El Oued University launches the phase of botanical experiment garden projects
Today, March 21, 2023, the University of Martyr Hamou Lakhdar in El Oued entered a new development field within the framework of the university’s openness to its economic and social environment by inaugurating the Botanical Experimental Garden affiliated with the Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences.
The Secretary General of the State, accompanied by the University Director and the Forest Governor, inaugurated the Scientific Botanical Experimental Garden located opposite the University’s central administration.
The inauguration was also attended by the Vice-Directors, the University Secretary-General, the Head of the Wadi Department, the Mayor of Wadi, the State Secretary of the Traders Union, economic operators, forest conservation executives, professors from the College of Nature and Life, and those concerned with the subject of the park.
According to the technical card of the project, the botanical experimental garden is part of the completion of the equipment of the Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences after the project witnessed a process of rehabilitation and support with modern smart equipment through which many experiments can be carried out in the agricultural field and also contribute to achieving local self-sufficiency in the production of seedlings of various varieties by programming an information mechanism for irrigation operations and treatment with the necessary fertilizers.
The inaugurated botanical garden is divided into three sections: a section for protected agriculture in plastic houses, an open agriculture section, and a nursery section with a production capacity of up to 30,000 trees annually. The automatic irrigation process is based on the waterbox system, which is a watering system in a box that guarantees moisture to the young tree for a considerable period of time. This system also has automatic control rooms for intelligent control of the strength and volume of water flow, which enables rationalization of fertilization and water resources used for irrigation, as all tree development processes are carried out through electronic programming to open and close water valves.
On the other hand, and within the framework of expanding the scientific forestry projects of the University of El Oued, a new similar project is expected to be launched this year to build an important experimental farm with a budget estimated at around seven billion centimes. According to the technical card of the project programmed for this agricultural experimental farm, the project includes several agricultural fields, including: smart agriculture with pivot spraying, smart agriculture inside air-conditioned houses, smart agriculture with dripping, hydroponic agriculture, fruit tree cultivation, medicinal plant cultivation, protection of plants threatened with extinction, as well as the field of improving seed and seedling production, in addition to an environmental museum that includes different types of plants and trees.
The university authority stated that these agricultural fields and specializations of the garden are at the disposal of various specialized actors within the university and all institutions of the agricultural and forestry sector in the state within the framework of pedagogical and research uses, with the university providing support and accompaniment to various local operators and practitioners in order to implement the various agreements concluded with the university within the framework of the university’s contribution to local agricultural development and production in the context of its openness to its economic and social environment.
