Revista de la Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad del Zulia

55th Anniversary of the Journal of the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Zulia

2023-11-21T03:10:58+00:00

The journal of the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Zulia was founded in 1968, more as a journal of “scientific dissemination” than as a scientific journal, and with variable periodicity. Considering the time, it was a great effort to obtain collaborations from the same faculty that had just begun to bear its first fruits. Its professors, relatively young, were starting out in research, due to the limited resources assigned to research, since there were numerous needs in the construction and consolidation of the faculty.

Volume 7 covered a period from 1986 to 1990. Five years in four issues. In 1990 we assumed the commitment to direct the journal. Without much personal experience, but open to the recommendations that we seek within the university, in other faculties, and in other universities, and we imagine a concept of the modern scientific journal, a journal open to the reading public and open to researchers. from other national and foreign institutions. When I invited colleagues from other institutions to publish in our journal, they told us that this magazine belongs to the Faculty of Agronomy, and they did not understand that they were welcome.

At that time, two separate events occurred that led to the success of the Faculty of Agronomy journal; The first was the creation of the Researcher Promotion Program (PPI) in 1990. And the second, the regularization of the publication of the journal and having modernized the concept applied to the edition. In 1993 the journal was awarded the “Tulio Arends” Prize as the best national scientific or technological journal. Then, works from researchers from all national institutions began to arrive, and it was consolidated in its frequency and in the number of works published. It was necessary to increase the publication to 6 issues per year to satisfy the demand for articles received. This continued from 1996 to 2000.

In 2001 the journal was included in the Science Citation Index (SCI Expanded) and in Scopus, which began to give it international visibility, and with it the influx of articles from other countries.

From then on, the Journal of the Faculty of Agronomy consolidated itself as one of the best scientific journals in Latin America.

The effort it represents today to keep it running, up to date, maintaining high quality standards is extraordinary. The current editorial team deserves our deepest recognition for their effort and dedication.

Finally, the Journal of the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Zulia presents to its readers a supplement on the occasion of its 55th anniversary, which includes review articles of renowned Venezuelan researchers from different areas of agronomy that develop current issues.

Agroforestry and its vital role in climate change mitigation in the tropics

2023-11-08T22:50:20+00:00

The activities developed by human society cause transformations on the Earth's surface and have the capacity to affect the functioning of the planet. One of the main effects has been climate change, which affects the entirety of the planet, its ecosystems, and society. The objective of this work was to carry out a bibliographic review through the compilation of scientific articles, book chapters, and reviews from reliable documentary sources. The review focused on the factors that influence climate change and its consequences. Additionally, this work presents an alternative: the implementation and use of agroforestry systems to mitigate climate change. This is not only because of their potential to capture and store carbon but also to reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere through the growth of trees and shrubs. Agroforestry systems also have significant implications for sustainable development due to the social, economic, and environmental benefits they provide.

Geographic information system and unmanned aerial vehicles for soil and pastures evaluation

2023-11-30T22:49:50+00:00

The objective of this review is to present soil and pasture evaluation studies using georeferenced aerial photographs captured by sensors on board drones and analyzed using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop strategies for use in the management of pastures and farm potential. The use of intensive grazing systems requires advanced knowledge for efficient management, and smart and precision agriculture represents a strategy to reduce costs. Using GIS and drones, an immediate comprehensive diagnosis is obtained, such as quantification of the degradation of a pasture or farm, distribution of botanical composition, and variability of soil and pasture nutrients to generate fertilization plans by specific area (precision agriculture).

Phenology and environment in the presence of secondary metabolites in Psidium guajava L.

2023-12-07T01:25:49+00:00

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most important fruit trees in Venezuela due to the acceptance of its fresh and processed fruit with relevant sensory and nutritional characteristics. The establishment of the crop in the producing areas has been the result of the initiative of leading farmers in the country. Due to the potential of guava, the present review aimed to describe the phenology, environment, and presence of secondary metabolites in P. guajava. The search for information on P. guajava included several key words such as phenology, flowering, fruiting, and secondary metabolism. Sixty-six references were selected from 130 results, including research articles, reviews, and books published between 1991 and 2023. Secondary metabolite biosynthesis is a dynamic process that depends on numerous factors associated with the plant and the environment. The content of phenols and flavonoids in guava can help characterize its production, agroindustrial, and pharmaceutical importance, be a tool for cultivar selection, and anticipate the content of other secondary metabolites to identify plants that differ in their production.

Regenerative livestock or sustainable livestock?

2023-11-08T23:07:03+00:00

Sustainability has been recognized as a fundamental principle of development so that humanity can survive on this planet. However, there are still difficulties in translating its philosophical principles into the ability to make concrete decisions for its consolidation. Three factors that determine growth on planet earth, directly related to agricultural systems, have been identified: agricultural production, management of natural resources, and pollution. Therefore, sustainable agriculture must consider them both for the management of plant and animal populations, since both modify the environment to adapt it to their requirements, thus regenerative practices arise to recover the ability of ecosystems to restore themselves. In that sense, it is intended in this review to elucidate how the concepts and principles exposed are translated into a regenerative or a sustainable livestock. To achieve sustainability, it is necessary and essential, an integral management of processes with a holistic vision of the system by farmers and technicians, leading human talents willing to learn different and new technologies, and motivated trained personnel in sustainable techniques that incorporate agroecological and regenerative practices, all on the basis of financial planning. Regenerative livestock per se as an emerging paradigm is very promising, but still requires local research. It is concluded that there is no single model of sustainable livestock, there are no recipes or technological packages, it is governed by the principles that aim at the balance of its dimensions (social, economic, environmental and institutional political governance).