Sustainable agriculture in the development of digestive bales and its response as efficiency

in Tomato Chonto (Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill) germination in the municipality of

Jardín Antioquia

Agricultura sustentable en el desarrollo de pacas digestoras y su respuesta como eficiencia en

la germinación del Tomate Chonto (Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill) en el municipio de
Jardín Antioquia

Agricultura sustentável no desenvolvimento de fardos digestivos e sua resposta como

eficiência na germinação de Tomate Chonto (Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill) no município
de Jardin Antioquia

Andrés Posada Aguirre1*; Yonier A Cardona Ríos1*; Juan E Restrepo García1*.

1
Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia.

To cite this article:

Posada Aguirre, A., Cardona Ríos, Y. A., & Restrepo García, J. E. (2021). Sustainable
agriculture in the development of digestive bales and its response as efficiency in tomate Chonto
(Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill) germination in the municipality of Jardín Antioquia.
Universidad de Antioquia, Ciencias Agrarias, Antioquia Colombia.

Abstract
Background: In recent years the contamination of the planet has been increasing as a
consequence of the poor use of natural resources, with new technologies we can take advantage
of natural residues and wastes to produce compost. Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of
compost generated by digester bales in the vegetative development of Chonto Tomato Solanum

*Corresponding author.
Andrés Posada Aguirre, Zona Urbana, Hispania Antioquia Colombia, E-mail: andres.posada1
@udea.edu.co
Yonier A Cardona Ríos, Zona Urbana, Jardín Antioquia Colombia, E-mail: yonier.cardona
@udea.edu.co
Juan E Restrepo García, Zona Urbana, Andes Antioquia Colombia, E-mail: juan.restrepo182
@udea.edu.co
 2
Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
lycopersicum var. Mill. Methods: A digester bale was made with 20 kg of organic matter and 20
kg of vegetable matter, to optimize the production time it was possible to obtain a compost of
organic matter from a digester bale which was implemented to apply to the Chonto tomato. Two
crops were grown, one of which was fertilized with natural matter from the soil and the other
with compost from the digester bales. Results: The vegetative development of the Chonto
Tomato plants evaluated with the compost extracted from the digester bale was more efficient
achieving a faster floral development. Conclusions: The use of organic matter from the digester
bales achieved faster germination compared to seeds that were sown with natural soil substrate,
the organic matter produced by the digester bales obtained a yield of 200% compared to other
organic fertilizers, and this is reflected in the germination of Chonto Tomato seeds.

Keywords: organic matter; digester bales; flower development; germination; yield;

Chonto Tomato; residues.

Resumen
Antecedentes: En los últimos años la contaminación del planeta ha ido aumentando
como consecuencia del mal aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales, con las nuevas
tecnologías podemos aprovechar los residuos y desechos naturales para producir compost.
Objetivos: Evaluar la eficiencia del compost generado por las pacas digestoras en el desarrollo
vegetativo del Tomate Chonto Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill. Métodos: Se realizó una paca
digestora con 20 kg de materia orgánica y 20 kg de materia vegetal, para optimizar el tiempo de
producción se logró obtener un compost de materia orgánica de una paca digestora la cual se
implementó para aplicar al Tomate Chonto. Se realizaron 2 cultivos los cuales uno se abonó con
materia natural del suelo y el otro con el compost de las pacas digestoras. Resultados: El
desarrollo vegetativo de las plantas de Tomate Chonto evaluadas con el compost extraído de la
paca digestora fue más eficiente logrando un desarrollo floral más rápido. Conclusiones: El uso
de la materia orgánica de las pacas digestoras lograron una germinación más rápida en
comparación con las semillas que fueron sembradas con sustrato natural del suelo, la materia
orgánica producida por las pacas digestoras se obtienen un rendimiento del 200% en
comparación con otros abonos orgánicos, y esto se ve reflejado en la germinación de las semillas
del Tomate Chonto.
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Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes

Palabras claves: materia orgánica; pacas digestoras; desarrollo floral; germinación;

rendimiento; Tomate Chonto; residuos.

