One of the largest problems that face communities located high in the Andres Mountain range is the lack of crop diversity due to the climate characteristics of this zone. Because of this, the Benson Institute created a small subterranean greenhouse called a "panqar-huyu," which in Aymara means "flower garden," that allows cultivation of small and medium-sized crops. This study's objective is to modify and adapt this system to cultivate table (kidney) tomatoes, for which one was enlarged, a drip irrigation system was installed, channels were dug to drain groundwater from the interior, etc. This study was done in the community of La Rinconada. Two varieties of tomato were cultivated in three different soils: sand, scraps, and a mix, becoming thus a hydroponic crop. The goal of this combination is to observe if there are physical, chemical, and organoleptic changes during the crop's development and later the harvested fruit, which will be used to make tomato sauce. At the end of the investigation, it was found that the results were favorable in different aspects: The farmers in this region found a new alternative crop which helps them avoid a loss of capital at harvest time due to climate effects. The daily diet improved, as did the nutrition level, since tomatoes are rich sources of vitamins A, B, and C, malates, and citric acids that are very important in regulating uric acid in the blood. It was demonstrated that cultivating table tomatoes hydroponically in a panqar-huyu did indeed influence the physical, chemical, and organoleptic characteristics of the cultivated varieties.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6453 |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Creators | Yepez Vallejo, Carlos Fernando |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | Ecuador |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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