Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions

Mourad Latati

Prof. Mourad Latati is an agro-physiologist at the University of Skikda (Algeria). His main expertise and interest are the development of operational methods for the assessment, exploration and design of cropping systems, both at field and farm levels.

Biography :

Prof. Mourad Latati is an agro-physiologist at the University of Skikda (Algeria). His main expertise and interest are the development of operational methods for the assessment, exploration and design of cropping systems, both at field and farm levels. The research activities aim to develop and promote agronomic applications resulting from researches on N symbiotic fixation of intercropped legumes with cereals. He is especially interested in the physiological mechanisms implied in improvement of nutrients and water use efficiency. He will work on ‘Assessment of performance and resilience of cereal-legume intercropping system by using the new version of the STICS soil-crop model under contrasted climate conditions‘.

Research interests:

  • STICS
  • Intercropping
  • New STICS-intercrop version
  • Legumes and Cereals

Why a fellowship in Montpellier?

In the context of applying artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture to make more profound, localized decisions in managing both crop and soil resources, the Fellowship Programme provides Mourad LATATI with extensive access to and use of digital materials (e.g., software, program codes, models, and modeling platforms) and intellectual resources. This will significantly enhance his skills (e.g., soil-crop modeling) and knowledge.

This initiative will foster interactions between the fellow and French research clusters (INRAE/CIRAD UMR Eco&Sols and CIRAD UMRs AIDA). His project aims to produce both fundamental scientific results and new approaches to crop management, promoting crop diversification and transitioning from monoculture to diversified cropping systems in the Mediterranean area.

Mourad LATATI has the opportunity to work directly with the newly developed version of the STICS-intercrop model (Beta version: 11) under two types of cereal-legume intercropping systems. He will interact directly with six researchers from CIRAD and INRAE, who are considered experts in the field of STICS modeling.

The fellowship also provides immediate opportunities to use practical information, which will be disseminated through open-access scientific publications by the fellow and INRAE-CIRAD researchers involved in the research project. Additionally, results will be presented at conferences and workshops.

Recent publications on Mourad’s profile include:

Benalia, Haddad, Lambarraa-Lehnhardt Fatima, Bouras Fatma-Zohra, Kherif Omar, Zemmouri Bahia, Seghouani Mounir, and others, ‘Comparative Assessment of Agroforestry Performances between Pea and Barley Intercropping with Olive Tree under Mediterranean Conditions’, Agroforestry Systems, 98.3 (2024), pp. 619–35, doi:10.1007/s10457-023-00933-0

Kherif, Omar, Mohamed Islam Keskes, Marc Pansu, Walid Ouaret, Yacer-Nazih Rebouh, Peter Dokukin, and others, ‘Agroecological Modeling of Nitrogen and Carbon Transfers between Decomposer Micro-Organisms, Plant Symbionts, Soil and Atmosphere in an Intercropping System’, Ecological Modelling, 440 (2021), p. 109390, doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109390

Kherif, Omar, Mounir Seghouani, Eric Justes, Daniel Plaza-Bonilla, Abderrahim Bouhenache, Bahia Zemmouri, and others, ‘The First Calibration and Evaluation of the STICS Soil-Crop Model on Chickpea-Based Intercropping System under Mediterranean Conditions’, European Journal of Agronomy, 133 (2022), p. 126449, doi:10.1016/j.eja.2021.126449

Zemmouri, Bahia, Sabine-Karen Lammoglia, Fatima-Zohra Bouras, Mounir Seghouani, Nazih Yacer Rebouh, and Mourad Latati, ‘Modelling Human Health Risks from Pesticide Use in Innovative Legume-Cereal Intercropping Systems in Mediterranean Conditions’, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 238 (2022), p. 113590, doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113590