The agricultural Research Station in the Jordan Valley
The Agricultural Research Station , commonly called University Farm, is a 100 ha research farm and located in the central Jordan Valley. The station was established in 1975 and provides land, equipment and facilities for research at the plant/soil/environment interface through a field laboratory. It assists the Faculty scientists and graduate students by providing a central place to stage, carry out and process field research done under the condition of the Jordan Valley. Senior students of specific undergraduate programs spend one semester in this station for training in the different agricultural fields as an obligatory degree requirement. Furthermore, Field days and agricultural extension are held for the local farmers.
The Botanical Garden
In the Jordanian upland a botanical garden (180 dunums) in the Shafa Badran area near Amman was established in 1982. This garden is located in a rocky and steep area with an average annual rainfall of about 250 mm. The main tasks for establishing such a garden were first to conserve biodiversity and to preserve endangered plants and their habitats through education, protection, and propagation. Currently the garden includes several species of forest trees and range shrubs, 13 cultivars of olives, 10 rootstocks of deciduous fruit trees, and more than 70 species of medicinal and aromatic plants. The second task is to find and adopt means for the optimum use of the agricultural resources specifically land and water.
The arid-land Research Station in Muwaqar
Aiming at combating desertification and best utilization of limited land and water resources, the University has established a pilot research station in al Muwaqar area representing the arid to semi-arid region of the country. The Arid Land Research Station is located some 40 km south east with an area of 2000 dunums. The station represent the zone of Jordan that receives between 00-200 mm of rain annually which is a bout 13% of the total area of the country. Research activities in this station concentrate on adopting scientific approach for future development of the region. The approach combines the following activities: (1) Evaluation of climate, land and water resources at the level of small drainage catchments (10-100 km2) leading to land use recommendations for each catchment. (2) Development and testing of appropriate production methods, building on previous experience obtained by the University of Jordan. (3) Economic evaluation of proposed technical packages, assessment of their social acceptability, and uptake by pioneer farmers.
The most important technique towards improving productivity is through water harvesting to prevent runoff water from flowing down stream into depressions where it is then lost by evaporation. Small scale water harvesting techniques have been tested such as pits, contour furrows, micro-catchements…..etc.
On-Wadi and off-Wadi reservoirs on major creeks has been hydrologically studied. Studies on Wadi Hydrology of small to mid size catchment is also under investigation.
The Jubeiha Agricultural Research Station
JAR station is located on campus and has been established since 1973 for the practical part of the undergraduates courses in various aspects of horticulture, field crops, protected agriculture, forage crops …etc. Applied research by staff members and graduate students under the condition of rainfed agriculture is carried out. The station includes the greenhouse unit consisting of 12 houses which are climate control conditions. The houses are used for controlled research in plant production and protection as well as for propagation and production of ornamentals and horticulture crops.
The Pilot Dairy Plant
A Dairy Processing Plant was established in 1983 as an integral part of the Department of Nutrition and Food Technology in the Faculty of Agriculture. The mission of this experimental unit is to serve as a training facility for graduate and undergraduate students of the Department, and for performing research in the field of dairy technology. In addition, this unit hosts some other experimental equipment for training and conducting research in food technology such as canning and meat processing. Currently, Production activities in the unit consist of the manufacturing of yoghurt, labneh (concentrated yoghurt), and white cheese.
Campus Poultry farm
The poultry farm was established at the University campus in 1979 to provide services for teaching the practical part of poultry courses (management and husbandry) and for conducting research by the staff members and graduate students of the Department of Animal Production. Currently, this Farm is being reconstructed at the University of Jordan Arid- Land Research Station in Muwaqqar.
Seed Technology Unit
Realization the necessity for improving the seed production of economic crops in Jordan , a seed technology unit was established on-campus in 1988. This unit was funded by a German Grant ( GTZ) and was equipped with necessary instruments .The goals for establishing this unit were to conduct research by faculty member and graduate students, and to train people in seed technology. Since the beginning of 1991, this unit has been utilized in training courses tailored to local and regional needs. So far, 9 courses has been carried in this unit.
The University of Jordan Insects Museum (UJIM)
The museum was established in 1976 to preserve the diversity of the insect species of Jordan. In addition, the museum contains both research and teaching collections representing major orders from all parts of the country.
The museum holds a good collection of Butterflies, Moths, Odonata, Mantodea, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and several minor groups. The insect collection is growing due to the accumulation of specimens collected through several research projects sponsored by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Jordan and the Higher Counsel for Science and technology.
Bee Hives
The hives was established in 1978 with 2 cells (Plate 3) for teaching purposes. Currently, a total of 25 cells are present for teaching, training and research purposes. Research included bee keeping, pests of bees and their management.
The Farm Machinery Workshop
This workshop was established in 1990 in parallel with Agricultural Mechanization Department to assist teaching staff and researchers in the educational and research activities. The main tasks of the workshop are to provide, operate and maintain standard or modified equipment for most agricultural mechanized operations and for field experiments. The workshop has a machinery maintenance section capable of carrying out tractor and other machinery repairs. It has also well equipped metalwork/machining and woodwork sections with minor fabrication capabilities. This unit is managed by technical and engineering staff who keep good technical relations with other university workshops and with the local market. The workshop facilities nowadays have been expanded to cover most Faculty departments research needs.
GIS Laboratory
This lab was established through a joint research project between the University of Jordan and the Ministry of Agriculture, with financial fund from the EU and technical assistance from Cranfield University.
The research of this lab includes interpretation and analysis of satellite imagery and aerial photography, socio-economic data, soil and vegetation data and different maps in the following fields: Land use and urban expansion; Monitoring of rangeland; Integrated watershed management and resources surveys.
The lab includes hardware and software of digital image processing of remotely sensed data and GIS including computer stations, GPS units and survey instruments in addition to a good archive of recent and current satellite imagery and aerial photography. Also, the lab has hard and digital maps and professional library that serves the lab research.
GIS and Remote Sensing Teaching Lab
The lab was established in 2002 to enable the teaching of the practical of remote sensing and GIS courses, both at graduate and undergraduate levels.
In addition, the lab serves some practical sessions of soil conservation, environment monitoring and land use planning courses. The lab includes a good number of PC’s with image processing and GIS software for teaching and training of students. The lab is also used by the graduate students whom work is involving GIS and remote sensing technology.
Dajani Agricultural Research Station for Tropical and Subtropical Crops
This station is located near the village of Rama in the southern part of the Jordan Valley with an area of about 50 dunum (5 hectars ). The station will be allocated for research and training on tropical and subtropical crops. The station was donated to the University of Jordan, Faculty of Agriculture by Dr. Sami Dajani in 2004 to enhance agricultural research for staff member and graduate students.
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