Resumo
Antecedentes: Nos últimos anos, a poluição do planeta tem vindo a aumentar como
resultado da má utilização dos recursos naturais, com novas tecnologias podemos tirar partido
dos resíduos e dos resíduos naturais para produzir composto. Objectivos: Avaliar a eficiência do
composto gerado por fardos digestores no desenvolvimento vegetativo do Tomate Cereja
Solanum lycopersicum var. Mill. Métodos: Foi feito um fardo digestor com 20 kg de matéria
orgânica e 20 kg de matéria vegetal, para optimizar o tempo de produção foi possível obter um
composto de matéria orgânica de um fardo digestor que foi implementado para ser aplicado ao
tomate cereja. Duas culturas foram cultivadas, uma foi fertilizada com matéria natural do solo e a
outra com composto dos fardos de digestor. Resultados: O desenvolvimento vegetativo das
plantas de Tomate Chonto avaliadas com o composto extraído do fardo digestor foi mais
eficiente, conseguindo um desenvolvimento floral mais rápido. Conclusões: A utilização de
matéria orgânica dos fardos de digestor conseguiu uma germinação mais rápida em comparação
com as sementes que foram semeadas com substrato de solo natural, a matéria orgânica
produzida pelos fardos de digestor obtém um rendimento de 200% em comparação com outros
fertilizantes orgânicos, e isto reflecte-se na germinação das sementes de Tomate Chonto.

Palavras-chave: matéria orgânica; fardos de digestor; desenvolvimento de flores;

germinação; rendimento; tomate chonto; resíduos.

Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
Introduction
Throughout history the importance
of environmental care has been raised with
endless methods for this purpose, being a
sector of great importance and more having
in knowledge that we play with the first
sector of our territory, being in an area as it
is, the southwest where we must take
advantage of the different types of organic
matter to achieve optimization in our crops,
without damaging our environment, making
use of digester bales, as a tool, promoting
the proper use of organic waste.
Digester bales are a great alternative for the
production and use of vegetable waste that is
discarded. The positive impact it generates
for the ecosystem motivates us to work with
them, where with the help of the bales an
improvement of the biota is implemented for
the use of the tomato crop, improving it
properly and with great impact on it.
We can provide a compost, the crop created
by organic waste from our homes where we
will provide nutrients to the soil for our crop
to develop properly.
There is a recognized variety of enemies for
the tomato crop where there are some
nematodes that occupy the first places for
losses in crop production, these plant
pathogenic nematodes are a limiting factor
4
in the agricultural system that is
implemented.
Chemical control of nematodes includes the
use of fumigants such as dazomet (basamid)
and 1,3 dichloropropene+chloropicrin
(Agrocelhone NE); which solves the
problem temporarily, but aggravates the
problem in the long term due to the
biological vacuum produced in the soil biota
when it is altered. To the extent that pest
management is more efficient, less reliance
will be placed on the use of chemicals where
we will be able to take care of our
environment and our crop of interest.
Materials and Methods
Natural resources such as leaf litter, grass
clippings or grasses are usually put aside by
farmers without giving a final use to the
matter left by their decomposition. That is
why we decided to implement digester bales
based on this green waste in order to take
advantage of what is normally thrown away
as garbage.
In first instance we visited a farm called La
Bonita in the municipality of Jardín
Antioquia located at 1750 m.a.s.l., there we
collected a native grass that had been cut
three days before the visit, in total we
collected fifteen kilos of this grass and eight
kilos of leaf litter, this was taken to the
5
Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
peasant home of Jardín where the research
practice was going to be carried out. A
wooden digester bale was built at the home,
measuring 0.55 meters high, 0.725 meters
wide and with a volume capacity of 0.29
cubic meters.
In the municipality of Hispania Antioquia on
the road to the village of El Silencio, there is
the wastewater treatment plant of the
municipality, in this place the public
companies of Hispania have a similar
project with the elaboration of digester
bales, from these digester bales that had
been there for approximately 5 months we
were able to collect the compost and thus
continue the practice that tries to analyze the
performance of this organic material in the
germination of agricultural systems more
specifically in the germination of Chonto
Tomato.
(Aguiñaga Bravo et al., 2020)
The digester bales, is a technology for the
integral management of organic waste that is
presented to us in our territory, where we
see a process that allows the logical
degradation of organic matter to reach a
beneficial point that we call it as organic
fertilizer.
The organic material contains digesting
nutrients for plants and beneficial organisms
that achieve the necessary quality of the soil,
giving us benefits when working with the
implemented crop.
Among the organic fertilizers, compost,
bocashi, vermicompost and manures stand
out, since their elaboration processes are
biological methods that transform organic
remains of different materials into a
relatively stable product.
 6
Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
Results
With the compost obtained from the
digester bales, we seek to have a more
efficient production chain in the agricultural
production system implemented in the
tomato crop, where it was evaluated taking
into account parameters of germination time,
vegetative quality and production levels
both in quantity and quality.
As a result of the research we obtained that
the plants that were planted with the organic
material of the digester bales developed
faster, achieving a shorter germination time
than in large-scale crops that favor the
2
producer to be able to obtain several harvest
cycles per year.

