The Research Directorate is situated within the Crops Research Laboratory (CRL) compound along the
Batac-Paoay
road, about 500 meters southwest of the MMSU FEM-Hall (Administration Building) and about 2.0 km away from the
City proper of Batac. Within the CRL compound are the Office of the Director of Research, researchers' offices,
laboratories and other research support facilities, i.e. One-Stop - Information Shop (training/meeting hall),
barn (stock rooms), bamboo craft center, seed bank, bioethanol production area, among others. The CRL also
houses the offices of the Ilocos Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development Consortium
(ILAARRDEC) where MMSU is the base agency, University Center for Gender and Development (UCGAD), Intellectual
Property Office (IPO), Tuklas Lunas Development Center, and Higher Education Regional Research Center (HERRC),
Center for Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CCRA).
On-station experiments in the agriculture and allied disciplines are conducted in the research
experimental
station located in the main campus representing a rainfed lowland environment with a total area of 202 ha.
Likewise, field experiments for legumes are also conducted at the 7.6 ha MMSU Experimental Farm in Dingras
campus, Dingras, Ilocos Norte. On-station experiments in fisheries, on the otherhand, are conducted at the MMSU
campus in Currimao, Ilocos Norte while livestock researches are set-up in the 1.6 ha livestock area at
Nagbacsan. Forestry and agroforestry researches are set-up at the Forest Reserve Areas in Lubbot and Payao, City
of Batac covering a total of 1068.13 hectares.
Within the Batac Experimental Area is the Agro-meteorological Station which is jointly managed by
the
PAGASA-Department of Science and Technology and MMSU. The station provides weather data to university
researchers as well as students and other stakeholders.
Research Laboratories and Other Support Infrastructures
S&T Park
A Science and Technology Park is being established at the southern portion of the MMSU-College of
Agriculture, Foods and Sustainable Development. The park will provide the following services: R&D on
marketing and food product development, Technical, laboratory equipment & facilities, training,
market
outlet and related services, and as a venue for start-up businesses. Apart from the infrastructure
establishment, the project will facilitate the acquisition of food processing facilities and
equipment
as
well as laboratory support facilities, develop procedures and protocols for the development of food
products
and quality enhancement of existing products, and provision of technical expertise which the project
staff
possesses and acquired through the process.
Tissue Culture Laboratory
The priority concern of the tissue culture laboratory of the university is to conduct
researches on
high-value crops which could be instrumental in uplifting the economic conditions of farmers not
only in the
Ilocos, but also in nearby provinces.
It aims to: a) rapidly propagate disease-free planting materials of high-value crops
in order to cater to the
needs of farmer clientele in the Ilocos Region and b) periodically produce a large number of plants
that are
genotypically the same as the mother/stock plants.
The tissue culture laboratory is principally intended for the R&D program on
micropropagation technique, mass
propagation of disease-free germplasm of high-value crops such as garlic, and for the rapid
multiplication
of slow-growing crops such as orchids. Further, this is also used for instructional purposes.
This laboratory is located beside the College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable
Development.
Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory
The facility is located at North Wing of the College of Arts and Sciences. It houses basic and
state-of-the-art facilities in Microbiology and Biotechnology as well as a Mini Culture Collection.
It caters to microbiological and biotechnological activities related to instruction, research,
extension and production.
Agricultural Process Engineering Laboratory
The Agricultural Process Engineering Laboratory (APEL) functions as a research and
teaching
laboratory of the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the College of Engineering of the
University. There are various laboratory equipment in the laboratory for the determination of the
different parameters in postharvest technology for various agricultural commodities. The equipment
in the laboratory include grains processing and handling, postharvest horticulture research and
development as well as facilities for products development and evaluation. Packaging equipment are
also present in the laboratory. The equipment in the laboratory include high temperature
measurements equipment, various kinds of rice reduction apparatus, vacuum packaging,
spectrophotometer, heaters, rotary evaporators, juice extraction equipment, drying equipment and
moisture content determination. The laboratory has fermentation and distillation facilities for
various applications.
The laboratory was established with funding support from the Commission on Higher
Education,
Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology and the National Economic and
Development Authority.
Ceramic Manufacturing Plant Laboratory
The Ceramic Manufacturing Plant and Laboratory is a teaching and research laboratory
in support to
the development of the ceramic industry of the country. It is managed by the Department of Materials
Science and Engineering of the College of Engineering of the University. The facilities in the
laboratory include clay materials processing to include crushers, pulverizers, extruders and
shakers. Ceramic forming equipment like potter's wheel, jiggering machines are also present. Clay
purification set ups are also available in the laboratory. Ceramic Drying and Firing facilities are
available at the laboratory. Rock preparation for mineralogical analysis can be found in the
laboratory.
The laboratory was established with funding support from the Commission on Higher
Education and the
Department of Science and Technology.
Crops Research Laboratory
The Crops Research Laboratory which houses the Research Directorate of the University serves the
research endeavors of faculty and full-time researchers and students of the different colleges of
the university as well as the member agencies of ILAARRDEC. Within the CRL building are four
laboratories - Analytical, Entomology, Pathology and Soil, Plant and Water Testing Laboratory.
Industrial Electronics/Mechatronics Laboratory
The Center is established under the initiative of TEMASEK Foundation, the Commission on Higher
Education and the Mariano Marcos State University. It acts as a venue for educational development of
teachers. It strengthens the knowledge, capabilities and competencies of faculty members of ECE, ME,
EE and CpE of the College of Engineering. It tries to demonstrate the industrial importance of
Mechatronics to faculty members, students, professionals and other clienteles. It is located at the
College of Engineering, City of Batac.