The consequences of climate change in the agricultural sector worldwide expose the need to understand the scope of their impact in order to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies for them. Therefore, this research evaluated the alterations in the environmental conditions and their relation with the vulnerability of smallholder cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) producers to climate change in the province of Manabí. A non-probabilistic sampling of 1,060 small farmers was made in five cantons of Manabí. The vulnerability was determined through indicators such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), deforestation data from 1990 to 2016, models of the changes in climate and extreme weather events, satellite images, records from the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI by its initials in Spanish), and numerical outputs of mathematical models calibrated for Ecuador climatic and environmental data. Each indicator was calculated in conventional units and then categorized into vulnerability levels: low, medium, high and very high. For the indicators’ superposition, algebraic tools of the Geographic Information Systems’ (GIS) maps were used. The results showed a very high incidence of extreme events, deforestation higher than 6,000 ha year-1, an increase of 0.8 °C in temperature between 1960 and 2006, an increase in rainfall on the coastal zone close to 90% and a decrease of it of more than 20% on the agricultural area. Furthermore, coverage showed the following distribution of the determined vulnerability levels: low (13.30%), medium (34.74%), high (45.53%), and very high (6.43%).

La presencia de metales pesados especialmente Cadmio (Cd⁺²) y Plomo (Pb⁺⁴) en cultivos de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.), es un problema tanto para agricultores y exportadores de cacao, como para los centros de acopio, en los estados de fresco, fermentado y secado. Se analizaron variables físico-químicas acorde a criterios de atributo de las almendras de cacao para lo cual se utilizó un DCA con cinco repeticiones, los metales Cd⁺² y Pb⁺⁴ se determinaron por espectrometría de plasma de emisión óptica con ICP-OES. Las variables estudiadas se analizaron con un test de coeficientes estandarizados al 95% de intervalo de confianza y se obtuvo para la humedad 6,33 %; el pH 6,24; el porcentaje de acidez 1,17 %, la determinación del índice de semilla 1,32; la determinación del índice de mazorca 21,94; la determinación del número de almendras por mazorca 40,43; la determinación del peso de 100 almendras 136,34 y la determinación del porcentaje en testa 19,12 %. Los valores promedio de concentración de Cd⁺² en las diferentes fases de post-cosecha de cacao fueron 0,89 mg.kg^-1 para el mucílago, 0,73 mg.kg^-1 para el fermentado y 0,95 mg.kg^-1 para la almendra seca; así mismo los valores de concentración de Pb⁺⁴ fueron para el mucílago 0,38 mg.kg^-1; para el fermentado 0,37 mg.kg^-1 y para la almendra seca 0,60 mg.kg^-1. Determinándose que estos valores se ubican por encima de los estipulados por el Reglamento (CE) Nº 1881/2006. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo evaluar el contenido de metales pesados Cd⁺² y Pb⁺⁴ mediante espectrofotometría de emisión atómica con plasma inductivamente acoplado en almendras de cacao durante el proceso de beneficiado en la provincia de Manabí.

Measuring the effect of herbicides on the natural environment is essential to secure sustainable agriculture practices. Amount of carbon dioxide released by soil microorganisms (soil respiration) is one of the most important soil health indicators, known so far. In this paper we present a comprehensive quantifying study, in which we measured the effect of 14 herbicides on soil respiration over 16 years, from 1991 to 2017, at Debrecen-Látókép Plant Cultivation Experimental Station. Investigated herbicides contained different active ingredients and were applied in various doses. It was found that 11 out of the examined 14 herbicides had a detrimental effect on soil respiration.

El consumo de pescado es una de las fuentes de proteínas incluidas en la dieta alimentaria, sin embargo, se presentan diversos problemas de inocuidad al momento de su expendio y comercialización. El objeto de esta investigación fue evaluar la calidad microbiológica de la albacora (Thunnus alalunga), para lo cual se tomaron 16 muestras por triplicado y de forma aleatoria, las mismas que fueron colocadas en casetes con formol neutro. Posteriormente, se cultivaron los aerobios mesófilos (AOAC 990.1); las enterobacterias (AOAC 998.08); Salmonella-Shigella (NTE INEN 1529-15); Staphylococcus aureus (AOAC 2003.11) y Escherichia coli (AOAC 998.08). Los resultados del análisis microbiológicos muestran que los valores reportados para aerobios mesófilos (274 UFC g-1), enterobacterias (81 UFC g-1), Salmonella-Shigella (43 UFC g-1), S. aureus (273 UFC g-1) y E. coli (611 UFC g-1) se encuentran fuera de los límites establecidos por las normas INEN 183-2013; de acuerdo a esta misma norma el contenido de histamina se encuentra superior al límite (5 mg 100g-1) con una media de 7,06 mg 100g-1 lo que se considera como un factor de riesgo para la salud de quienes consumen este tipo de alimentos. Palabras clave: almacenamiento; conservación; manipulación; pescados

The food industry is focused on replacing chemical preservatives with organic alternatives for food preservation and safety. The present study seeks to analyze the use of propolis in the conservation of red tilapia fillets. Propolis was applied in two concentrations (15% and 30%) and two impregnation times (1.5 and 3 hours) to red tilapia fillets stored at 4-5°C for 30 days. Several parameters, including pH, water-holding capacity (WRC), and basic volatile nitrogen concentration (N-BVT), were evaluated at 10-day intervals. In addition, a microbiological analysis of mesophilic microorganisms and E. coli present was carried out. From day 20, significant differences were observed in the color of the fillet according to the chromatic coordinates L*, a* and b*. The sensory analysis showed that the sensory properties were maintained when the acceptance values were higher than 6.5. The most effective treatment was propolis in a concentration of 15% with a soaking time of 1.5 hours and preserved for 20 days. This approach showed that propolis effectively extends the shelf life of fillets by preventing proteolytic damage. In addition, it inhibits the proliferation of microorganisms by maintaining the load of mesophiles and E. coli, as well as the physicochemical parameters (pH, CRA and N-BVT) according to the NTE-INEN 183-2013 standard. In conclusion, propolis is a promising organic preservative for the food industry.

Tagetes patula is an ornamental plant species and its essential oils contain potentially allelopathic active ingredients. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition of extracts, the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of flowering leaves of the species, on Staphylococcus aureus. For this, the extraction of the essential oil by hydrodistillation was carried out, evaluating the physical characteristics (solubility, density and refractive index) and phytochemical characteristics of the extracts through a phytochemical screening (alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, tannins and reducing sugars). The quantificatics of phenols in the essential oil was performed by the Folin Ciocalteu method, the antioxidant activity using the DPPH and ABTS tests, the antimicrobial activity by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration. The results obtained showed for the essential oil, a density of 0,733 g.mL-1, refractive index of 1,47 and insolubility in ethanol (70 %), presence of tannins, flavonoids and phenols in the extracts. The phenolic content was 1.024 ± 0,19 mg.g-1 TAE, the antioxidant activity with DPPH was 87,6 ± 0,18 µmol.g-1TE and with ABTS 180,83 ± 0,36 µmol.g-1 TE in Trolox equivalent. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 16,67 mm against S. aureus, in response to which it is concluded that the essential oil of T. patula had antioxidant activity against radicals DPPH and ABTS, high phenolic contents and showed antibacterial activity in vitro tests against S. aureus.