Costel Vînătoru
Dr. Ing. Cercetător Ştiinţific grad. I
Specialist with over 37 years of experience in crop plant breeding and genetics, Dr. Eng. Costel Vînătoru has gone through all professional ranks, from CS III in 2003, to CS II in 2009 up to CS I in 2015. Concurrently with his research work, in 1999 he was admitted to the doctoral courses of the USAMV Bucharest, Faculty of Horticulture, under the guidance of University Professor Dr. Eng. Corneliu Petrescu and in 2006 he defended his thesis titled “Creating early F1 tomato hybrids with ecological plasticity and superior quality”, obtaining the title of Doctor in Horticulture.
In 1996, he laid the foundations for the establishment of the first Plant Breeding and Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory in vegetable cultivation in Romania. At the same time, he coordinated acclimatization and improvement works for over 200 new species that have not been cultivated in Romania and which have achieved remarkable results: Momordica charantia (bitter cucumber), Cucumis metuliferus, Momordica cochinchinensis, Lophantus anisatus, Sideritis scardica (Mursalski chai), Brassica juncea, Perilla frutescens, Trichosantes cucumerina, Benincasa hispida, Basella spp., Smalanthus sonchifolius, Stevia rabaudiana, new varieties of Salvia spp., new varieties of Artemisia spp.. To date, he has homologated and patented 47 creations and 24 are in the process of homologation, of which the most important are the premier creations: the hybrid of the species Cucumis sativus, homologated under the name TRIUMF F1, the dwarf bean variety homologated under the name Ioana and the first Romanian culinary basil variety homologated under the name Aromat de Buzău (2006), the first Romanian commercial tomato hybrid creation after 1990, SIRIANA F1 (2007) intended for cultivation in protected areas, for fresh consumption, the cucumber hybrid creation, SIRIUS F1 (2007) obtained by the hybridization method based on marker characteristics, innovative for Romania at that time.
He has authored and published a total of 12 books, of which 7 are specialized. Annually, he participated with numerous scientific papers at the sessions organized by universities in the field in the country and at international scientific congresses in the field of horticulture. Among the most important participations were at the International Horticulture Congress organized by ISHS, from: Lisbon, 2010, Brisbane, Australia, 2014, Turkey, Istanbul, 2018, Angers, France 2022, Murcia, Spain 2023.
During his research activity, he was the project manager for a total of 9 projects and as a team member in the project, for a total of 6 projects.
Among the main awards obtained throughout his career to date we mention: for the work “Vegetable Growing” – the ASAS Ioan Maier award from 2016 and the Charles Faraudo award in 2018, the Gala Pria for Agriculture award – for the entire activity in the service of research from 2017, the Distinction of the Patriarchate through the Order “Sanctus Stephanus Magnus” for the activity carried out in recent years towards preserving the national heritage in 2019, the Gheorghe Ionescu – Șișești Prize of the Romanian Academy for the best written work in Romania, in the field of Agriculture, “Special Vegetable Growing Treaty” in 2021, “Science Award” for horticultural research activity, at the Thought in Romania Gala, in 2022.
Starting with the year 2010 he was elected as an associate member of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Bucharest, and in 2012, he was elected as a correspondent member of the same institution, intensifying in this way the collaboration with this institution, especially with the Horticulture department.
Throughout his career, three major work objectives have marked his research activity namely: the rehabilitation of vegetable plants neglected in culture, obtaining valuable biological creations for professionals in accordance with the requirements of producers, processors and consumers, and acclimatization of new vegetable species that have not been cultivated on the territory of our country. His entire professional career has been dedicated to saving Romanian genetic heritage and native seeds, a mission materialized by the establishment in 2019 of the Genetic Resources Bank for Vegetable Growing, Floriculture, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, a unit of which he is currently the manager.
BRGV Buzău is the only specialized Bank in Romania that focuses on genotypic and phenotypic knowledge, as well as the ex situ and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources in the short, medium, and long term, in accordance with international legislation.
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