Scientia Agropecuaria

Influence of high Andean grasslands on landslide reduction in Peru

2023-08-17T17:36:45+00:00

Agricultural and urban expansion has caused considerable degradation of ecosystems. In the case of Peruvian high Andean grasslands, it was reported that between 2000 and 2009, this ecosystem was reduced by 7%. The limited or no protection they receive is partly due to the fact that the benefits of ecosystem services are not widely known. This research aims to establish and predict the influence of high Andean grasslands on the annual occurrence of landslides. To do so, we identified occurrences of landslides, falls, huaycos, avalanches, and alluviums in high Andean grasslands. We also examined urban areas and agricultural zones of Peru for the period from 2003 to 2016. Subsequently, we extracted data on precipitation, temperature, slopes, soil types, and geographical variables. This data was used to train a machine learning model. The results show that 96% of landslides occurred in human-intervened areas, and only 4% in high Andean grasslands. Precipitation and slope thresholds for landslide occurrence are higher in high Andean grasslands compared to agricultural and urban areas. The best-performing machine learning models were linear regression, Gaussian processes, random forest, and support vector machine. They had coefficients of determination of R² = 0.80, 0.80, 0.66, and 0.64, respectively. Predictions show that if agricultural or urban areas are established in wet or dry puna grasslands, the average number of occurrences multiplies. The multiplier factors are 2.1 and 7.08, the number of deaths by 2.8 and 10.49, the number of houses destroyed by 2.4 and 7.51, and the number of roads destroyed by 2.2 and 7.37, respectively. The study demonstrates that conserving high Andean grasslands significantly reduces landslides compared to urban or agricultural areas.

Estrategia para optimizar la reserva de fósforo en el suelo: Un estudio basado en la diversidad de maíces nativos de México y selección de genotipos

2023-11-06T23:26:24+00:00

La sustracción ininterrumpida de fósforo (P) por el cultivo, agota la fertilidad del suelo y conduce al uso de fertilizante para la producción agrícola. El fitato es la principal reserva de P en la semilla, pero su contribución a la nutrición humana es reducida. Se caracterizaron 50 genotipos de maíz nativo de la región lacustre de Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México, con base en las formas de P de la semilla. El promedio de la concentración de P total, fitato y Pi, entre todos los genotipos fue de 3,1, 2,6 y 0,43 mg g^-1. La correlación entre el P total y fitato fue positiva (r = 0,98^**), lo que sugiere que, un incremento de P total en la semilla conlleva a un aumento en la concentración de fitato. El análisis de conglomerados detectó cinco grupos con 1, 14, 11, 15 y 9 genotipos, respectivamente. Los Grupos I y II incluyeron a los genotipos con la menor concentración de fitato (1,74 mg g^-1), mientras que el Grupo V integró a los genotipos con la mayor concentración (4,92 mg g^-1). El análisis de componentes principales (CP) junto con la prueba F detectó que el P total y fitato fueron las variables que diferenciaron los grupos. Los dos primeros CP explicaron el 95% de la variación acumulada entre genotipos. Estas observaciones proveen el primer estudio sobre la diversidad de maíces nativos y su potencial para seleccionar genotipos con una menor concentración de P en la semilla y reducir la extracción de P del suelo.

Microwave assisted popping of five Andean cultivars of ñuña beans: Process optimization and effect of grain’s moisture content

2024-06-08T03:20:10+00:00

This research aimed to optimize the microwave popping process of 5 cultivars of ñuña beans under different moisture content. This work was divided into two stages: determining the optimal time and microwave power for maximum popping and studying the effect of initial grain moisture content on popping percentage. For this, grains were conditioned to 9%, 11%, 13% and 15% of moisture content. The results suggested that only the cultivars “Vaquita poroto”, “Negra” and “Jabona” cultivars reach the highest popping percentages selecting optimum microwave power and process time. In addition, this work found that for every studied cultivar, moisture content between 9 to 11% w.b (wet basis). is suitable to maximize popping percentage. Moisture contents greater than 13% w.b. drastically reduced the popping percentage but increased expansion percentage. In conclusion, this work recommended “Vaquita poroto” cultivar since it presented the maximum popping percentage even at moisture content up to 13% w.b. As practical applications, popping process using microwave has not been widely study, especially for non-conventional popping beans. These beans are consumed in South America; however, they can be exported as a healthy snack. In addition, this work optimized the process and selected the best cultivar of this bean to be industrialized. In addition, the present work demonstrated the importance of the initial moisture content of the beans to improve quality and yield of burst grains.

Enfoque metodológico para el aprovechamiento de mermas de transformación agrícola basado en manufactura esbelta: Caso de estudio en una finca cafetera en Colombia

2024-06-18T13:33:25+00:00

Las mejoras en sistemas productivos que utilizan el enfoque de manufactura esbelta conocido como “Lean” tienen el objetivo de eliminar o reducir desperdicios o ineficiencias de proceso (muda). Este enfoque es adoptado por diferentes sectores industriales, entre ellos el agrícola de manera reciente. Aunque tradicionalmente se aplican mejoras Lean en procesos ya existentes desde el cultivo hasta la distribución, se dejan de lado oportunidades de intervención de pérdidas de procesamiento (mermas). Este artículo presenta un enfoque metodológico enmarcado en principios Lean, conformado por actividades orientadas al diseño de nuevos procesos que dan uso de las mermas generadas por cosecha y transformación agrícola. Se aplica el enfoque metodológico en una finca cafetera colombiana en la que se desarrollan procesos de transformación de café pergamino. Se diseña un proceso paralelo de compostaje de mermas que transforma granos defectuosos, verdes, sobremaduros, pulpa de café, mucilago y cascarilla. Los resultados demuestran que al aplicar el enfoque metodológico en la finca cafetera se logra un nivel de transformación de mermas del 86%. También se reducen las muda tanto para la línea actual de producción de café pergamino como la de compostaje al 35% y 50% respectivamente. Las principales muda reducidas son reprocesos y tiempos de espera. Finalmente se obtiene una reducción del 30,3% en el tiempo de actividades que no agregan valor haciendo de los procesos tanto actual como propuesto más eficientes y con mejores tiempos de entrega.

Extraction of essential oils by hydrodistillation of four aromatic species: Conditioning, extraction conditions, yield and chemical composition

2024-02-23T17:35:07+00:00

Essential oils are one of the most important products in the agricultural and food industry, as they are obtained from aromatic plants using various extraction techniques, such as steam distillation or hydrodistillation. However, these methods present challenges, such as low efficiency, limited selectivity, extensive use of solvents and long extraction times. Moreover, the quality of the oils obtained can be affected by hydrolysis or oxidation due to the duration and amount of water used in the process. This review updates the information on Clevenger-type hydrodistillation extraction of four high-value commercial plant species: Matricaria chamomilla, Rosmarinus officinalis, Origanum vulgare, and Eucalyptus spp. The aim is to evaluate the results of original articles, considering the origin and characteristics of the plant material, extraction conditions, yield and metabolites. The search covered a 10-year period (2013-2023) in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar, using keywords such as species names and terms “essential oils” and “hydrodistillation”, with Boolean connectors such as OR, AND or NOT. The results show that quality and yield are influenced by factors such as geographical regions of origin, plant part used, drying techniques or extraction conditions (plant material/water ratio, extraction temperature, extraction time, etc.). In future research, the conditions associated with the plant material and the extraction process need to be optimized in obtaining high quality essential oils.