Project Details
Description
National strategies such as those from MIDEPLAN and MINAE aim to achieve objectives in environmental and social sectors related to reducing pollution and improving the quality of life for people in poverty, particularly in rural areas. One way to address these issues is by seeking production systems that are sustainable and accessible to producers, thereby promoting comprehensive development. The cultivation of Acrocomia aculeata, also known as coyol, has the potential to minimize these problems in its productive areas, thanks to its commercially recognized uses at the international level. For example, it has high nutritional value for the food industry, contains protein, lipid, and antioxidant components, among others, that are of interest in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields, can be used for animal feed, and for energy production in the form of biodiesel or through the generation of biochar and high calorific value pellets.
Due to the great potential it represents, this project seeks to continue the inter-university work of several years by a group of national and international researchers, where coyol trees were identified and characterized in different areas of the country, problems associated with its cultivation were identified, outstanding characteristics were sought, a germplasm bank was established, and studies were conducted to solve seed germination barriers. All these aspects and results that were not completed were explained in the final report of the VIE project for the period 2020-2022.
From this work trajectory, collaboration is maintained with Dr. Carlos Colombo from the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), which is a research institute of the São Paulo Agency of Agronomic Technology in Brazil, and with whom an agreement is being sought to formalize to continue the collaborative work of previous years.
The focus of this new research is to continue productivity analyses associated with genetic aspects, in search of an in vitro cultivation protocol that can improve the obtained results, making it feasible to use these methodologies for the production of vegetative material that can be taken to the field, and a new line of study around the physiological adaptations of the plant and its response, especially in photosynthetic mechanisms, to different variations in the country's microenvironments according to seasonal changes.
With these three aspects, the project seeks to provide tools for promoting activity in the agronomic industry through the transmission of clear and easily understandable information for producers so that they can create new jobs or better utilize their activities.
Thus, the project's objective is to contribute to the generation of knowledge for the management of Coyol (Acrocomia aculeata) genetic resources for the benefit of sustainable rural development in Costa Rica.
Due to the great potential it represents, this project seeks to continue the inter-university work of several years by a group of national and international researchers, where coyol trees were identified and characterized in different areas of the country, problems associated with its cultivation were identified, outstanding characteristics were sought, a germplasm bank was established, and studies were conducted to solve seed germination barriers. All these aspects and results that were not completed were explained in the final report of the VIE project for the period 2020-2022.
From this work trajectory, collaboration is maintained with Dr. Carlos Colombo from the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), which is a research institute of the São Paulo Agency of Agronomic Technology in Brazil, and with whom an agreement is being sought to formalize to continue the collaborative work of previous years.
The focus of this new research is to continue productivity analyses associated with genetic aspects, in search of an in vitro cultivation protocol that can improve the obtained results, making it feasible to use these methodologies for the production of vegetative material that can be taken to the field, and a new line of study around the physiological adaptations of the plant and its response, especially in photosynthetic mechanisms, to different variations in the country's microenvironments according to seasonal changes.
With these three aspects, the project seeks to provide tools for promoting activity in the agronomic industry through the transmission of clear and easily understandable information for producers so that they can create new jobs or better utilize their activities.
Thus, the project's objective is to contribute to the generation of knowledge for the management of Coyol (Acrocomia aculeata) genetic resources for the benefit of sustainable rural development in Costa Rica.
General Objective
Contribuir en la generación de conocimientos para el manejo de los recursos genéticos de Coyol (Acrocomia aculeata) en beneficio del desarrollo rural sostenible en Costa Rica.
Research Lines
Gestión, conservación y el uso sostenible de los bosques y ecosistemas naturales.
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/01/25 → 31/12/28 |
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