1
7
Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes

4 6

5 7
Images 1;2;3;4;5;6;7.
Posada A; Cardona Y; Restrepo J. (2021)

Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
Posada A; Cardona Y; Restrepo J. (2021)
Discussion
The main difference between the
aerobic and anaerobic mechanisms
with the biodigester bale is that the
latter requires a special distribution
and compaction of the incorporated
materials to extract the greatest
amount of oxygen present, without
causing strict anaerobic conditions,
since the decomposition process is
carried out outdoors, which allows
the exchange of matter and energy
with the environment.
Due to the ease of use, the
economical application of the
process and the different possibilities
of utilization of the biodigester bales
8
during and after the process of
decomposition of the OR. This
mechanism has gained popularity
and social acceptance, mainly in
Colombia, where it has been
developed, and in other countries.
Even so, there is still misinformation
about the application of digester
bales for OR treatment and social
and scientific recognition is still
incipient.
(Ossa Carrasquilla et al., 2020, 5).
Digester bales are a little known
alternative and not used at all in
municipalities; this alternative is
appropriate for educational contexts
such as institutions, since they have
9
Yield of digester bales in Chonto Tomatoes
large green areas and dispose of all
organic material in the landfill.
The digester bales function as a
digester that cleanly transforms the
waste into organic soil that can be
used for crops.
(Ochoa Arcia, 2019, 8)
Implementing digester bales is a very
profitable organic matter production
mechanism for farmers of lower resources,
since the plant material has no cost and the
compost resulting from the bale showed
significant efficiency in the production of
agricultural systems and soil fertilization.
The use of organic matter from the digester
bales achieved a faster germination
compared to the seeds that were sown with
natural soil substrate, the organic matter
produced by the digester bales obtained a
yield of 200% compared to other organic
fertilizers, and this is reflected in the
germination of tomato seeds.
Gratefulness
First of all, we would like to thank Mrs.
Gloria Alicia Álvarez Sánchez, General
Director of the Hogar campesino de Jardín
Antioquia, for her kindness in opening the
doors of such a wonderful place where we
met to carry out the research work.
We would like to thank Mrs. Marleny
Posada, owner of the farm La Bonita located
in the municipality of Jardín Antioquia,
Morro Amarillo, where we carried out the
research practices, collected the plant
material and installed the digester bale on
her land.
We thank the public companies of Hispania
Antioquia, a place where organic compost is
produced based on the decomposition of
plant material in digester bales, for offering
us their fertilizer to make the comparative
sowing of the germination and vegetative
development of the tomato plant.
Finally, we thank our families for their
financial support to be able to travel to the
mentioned municipalities and to purchase
the materials we needed to put the research
work into practice.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no
conflicts of interest with respect to the work
presented here.
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