Bio sargassum liquid fertilizer developed by INTEC achieves greater growth in banana stems
SANTO DOMINGO. - The bio organic liquid fertilizer developed from sargasso arriving at Dominican Republic beaches by a team of researchers of the Area of Basic and Environmental Sciences of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and the Association of Ecological Banana Farmers of the Northwest Line (BANELINO), financed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), produced a higher growth in the diameter of the banana stem, which impacts on a greater productivity in the cultivation of organic banana.
This was reported by Coordinator of the INTEC Sargassum Interdisciplinary Research Group, Ulises Jauregui-Haza, when exposing in the Regional Conference Greater Caribbean - European Union: "Turning sargassum into opportunity", held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.
Jauregui-Haza indicated that the biol se applied during 10 weeks en three plantations banana BANELIN in the provinces of Valverde y Montecristi, and the results obtained point to an increase in fruit production. In this sense, he pointed out that this type of biofertilizer guarantees the presence of fungi, bacteria and yeasts that are important for plant health and for the health of the soil.
When participating in the third work session of the event, in which the aspect of the monetization of the macroalgae was addressed, the INTEC research professor explained that in a first stage it was demonstrated that the biofertilizer is feasible for production, since it meets with the necessary criteria for its application, and that the content of heavy metals does not exceed the standards established for its use in agriculture.
The findings are part of the research "Sargassum liquid biofertilizer: obtaining, characterization and evaluation in organic banana production", which is in charge of INTEC research professors Yaset Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Miguel A. Guevara-Acosta, Laura I. Soldevilla Hernández and Ulises J. Jáuregui-Haza and BANELINO agronomist Gustavo Gandini.
research posters
During the international event, twenty INTEC researchers presented the advances other three investigations on the subject of sargassum as a result of the INTEC Sargassum Interdisciplinary Research Group. Edwin Sanchez-Camilo e Ivan Jimenez-Duran, research professors from the Engineering Area, together with Charles Sanley, director of research at the university, presented the poster “Prediction of sargassum transport through the Dominican Republic using artificial intelligence”.
Pamela Tejada-Tejada, Rolando Liranzo-Gómez, Laura Aquino, Carlos José Boluda, Bolívar Gómez, Aris Mendis Gómez, Yaset Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Luis E. Rodríguez de Francisco and Ulises Jáuregui-Haza presented the progress of the investigation “Chemical characterization of the sargassum that reaches the beaches of the Dominican Republic: 2015-2022”, an investigation that has the support of the General Directorate of Customs.
The poster was also presented "Sargassum activated carbon: obtaining and evaluation for water decontamination" from the authorship of Ulises J. Jáuregui-Haza, Yeray Álvarez-Galván, Marckens Francoeur, Rolando Liranzo-Gómez, Christelle Yacou, Yvens Chérémond; Nicolas Brhem, Sarra Gaspard, in collaboration with the University of the Antilles, Guadeloupe, France.