Revista de Investigación Agraria y Ambiental

13-26

Authors: Lucia Fabila Martínez, Salvador Adame Martínez & Rodolfo Serrato Cuevas

This study was developed out of the need to provide products and services intended for the field that meet the nutritional needs of plants without implicating environmental damage by means of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. The study assessed the fertilizer effect of two diatomaceous earth and a liquid fertilizer to corroborate empirical evidence of several producers who used a commercial product based on the study`s materials and achieved higher levels of performance in different crops. A sample of the experimental area was carried out before establishing the crop after its completion. Two commercial diatomaceous earth identified as 289 and 400 P produced by International Celite, were assessed at two concentrations 20 kg ha-1 and 40 kg ha-1 and 18 kg ha-1 and 36 kg ha-1 respectively, and a organic liquid fertilizer (FOL) at doses of 2 L ha-1 and 4 L ha-1 was considered as control soil sample taken before the application of treatments. The experimental design used in the field for the application of the treatments was randomized complete block (DBA) with 5 repetitions. The test plant was the corn hybrid HC8. The variables evaluated in the soil throudgh laboratory analysis were: physical properties of texture and bulk density (BD), and chemical pH, organic carbon (OC), organic matter (OM), electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CIC), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na). The results were analyzed under a ANOVA and Tukey test for comparison of means for treatment, using the JMP statistical package. Laboratory results indicated that there were changes in the chemical characteristics of the soil between the control and treatments in the majority of the chemical characteristics analyzed (pH, CO, MO, N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na). However statistically and under a statistical significance of 5%, differences were only observed in the properties of CO, MO, CE, N, K and Na.

37-42

Authors: Oscar Emerson Zúñiga Mosquera & Antonio Pereira Da Silva Neto

This research was conducted by seeking scientific information from the agronomy field, the revision of public policy documents for biodiesel production and, especially, the Biodiesel Development Poles Program. On-site visits were made in the municipalities of the valley of alto Pajeú, where the program is being conducted. The research considers the importance of raw materials and a territorial approach, in addition to examining the site as a basic unit for public policy.

55-65

Authors: Álvaro Vicente Araujo Guerra, Lina María Monsalve Castro & Andrés Luciano Quintero Tovar

This paper attempts to conceptualize the potential for some organic wastes to be used as energy sources. For example, whey produced by the dairy industry, which creates a serious environmental problem due to its effect on the physical and chemical structure of soils causing a decrease in crops yield and when disposed in water, reduces aquatic life by exhausting dissolved oxygen. Therefore, it is necessary to search for alternatives to lessen the impact caused by this type of agro-industrial waste. Such alternatives should also take advantage of the organic waste as an energy source that selected microorganisms can synthesize organic compounds within and subsequently obtain the microbial masses that constitute a major food source of high protein value. This alternative provides potential solutions to major issues such as human hunger, the lack of protein sources for animal feed and on the other hand, a reduction in environmental pollution.

97-116

Authors: Manuel Francisco Polanco Puerta & Mario Augusto García

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius Poep. Z & Endl) H. Robinson is an Asteraceae native to the Andean region. It is a plant used by antiquated cultures as a refreshing fruit or low calorie food. Its roots are composed mostly of water (85-90%). 40 to 70% of its dry weight comes in the form of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), sugars with favorable effects on human health, and with a high antioxidant power, which is why it is considered medicinal; for the treatment of problems associated with diabetes. The high demand and price of the product in the domestic and international markets make this species a profitable option for farmers in the Eje Cafetero (Colombian Coffee)ecoregion, which has ideal agro-ecological conditions for its cultivation. However, there is neither precise information on the materials present in the region nor information on its productivity, making it difficult to propose the appropiate agronomic management to optimize its production. This research was conducted in five provinces of the Eje Cafetero ecoregion, collecting and morphologically characterizing the species. Subsequent morphoagronomic evaluations were performed using 18 quantitative descriptors, and eight qualitative ones, in addition to the molecular characterization with the RAMs technique using six initiators. The morphoagronomic characterization classified the ten collected biotypes into three groups. Molecular characterization distinguished four groups, which are closely related to the grouping according to the qualitative characteristics found. The paper concludes that the accessions of group one are the most appropriate for the production of tubers, those of group two for dualpurpose production and those of group three, for leaf production. The multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) indicates that within the germplasm there are important characters that can be used towards the selection of potential parents with desirable quality traits for breeders, farmers and consumers.

135-147

Authors: Fernando de Jesús Álvarez Ramírez, Guillermo Castaño Arcila, José Ferney Montes Moreno & Francis Liliana Valencia Trujillo

This paper investigates the conditions of the possibility that have contributed to the emergence of rural Agroecology schools and the Farmer Training Center in the municipality of Tulua, Valle del Cauca. Methodologically, it fits within the framework of the Historical Logical Cultural in three stages: the first related to the ECAS as Sustainable Human Rural Development which emphasizes the recovery of popular and ancient knowledge that facilitates an autonomous exercise, the second, a community strategy for the management and conservation of natural resources through the consolidation of an exercise related with the offices of the members of the ECAS and the third stage being based on the consolidation of work plans centered on sustainable endogenous development and the pursuit of well-being. It was found that the ECAS and Farmer Training Center are expressions of social construction where people interact through intracultural interscientific and transdisciplinary dialogue, stressing upon the seed savers as one of the offices within the ECAS that has a special significance especially now that we are witnessing a dictatorship under the aegis of transnational seed companies. The paper concludes that the ECAS and Farmer Training Center are the spaces par excellence where the exchange of knowledge and experiences materialize, with special reference to the seed savers and the importance of their work.