Marcelino Arana Franco

Marcelino de Arana y Franco (22 April 1877 – 26 November 1936), known as Marcelino Arana, was a Spanish agronomist and plant breeder, noted for his contributions to dryland farming, wheat breeding and agricultural reform. He founded the Instituto de Cerealicultura in Madrid and played a significant role in Spain’s agrarian development during the early 20th century.

Early life and education Arana was born in Herrera de Pisuerga to Santos Arana of Llodio and Mercedes Franco of Herrera de Pisuerga. His father trained as an agricultural technician at the Granja Modelo of Vitoria. Marcelino completed his secondary education at the Villacarriedo Escolapios College and then graduated as an agricultural engineer from the Escuela de Agricultura General in 1901.

Career Early work Between 1902–1903 and 1908–1911, Arana worked at the Estación Enológica in Toro, combating phylloxera in the Toro wine-producing region. He also trained at the Estación Enológica in Haro and participated in the National Viticulture Congress in Pamplona (1912). From 1904 to 1908, he served at the Agricultural Institute in Palencia, collaborating with José Cascón on dryland farming techniques and teaching basic agriculture techniques to local agricultural workers.

Director of Agricultural Station in Zamora In 1911, Arana became director of the Estación de Agricultura General in Zamora, where he remained for fifteen years. He conducted public lectures, improved native wheat varieties, and introduced foreign strains suited to Spain’s interior climate, including Italian varieties such as "Rieti", "Ardito", "Mentana", and "Senatore Cappelli", as well as the Canadian "Manitoba". Between 1918 and 1924, he developed a dry-farming method and patented some associated machinery, earning the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Agricultural Merit from King Alfonso XIII in 1925. Obras de Marcelino Arana, volumen I edited by César Pérez Arana. Sobre genética y plantas: la evolución de los métodos de mejora de plantas en la España anterior a la Guerra Civil by Susana Pinar.