Title : Bioproducts: An alternative in Cuban agriculture
Abstract:
In Cuba, an eminently agricultural country, the application of modern biotechnology techniques to obtain bioproducts (biopesticides, biofertilizers and biostimulants), within the practices of sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation is a necessity every increasingly demanded for food production.
Among the advantages that are obtained with the use of bioproducts in agricultural management, they can be noted as significant: the contribution of essential nutrients to meet the needs of crops, the productivity of the soil is not affected with its use and in addition, they favor crops more productive and of better quality.
The tremendous growth of the world market is backed by a growing demand for organic food in the world and the improvement of the standard of living, as well as the growing concern of the negative impact of chemical fertilizers on the environment. In this sense, Cuba has made significant progress, there is a wide range of bioproducts developed by several scientific institutions in the country and a program has been established that can expand the production and use of bioproducts throughout the Cuban archipelago.
Among the institutions with an image of excellence in the scientific work, showing a wide and diverse crop of bioproducts of different agronomic actions, is the Cuban Research Institute of Sugar Cane Derivatives (ICIDCA).
From the studies carried out with different microorganisms, technological procedures have been developed for the production of the following commercial bioproducts: Biostimulants (BIOENRAIZ®), whose active ingredient is indole acetic acid (AIA) and the BIOJAS® product, consisting of jasmonic acid. NITROFIX® biofertilizers (Azospirillum), atmospheric nitrogen fixing microbial inoculant and plant growth stimulator, whose active ingredient is the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense.
Biopesticides consisting of active metabolites and not biomass have also been developed, among which are GLUTICID®, which is a foliar antifungal that contains antimicrobial metabolites, salicylic acid and siderophores and a bioherbicide consisting of phytotoxins, both produced from Pseudomonas. aeruginous PSS. VERTICID, which is used for the control of Bemisia tabaci and other pests (Homoptera and mites) in potato and vegetable crops and whose active substance is the spores of Lecanicillium Attenuatum as well as NEMACID, which is used for the control of nematodes with an active ingredient that is given by the alkaline proteases produced from this fungus.
FitoMas, classified as bionutrient, promotes the resistance of plants and can be applied in polycultures, with a significant positive environmental impact, since it avoids the use of chemical fertilizers and promotes the development of beneficial entomofauna (insects). Full cycle (or closed cycle): research, production and marketing centers under the administration of ICIDCA have allowed the introduction of FITOMAS®, NITROFIX®, BIOENRAIZ®, ICIBIOPGLU®, BIOFER® and TOMATICID® bioproducts into the Cuban market.
