Judith Prieto Méndez

Zeta potential and electrophoretic mobility for the recovery of a saline soil with organic amendments

The accumulation of salts in the soil profile produces conditions that affect the growth of crops. The effects of these conditions on crops and the intensity of these effects depend on the quantity and type of salts that predominate and are also influenced by soil characteristics and climate, among other aspects. The salinization of agricultural soils is a serious problem facing agriculture today. The use of organic amendments has increased in recent years, acting on the texture of the soil, correcting compaction or granularity problems, and influencing chemical and/or biological reactions. The objectives of this work were to analyze the use of compost and vermicompost using different analysis techniques to determine the influence of conditions on the remediation of a saline soil. In saturation extracts of soil, compost, and vermicompost, a Zeta potential value 2.34–2.44 times more negative (more-stable colloids) than that in the soil colloids was observed in the amendments. The values of electrophoretic mobility were more negative in the organic amendments compared with the soil. This is the first time that these parameters have been reported for these purposes and for a saline soil. In this study, the soil has low organic matter content (1.65%), so these amendments are expected to improve soil quality and texture, achieving the recovery of saline soils.

DEGRADACIÓN DEL ALMIDÓN DE CEBADA (Hordeum sativun JESS.)

El objetivo del trabajo ha sido evaluar la degradacion del almidon extraido de la cebada ( Hordeum satiun Jess. ) mediante el seguimiento de la gelatinizacion. Se evaluo sobre la base del tamano de granulos de almidon y valoraciones de microfotografias. Con rendimientos de extraccion del almidon (con o sin cascara) del orden de 60%, los tamanos de granulos resultaron ser de aproximadamente 20 μm. El proceso de extraccion a partir del grano con cascara o perlado no mostro diferencias significativas lo cual indica la posibilidad de resultados similares con menos costos. Se corroboro que la gelatinizacion de estos almidones se inicia a temperaturas superiores de 35oC y alcanza su maxima expresion alrededor de los 75oC. Esto permite valorar la potencialidad del proceso de hinchamiento y degradacion de los almidones mediante las variaciones del tamano y distribucion de los granulos de almidon en lugar del seguimiento de la viscosidad, asi como valorar las morfologias de su destruccion granular.