Global (English) News & Press Jobs & Career Search Company R&D Center The COMPO EXPERT Research & Development Center coordinates quality optimization and innovative product development worldwide in cooperation with leading companies, research institutes and universities. In the COMPO EXPERT Research & Development Center, quality optimisations optimizations and innovative product development are carried out in co-operation with leading companies, independent research institutes and universities. COMPO EXPERT'’s own R&D Centre Center in Münster-Wolbeck coordinates since 2009 research and development activities worldwide in more than 25 countries in Europe, South America and Asia. Current research focuses include the development of biostimulants for plant vitalization as well as the use of new technologies for leaf and soil fertilizers. Thanks to decades of research and experience, COMPO EXPERT is the competent partner for fertilization. Research Technical Research Agronomic Research The commercialization of new fertilizers and biostimulants implies that the products could be produced successfully at industrial scale with reasonable resources. However, before new products can be industrially produced, the production process needs to be developed, tested and optimized in a small scale. At COMPO EXPERT such development and optimization steps are usually conducted at the R&D Technical Center. If all required tests are successful, the recipes and processes can be upscaled to the industrial production scale. In the COMPO EXPERT Technical Center following activities are conducted: Development of new products using similar equipment and technologies as in the industrial production unit Revision and improvement of existing recipes (e.g., substitution of raw materials) to achieve and ensure desired and required product properties Production of experimental samples according to the COMPO EXPERT product portfolio (granular fertilizers, coated fertilizers, fertilizers with special additives, suspensions, liquid fertilizer, soil improvers and biostimulants) for agronomic experiments and product registration in the different countries Conduction of standardized tests to evaluate product quality and storage behavior (granular and liquid fertilizers) Planning and development of experiments supporting requests on intellectual property Broad documentation on the conducted experiments, including extensive evaluation and reporting Support in the optimization of processes and establishment of new procedures for evaluation of quality parameters Objectives and Key Activities The R&D unit of COMPO EXPERT is involved in the elucidation of several biological, horticultural and agronomic questions on the use of fertilizers and biostimulants. Such questions are commonly raised by the markets, marketing units, Crop Managers, Product Management and the R&D group. Typical activities comprise: Comparative evaluation of new product prototypes aiming optimization of the existing product portfolio – (NPK) mineral fertilizers, DMPP-stabilized fertilizers, controlled-release fertilizers (CRF), slow release fertilizers (SRF), water soluble salts for fertigation, liquid fertilizers, fertilizers for foliar application and biostimulants Improvement of efficiency of fertilizers using new technologies to ensure plant availability of nutrients for longer time Selection and further development of biostimulants to raise crop resilience allowing optimal plant performance under sub-optimum (stress) conditions Evaluation of products and prototypes, also for practical use under sub-optimum production conditions such as abiotic stresses (water deficiency, salinity, pH levels) Optimization of environmentally friendly fertilization strategies to reduce losses through volatilization and lixiviation Evaluation of different application techniques: soil, fertigation, foliar Crops COMPO EXPERT fertilizers and biostimulants are used in many different crops. For experimentation purposes, the ideal crops are selected based on the driving question, the environmental conditions, and the economic relevance. Some examples of crops: Ornamental plants Vegetables Fruits Berries Broad acre crops Turf grass General model plants Working Scales At COMPO EXPERT, the spectrum of possibilities for conduction of experiments range from high throughput experiments in the laboratory to potted crops under protection environment, field experiments for broad acre crops and long-term experiments in fruit orchards. Our experience and possibilities are exemplified in following working scales: Laboratory experiments using Petri dishes or hydroponic systems Greenhouse experiments under protected cultivation Experiments in plastic tunnels Trials with potted crops in cold houses and open areas Open field trials with broad acre crops Experiments in young and in established orchards Sports fields and golf areas Evaluations Determination of growth, yield and quality parameters Screening experiments for evaluation of early effects during the phase of crop establishment Evaluation of root development using rhizotrons Use of non-destructive technologies for phenotyping of plants with different parameters, including: Growth, plant height and leaf area using infrared scanning technology Plant density and living ground area using a tailor-made photobox Biochemical indicators such as chlorophyll, anthocyanin and flavonol contents using fluorescence and transmission technology Knowledge Management The central R&D unit works closely together with the international COMPO EXPERT affiliates. With this, the knowledge building and transfer in the areas of fertilizers and biostimulants is ensured at high level. Some examples on the most important activities in terms of knowledge building and knowledge transfer: R&D Meeting R&D Presentations SharePoint Scientific Exchange Training of Product Managers Guided Tours Offer for Students Networking and Cooperation With a continuous and long-term work, the central R&D unit builds up a global network that allows conduction or basic and applied research. The centrally coordinated activities are supported and amended by the national COMPO EXPERT subsidiaries. Those local R&D activities are of essential importance since the success of new products in the markets strongly depends on the experimental results obtained in the respective countries. Through the cooperation with strong and reliable partners it is possible to define different research demands to improve and test products, and to contribute with the general development of the company. Finally, clear and sustainable advances are only possible with the support of an internationally qualified team. Partner & Association Scientific Partners Association and Representative Work Ghent University Universität Hohenheim Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein Westfalen Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum Rheinpfalz Landlab Ideagro Kasetsart University Koga WWU Münster Universität Bonn Hochschule Osnabrück COMPO EXPERT Newsletter Our free COMPO EXPERT newsletter gives you detailed information about local fertilization and plant cultivation. To register please visit your country website. Switch language Follow us Each country delivers all the latest information regarding COMPO EXPERT and our products locally. Please visit your country website to receive our social links. 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