goal With the aim of promoting research in the environmental and agricultural fields, the Timac Agro Chair includes a PhDscholarship for the training of specialists in Biology and Agricultural Chemistry. The scholarship finances research aimed at the realisation of a doctoral dissertation, which is developed within the Biological and Agricultural Chemistry (group BACh) of the department of Environmental Biology of the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra.

Germán Bosch is the second scholarship holder of the Chair Timac Agro-University of Navarra.
to carry out his doctoral studies at thesis . This started in the academic year 2019-2020.

"Study of the effect of new iron complexes as eco-sustainable substitutes for current iron fertilisers".

Nowadays, iron fertilisers based on synthetic chelates are commonly used in agriculture, but they have a drawback, as they are persistent xenobiotics in nature that affect the mobility of the metals. This makes them therefore unsustainable for the environment. It is therefore necessary to search for new fertilisers that are sustainable and efficient in order to achieve viable agriculture.

Therefore, the doctoral thesis will have as goal the search for new iron fertilisers and their study on the effect of the plant, combining them with microorganisms that enhance their beneficial action. To this end, first the different mechanisms of iron uptake by the cucumber plant and their mutual regulation will be studied in depth. Next, the effect of the complexes on these uptake mechanisms will be analysed, and finally, their fertilising efficacy will be studied by studying the growth and iron levels in the plant under conditions of iron shortage.

goal With the aim of increasing the efficiency of these new fertilisers based on organic complexes, the synergistic effect of the microorganisms with these complexes will be evaluated to determine their effects on the plant.

David de Hita is the first person to receive a scholarship from the Timac Agro-University of Navarra Chair for his doctoral dissertation, which began in the 2015-2016 academic year.

"Study of the endophyte microbiome as a function of nitrogen supply and synergy with humic acids".
Currently, the consumption of nitrogen fertilisers exceeds 150 million tonnes. Paradoxically, the excessive use of these fertilisers leads to loss of soil fertility, contamination of underground aquifers and eutrophication of inland waters. The development of strategies to improve nitrogen use efficiency is crucial for the development of sustainable agriculture in this new century. The doctoral dissertation is a search for solutions to this situation, and is aimed at achieving a more efficient and sustainable agriculture through the combination of more efficient fertilisers and combining the biological component to improve the availability of nutrients. The work will focus on the study of endophytic microorganisms naturally present in plants model (Cucumis sativus) and their response to conditions of nitrogen limitation for the plant. The mechanisms of action of endophytic micro-organisms and the influence of root or foliar application of humic substances on the activity of these micro-organisms will be studied in depth.