Editorial

The first issue of Agronomia Colombiana for 2015, volume 33, contains an article from the late Jorge Humberto Zurita (page 91), agronomic Engineer and associate professor from the Facult y of agricultural Sciences of t he universidad naciona l de Colombia Bogota, and a friend and colleague from the physiology and postharvest field who will be dearly missed by the Faculty and who has left fond memories for those that had the opportunity to know him and share his friendhip and knowledge.

This issue of the Agronomia Colombiana journal presents different topics of domestic and international interest that contribute significantly to the development and research of tropical agriculture.

Este primer número del año 2015 -volumen 33- de la revista Agronomía Colombiana contiene una mención (página 91) al fallecido Ingeniero Agrónomo y profesor asociado Jorge Humberto Zurita (QEPD) de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá; colega y amigo del área de la fisiología y poscosecha que dejó un vacío a la Facultad y recuerdos a aquellos que tuvimos la oportunidad de conocerlo, convivir y recibir su amistad y conocimiento.

Asimismo y de nuevo la revista Agronomía Colombiana presenta diferentes temas de interés nacional e internacional, aportes significativos para el desarrollo y la investigación en la agricultura tropical.

   

The plant breeding, genetic resources and molecular biology section contains a study on the differentiation of dura, tenera, and pisifera oil palm seedlings with molecular tools that will undoubtedly reduce the time and costs of identifying seedlings that have a higher quality in the oil content.

Various agricultural topics in the Crop physiology are in this issue, such as estimating and modeling moisture for tomato plant leaves in greenhouses to carry out a prognosis for the management of diseases, mainly fungi. Furthermore, there is an article on the extraction of nutrients from two contrasting Brachiaria sp. cultivars to determine their contribution to water-logging tolerance and aid in the management of grasslands that remain flooded due to climate change. For bananas and plantains, there is a study on the different accessions of the Colombian Musaceae collection in terms of the physiological attributes of the plants and bunch components for later use in breeding programs for these species. For perennial crops, a oil palm cultivation was used for a description of the phenological stages of the reproductive phase of Elaeis oleifera using the BBCH scale. Finally, this section includes a ten-year study on the growth, yield, and quality of 'Valencia' orange fruits placed in nine different patterns, a strategy that will promote new technologies in this crop.

The Crop protection section contains articles that studied possible solutions for phytosanitation problems, for example, controlling club root disease with liming and liming combined with Trichoderma koningiopsis; the isolation and characterization of microorganisms that are antagonistic to different diseases in the avocado at the in vitro level; and the characterization and analysis of weed communities in rice crops found in the department of Tolima. These contributions add to the knowledge available to other research groups for use in news lines of research.

in addition, in the postharvest physiology and technology section, there is an analysis of the different maturation stages in blackberries in light of the descriptions found in Colombian Technical Standards (nTC) and the different qualities seen in the domestic and international markets. also, a study on the half-life of peas is included, which sought to increase longevity, improve appearance, and decrease diseases through the use of different coatings.

This issue presents an article on the friability index for aggregate sizes in the superficial horizons of soils cultivated with sugar cane in the Soils, fertilization, and management of water section, followed by an article on the use of the infrared spectroscopy methodology in the determination of properties of soil samples from different locations in Colombia.

The Economy and rural development section presents a studied conducted with latino immigrants in the united States to determine their changes in diet and lifestyle in comparison to their countries of origin.

The Scientific note section included in this issue contains a new record and re-description of a gall-forming aphid in the roots of Tetraneura fusiformis, along with its association with Linepithema angulatum.

This broad range of articles offered for our readers and fellow researchers is a sampling of the extensive and specialized fields that are published in the Agronomia Colombiana journal that authors can consult when writing up their research.

Gerhard Fischer
Editor
Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias