Hydro Fert is ready to turn agriculture greener and greener. This is what Lorenzo Vecchietti said, in charge of R&D and Italy Sales Manager of Hydro Fert, an Italian company engaged for years in the production of specialty fertilizers for agriculture.

In this interview, Lorenzo Vecchietti talks about the path leading him to Hydro Fert, his role in the company, the R&D activities and the future goals, always up to date with innovation.

Lorenzo, how long you been working for Hydro Fert?

Since 2009 as a research trials’ freelancer and since 2013 with an official role.

What is your background and education?

I have been working in agriculture for years. I graduated as Agricultural Technician in 2000, then I got a degree in Agricultural Science and Technology in 2005, a PhD in Land and Agroforestry Engineering in 2010 and a research grant in the biomaterials sector in 2010.

What are your main experiences?

I gained significant experiences in agriculture and land engineering research. Over the years, I also worked in the quality management of a composting plant and for some production farms in open field and greenhouses, with conventional and soilless cultivation methods.

Let’s move on to Hydro Fert: how does the R&D process take place?

It is a multi-stage process, developing as follows: bibliographic research of new active molecules, analysis of molecule’s behaviour, acting on plants’ biochemistry and physiology, greenhouse trials and, finally, open field tests. Once these screenings have been successfully passed, the new products can be included in our catalogue and then marketed.

Do you collaborate with research institutions?

Yes, we believe that the collaboration with public and private research and experimentation institutes is the right approach to achieve important goals and reliable results. As a former researcher at the University of Bari, I know how it’s important to share skills and knowledge indeed.

What research projects are underway?

At the moment we’re pursuing many projects in collaboration with public and private research institutes and also with some spin offs of prestigious Italian universities involved in agriculture. These studies concern the evaluation of new active substances with a biostimulating action.

Are you planning new investments in R&D?

Yes, we’re willing to invest time and resources in order to bring a part of the applied researches inside our company. Furthermore, we aim to strengthen and increase our current collaborations to go deeper on some issues we already study in our company, in an autonomous and continuous way.

What will future agriculture be like?

More and more «green». The world trend is to reduce as much as possible the use of chemicals in agriculture, both from a phytoiatric and nutritional point of view. Hydro Fert is ready to accept this challenge, shifting a big part of its experimental development activity to discover new biostimulant molecules, allowing a sustainable approach «in harmony with nature»