the application of liquid fertilizers can also be connected to the system. This irrigation system can be used indoors (greenhouses) or outdoors (fields or gardens). It is used for row planting of vegetables, small fruits and flowers. Comaoerd to the convential irrigation systems used in Bulgaria, this system can save up to 30 % of water, reduce fertilizer consumption by up to 20 % and increase yields by up to 20 %. The system also delivered abroad eg. Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, Turkey ans Serbia. The company is constantly developing and improving the system. The current system is already the 3rd generation.
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN BORIKA
The Botanical Garden Borika was established in 2016 in the village of Borika. After graduating from the Department of Landscape Science and Environmental Protection at the Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski ”, its founder, Mr. Yassen Ivanov, succeeded in making true his dream to create a place that promotes the environmental protection and let everyone learn new about nature, see rare plant species from Bulgaria and other parts of the world.
The owner of the botanical garden also showed us weeds that are invasive and unpleasant for farmers for weeds in fields and other green areas such as Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica).
PAISII HILENDARSIKY UNIVERSITY
Nowadays the faculty of biology has more than 50 years of history. Annually over 1000 students study at the faculty in several bachelor courses –Biology, Biology and Chemistry, Ecology and preservation of the environment, Molecular biology and Bioinformatics, Ecology and biotechnological production and Medical biology, Biology and Physics. There is a separate laboratory for genetic engineering, within the department of plant physiology and molecular biology. Hundreds of publications (also including treatises) in Bulgaria and many other countries testify to the scientific research of the highly qualified faculty staff.
There we met a team of educators who showed interest in our project and also presented their water protection project focused on water contamination and its impact on aquatic animals. At the same time, they showed interest in cooperating and building the new ecological project. The exchange of experiences and ideas was very beneficial for both parties.
INSTITUTE OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES
Preservation of plant genetic resources, part of the Bulgarian cultural heritage, is the main duty of the Institute for Plant Genetic Resources „K. Malkov“ based located in the town of Sadovo, Central South Bulgaria, situated 15 km away from Plovdiv. The area has a typical continental climate – warm summers and cold winters.
The IPGR manage 270 ha arable land, 155 ha of which are experimental fields and 115 ha be seed base. The IPGR has a National Seed Genebank, botanical garden, herbarium, computer center and specialized laboratories: seed-investigation, plant protection, biochemistry, plant physiology, agricultural chemistry, plant biotechnology and quality of grain. The Institute for Plant Genetic Resources is accredited to educate regular and part-time PhD students in scientific discipline: „Breeding and Seed Production of crops“. IPGR has qualified scientific personnel and good facilities for teaching practices and internships to students and manual for graduates and postgraduates in different directions in agricultural science.
MARITSA INSTITUTE
Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute, Plovdiv is a national research center for scientific, scientific-applied activities and extension service in the field of the vegetable crops and potato breeding, the technologies for vegetable crops growing. The Institute is situated in the Thracian valley – the biggest vegetable production region in the Republic of Bulgaria. This institute is a research unit in the structure of the Agricultural Academy. The achievements of the scientists in the MVCRI are well known abroad that making them competitive partners in research studies in the field of vegetable production.
The lecture on the new variety of "pink tomato", which is briefly introduced on the market as a new vegetable varieties, was very interesting. The institute also researches legumes and their nutritional values, which are measured in laboratories. We had the opportunity to visit both laboratories and greenhouses, where new and existing varieties are retested.
ROSE FIELDS AND DESTILLERY
40 km from Plovdiv, in the Brezovo village of Zelenikovo, the largest rose brewery on the Balkan Peninsula has been built. The distillery is 93 years old and at the time was among the most modern in this part of the world - a distillation system using French technology for the extraction of rose oil. The great experience, knowledge and striving for perfection of the owners of the then company "Shishkov and co", representing the largest producers and traders of rose oil in Bulgaria in the period from the 19th century to the mid-40s of the 20th century, were invested in its construction. century. After the nationalization, the rose brewery is managed by the former state company "Bulgarian Rose" Currently, this is the only fully preserved and authentic rosary in Bulgaria, declared a cultural monument as an architectural and technological value. There are rose fields to the destillery.
The plants bloom for two months from ½ May to ½ July. Rose leaves are collected early in the morning from 4 to 5 o'clock and until the air temperature reaches 20 degrees C, then the oil from the leaves begins to evaporate. 3 tons of rose leaves are needed to produce one liter of rose oil. Simple atmospheric distillation is used for the distillation of rose oil, whereby heat is obtained by burning fuel oil and water to coolers for condensation of water with oil droplets is obtained from an underground well. Subsequently, the heated water is freely discharged through the storage tank back into nature.
BOTANICAL GARDEN SOFIA
The University Botanic garden - Sofia was founded in 1892 by the first professor in botany Dr. Stefan Georgiev. On the inauguration day Bulgarian King Ferdinand I planted an oak (Quercus robur L.) lying a golden coin in its roots. Today the oak tree with its powerful trunk and crown gives cool shade reminding the vast oak forests covering Sofia region in the past.
Its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation mission statement “is a catalyst for working together at all levels - local, national, regional and global - to understand, conserve and use sustainably the world's immense wealth of plant diversity. The international co-operation across EU boundaries throughout a strategic partnership involving high education institutions, conservation and research organizations (botanic gardens, gene banks, universities, research institutes, non-governmental organizations) may meaningfully contribute to create a better understanding of plant diversity problems and their possible solutions. Botanical garden implement HEI PLADI project relays on a constructive cooperation and integration between five Universities, research institute and organization all providing strong expertise in the field of plant biodiversity characterization, management and conservation and in lifelong learning.
SUMMARY
The last mobility in Bulgaria has integrated the aims and objectives of our project "Saving water" very well. In this beautiful part of Bulgaria, we had the opportunity to compare approaches and technologies of organic farming, we learned about the possibilities of using arid crops and their use in the food industry. Rose plantations and their subsequent use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries were a real experience for the participants, because Bulgaria has a historical tradition and value in this area. Very kind and nice mentors willingly shared their experiences and answered questions. Mutual exchange of experience is always mutually beneficial.