Research Interests:

Biological nitrogen fixation and plant promoting effects in associations between rhizophere bacteria and roots of grasses, legumes and vegetables. Biological nitrogen fixation in the Rhizobium legume symbiosis and bacterial diseases of plants.

Research Projects:

• Improvement of nodulation, nitrogen fixation, water uptake and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and fava beans (Vicia faba). Funding: CRB Foundation 1996-2000
• Extracellular factors involved in the aggregation of the N2-fixing rhizobacterium Azospirillum brasilense. Funding: ISF. 1998-2001
• The regulation of the synthesis and degradation of the reserve material poly-β-hydroxybutyrate in Azospirillum brasilense. Funding: EU - 5th Framework. 2001-2003.
• Molecular microbial ecology of populations in the rhizosphere: A study of cereals inoculated with Azosprillum brasilense. Funding: GIF; EU - 5th Framework. 2001-2003
• Arabinose-rich exopolysaccharides (EPS) in Azospirillum brasilense. Funding: ISF (2005-2009).