Wojciech Biszczak, M.Sc.
4th year of the Doctoral School
Agriculture and Horticulture
Mendel University of Brno

The international internship at Mendel University in Brno took place with the support of the Erasmus programme on 31/01/2023 – 06/02/2023.

Photo 1. The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences is located in one of the oldest buildings at Mendel University in Brno.

I was doing a week-long foreign internship at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the Institute of Plant Cultivation, Breeding and Medicine.

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The topic of my internship was ‘Getting to know the methodology of agricultural research in the Czech Republic’. During my internship, I was able to explore: plant material extraction methods, NIR Spectrometry, GMO laboratory techniques, electrophoresis and PCR. I also had the pleasure of visiting the Institute of Brewing and Malting Research where I was introduced to the use of HPLC methods for quality control, monitoring toxic contaminants and developing antioxidant extracts.

Zdjęcie 3. The laboratory of the Institute of Brewing and Malting Research where the phytic acid content of barley was tested.

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Zdjęcie 6. NIR spectrometer for compositional analysis of plant materials

Thanks to the kindness of my internship supervisor, I had the opportunity to visit the University Experimental Station in Žabčice, where I was introduced to the agro-ecological conditions of southern Moravia and plant breeding experiments focused on abiotic stress tolerance.

Zdjęcie 7. Mendel University experimental station in Brno.

I then visited the company RenoFarmy, a.s. where I was introduced in detail to the strategy of carbon farming, contour cultivation of zero-till land and several technological experiments in the cultivation of winter rape.

Zdjęcie 8. The office and one of the farms that are part of RenoFarma, a.s.