Ecological alternative in agroecosystems "Sulfocalcic broth”

Currently there is talk of ecological imbalance in agricultural agroecosystems due to the excessive use of synthetic products for crop management, which forces the product to look for efficient alternatives for fertilization, arvense control, pest insects, fungi among other pathogenic agents for crops that become a limiting factor for production. For this reason, some agricultural producers are looking for agroecological alternatives to solve the aforementioned management, to be more specific in the control of fungi and some insects there are some preparations that can generate preventive solutions, among them we have the sulfocalcic broth which is a preparation based on some minerals of proven efficiency for the control of phytosanitary problems and which are easy to prepare.

In that sense, when talking about easy-to-prepare preparations, sulfocalcium broth is very useful for the control of diseases that are caused by fungi on plants, in the same way some researchers point out that it serves to control pest insects such as thrips, mites, moths among others such as cochineal that according to Ortega y Sánchez (2015). , is an insect that affects plants these accumulate on the back of the leaves and at the intersections of the leaves with the branches.

To focus on the conventional handling of cochineal, according to some producers, diazinon is an effective, moderately toxic chemical with which adequate results have been obtained in terms of its control.This product belongs to the chemical class of organophosphates and its improper use can constitute a risk to human health and other life forms, due to the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, which according to Silman and Futerman (1988), is an enzyme that plays an important role in the central nervous system.

Currently, producers and researchers have begun to test alternative techniques that are more environmentally friendly within the range of products that are considered organic, including sulfocalcium broth. this broth is an acaricidal fungicide, preventive of permissible use in organic agriculture, made from minerals such as sulfur and lime, these minerals separately have fungicidal action. This lime and sulfur preparation can be applied on diseased plants to control pathogens such as cochineal.

It is important to note that this product is considered as an agroecological alternative because sulfur is a product found in nature and is considered to be of low toxicity for human and animal health. In addition to being used as a fungicide and insecticide, it could also favor the development of plants because it is an element considered within the macro-elements required by crops for their production.

On the other hand, the lime, you can use slaked lime, also called hydra lime or construction lime, but it has to be of the best quality. To obtain the sulfocalcic broth, 10 liters of water, 2 kilograms of lime and 1 kilogram of sulfur can be used; For its preparation, the ten liters of water is placed in a pot and mounted on a stove to boil the water, then the lime is diluted and then the sulfur is added, when the sulfur is added it will turn a yellow color and it must be mixed that the color is changing to wine color, when obtaining the mentioned color it is removed from the stove and left to cool. Two liters of this product can be diluted in 100 liters of water.

Dear readers, as you can see this product is another agroecological solution for pest control, it can become a cheaper and more effective alternative if applied preventively, it can be said by the aforementioned that it is a low impact chemical. In upcoming publications we will be explaining step by step its construction and other aspects of interest.