Conference Agenda

This study examines the relationship between the use of a smart application and the sustainable quality of ancestral products in the Central Jungle of Peru—native cocoa, organic coffee, and sacha inchi. Despite their high economic, cultural, and environmental value, quality and sustainability assessment still relies on empirical criteria, which limits competitiveness in specialized markets and certification processes. A quantitative approach with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational design was applied to a sample of 30 producers. The independent variable captures acceptance and willingness to use through perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and intention to use. The dependent variable operationalizes sustainable quality across visual, process, environmental, social, cultural, and economic dimensions. The results show positive and significant associations, highlighting perceived ease of use as the most influential factor in overall improvement. The regression models demonstrate high explanatory power and satisfy econometric assumptions. It is concluded that when the application is perceived as useful and easy to use, it can strengthen objective assessment, sustainability, and the valorization of these products, while complementing and respecting traditional knowledge in Amazonian contexts.

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is a major threat to potato crops throughout Peru due to its rapid spread and severe impact. Traditional inspection methods are highly subjective, relying heavily on the expertise of farmers and varying field conditions. Due to this challenge, we propose an approach for late blight detection on potato leaves using semantic segmentation with a U-Net architecture and three different encoders: ResNet-50, EfficientNet-B0, and MobileNetV2. The approach is developed in four phases: (i) dataset acquisition from International Potato Center, (ii) dataset preprocessing, (iii) model training, and (iv) performance evaluation. All models focus on processing potato leaf images to generate two segmentation outputs: the full leaf and the lesion-affected regions. Results show that ResNet-50 achieved the best performance, with IoU values of 0.94 for leaf segmentation and 0.89 for lesion segmentation, demonstrating higher stability and accuracy compared to the other two models.

The rapid development of aquaculture demands the implementation of innovative solutions that improve production efficiency while promoting sustainability. This research addresses the application of automated systems, sensor technologies, and artificial intelligence for management in tilapia farming in Costa Rica. Using real-time monitoring and predictive models, the system will allow for optimal regulation of water levels, maintenance of dissolved oxygen stability, and reduced mortality in production systems. Adopting Aquaculture 4.0 principles can strengthen operational efficiency, reduce labor, and resource use, and foster more sustainable and adaptable production at different scales within the country's aquaculture sector.

Finding sustainable alternatives to mineral fertilizers is essential for improving food production in urban areas. This study evaluated the use of anaerobic digestate (AD), which is derived from cheese whey and swine wastewater, as a nutrient source for producing lettuce (Lactuca sativa, “Claribel”) in a rooftop NFT hydroponic system. The study focused on designing and validating a modular hydroponic prototype and assessing the plants response to four nutrient treatments: raw digestate (AD), nitrified digestate (ND), enriched nitrified digestate (END), and conventional inorganic control (C). The system operated reliably over a 21-day cycle, maintaining stable flow and effective aeration (> 6 mg/L DO), with no clogging. Initial leaks were corrected, and the turbidity of the digestate effectively suppressed algal growth, compared to water-only pretests and the control. Regarding the second objective, significant differences in plant performance were observed across treatments. The control solution consistently outperformed all digestate-based treatments in terms of plant height, leaf area, leaf number, and fresh weight (p ≤ 0.05). END and AD treatments performed similarly, while the ND treatment showed the weakest results across all metrics, though still close to the other digestate treatments. Partial nitrification was achieved in the END treatment, with a maximum conversion efficiency of 40%. These results suggest that anaerobic digestate, especially when partially nitrified and micronutrient-enriched, can support moderate lettuce growth in hydroponics, though it remains inferior to conventional mineral solutions. Further optimization of the nitrification process and nutrient formulation is recommended for practical application.

The rhizosphere is a complex and dynamic habitat, where plant roots engage in interactions with microorganisms. The microbiota associated with the soil is a fundamental instrument for the adaptation and development of the plant communities living there. A native plant species of extraordinary industrial and environmental importance is Vaccinium floribundum Kunth (Andean blueberry), usually found in the Ecuadorian paramos. In this research work, the bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of V. floribundum in two paramo ecosystems of the province of Chimborazo were characterized by using molecular tools. Composite soil samples were obtained from the root of plants located in the paramo of Ganquis (herbaceous paramo) and the paramo of Cubillín (high montane forest); the physicochemical properties of the soil and the respective taxonomic profile were analyzed. Molecular characterization was performed by massive parallel sequencing with the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) method. The soil of the two paramos presented granular and blocky structures, the pH was moderately acid, and the percentage of organic matter was higher in Cubillín. In the paramo of Ganquis, 534 species of bacteria were identified, the most numerous were recorded within the phyla Proteobacteria with an average of 59% and Actinobacteria with an average of 31% of species. In the paramo of Cubillín, 464 species of bacteria were identified, the most numerous being in the phyla Proteobacteria with an average of 61% and Actinobacteria with an average of 29%.

Zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) are essential micronutrients for optimal growth, cognitive function, cellular self-regulation, and overall functioning in humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of biofortification of chickpeas with Zn and Se on their antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Biofortification was carried out by germination with the following salts: control, Na₂SeO₃, ZnSO₄, ZnSeO₃, and Na₂SeO₃+ZnSO₄. The sprouts obtained were processed to obtain chickpea flours, which were then subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion. In terms of mineral incorporation, Na₂SeO₃, ZnSeO₃, and Na₂SeO₃+ZnSO₄ treatments showed an increase by 82% to 205% in Se incorporation in chickpea flour compared to the control, while the Zn content increased by 9- and 2-times in the ZnSO₄ and ZnSeO₃ treatments, respectively, compared to the control. Likewise, treatment with Na₂SeO₃ resulted in higher concentrations of biocanin A glycoside, malonylated biocanin A glycoside, and biocanin A. The combination of Se and Zn during germination increased the antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties of chickpea sprouts, compared to treatments germinated in the presence of the salts independently. The combination of Se and Zn during the germination process could become an effective and economical strategy for mineral fortification in novel foods, improving the bioavailability of these minerals and the functional characteristics of the food.