Beneficios de la biofumigación en los cultivos de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetables grown around the world, China stands out as its main producer with 860 tons, the United States is the country that imports this vegetable the most, while Mexico is the country that imports the most exports it, allocating most of it to the United States market, in Ecuador there are 3 thousand hectares of tomato, the production is approximately 62 thousand tons per year, in tomato crops pest control has been supported by traditional methods such as the use of pesticides of synthetic origin, under the excuse of their versatility and their way of acting in the control of different organisms that affect the crop in a single application or their easy storage, in some cases, their repeated use has caused some pests have become resistant to these chemical control products, biofumigation is an alternative method for controlling pests that are affecting a crop, its process takes place When residues with beneficial properties for the defense of the crop go through a vaporization phase, generating a natural compound called isothiocyanate, which has a powerful antifungal activity, some of the physical and chemical advantages in the application of biofumigation are set out below: it increases the physical properties of the soil by binding it and forming bonds with reactive surfaces of mineral particles, which allows them to form more stable aggregates in the soil, thus supporting the soil structure, increases the water holding capacity of the soil by adding pores of larger diameter, which requires less energy to retain water and is more easily absorbed by plants, in addition, increased water penetration extends hydraulic conductivity.

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetables grown around the world, China stands out as its main producer with 860 tons, the United States is the country that imports this vegetable the most, while Mexico is the country that imports the most exports it, allocating most of it to the United States market, in Ecuador there are 3 thousand hectares of tomato, the production is approximately 62 thousand tons per year, in tomato crops pest control has been supported by traditional methods such as the use of pesticides of synthetic origin, under the excuse of their versatility and their way of acting in the control of different organisms that affect the crop in a single application or their easy storage, in some cases, their repeated use has caused some pests have become resistant to these chemical control products, biofumigation is an alternative method for controlling pests that are affecting a crop, its process takes place When residues with beneficial properties for the defense of the crop go through a vaporization phase, generating a natural compound called isothiocyanate, which has a powerful antifungal activity, some of the physical and chemical advantages in the application of biofumigation are set out below: it increases the physical properties of the soil by binding it and forming bonds with reactive surfaces of mineral particles, which allows them to form more stable aggregates in the soil, thus supporting the soil structure, increases the water holding capacity of the soil by adding pores of larger diameter, which requires less energy to retain water and is more easily absorbed by plants, in addition, increased water penetration extends hydraulic conductivity.

El tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.) es una de las más importantes hortalizas que se cultivan alrededor del mundo, China destaca por ser su principal productor con 860 toneladas, Estado Unidos es el país que más importa esta hortaliza, mientras que México es el país que más la exporta destinando la mayor parte al mercado de los Estados Unidos, en Ecuador hay 3 mil hectáreas de tomate, la producción es de aproximadamente 62 mil toneladas al año, en los cultivos de tomate el control de plagas se ha apoyado a métodos tradicionales como es el uso de plaguicidas de origen sintético, bajo la excusa de su versatilidad y su forma de actuar en el control de diferentes organismos que afecten al cultivo en una sola aplicación o su fácil acopio, en algunos casos, su repetido uso ha provocado que algunas plagas se hayan vuelto resistentes a estos productos de control químico, la biofumigación es un método alternativo para el control de plagas que se encuentren afectando un cultivo, su proceso acontece cuando residuos con propiedades beneficiosas para la defensa del cultivo pasan por una fase de vaporización generando un compuesto natural denominado isotiocianato el cual tiene una potente actividad antifúngica, algunas de las ventajas físicas y químicas en la aplicación de la biofumigación a continuación se exponen: aumenta las propiedades físicas del suelo al unirlo y formar enlaces con superficies reactivas de partículas minerales, lo que les permite formar agregados más estables en el suelo, soportando así la estructura del suelo, aumenta la capacidad de retención de agua del suelo mediante la adición de poros de mayor diámetro, lo que requiere menos energía para retener el agua y es absorbido más fácilmente por las plantas, además, el aumento de la penetración del agua se extiende la conductividad hidráulica.