Managment the size of fruit and quality of tuna (opuntia ficus-indica, m) by crop load regulation Resumen Con el objetivo de evaluar el efecto de la carga frutal en la tuna (Opuntia ficus-indica, M) sobre el rendimiento y la calidad de los frutos, se realizó un ensayo que consistió en ajustar diferentes niveles de carga frutal por cladodios individuales (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 y 16 frutos/cladodio) en la localidad de El Noviciado, de la comuna Pudahuel en Santiago de Chile. Los tratamientos con menor carga frutal redujeron el rendimiento de frutos pero aumentó la calidad de los frutos en peso fresco, tamaño, relación pulpa/cáscara y firmeza, sin embargo el porcentaje de jugo de la pulpa se redujo al disminuir la carga frutal; la carga no afecto al contenido de sólidos solubles, pH y la acidez titulable de la pulpa. Al comparar las plantas con carga ajustada con aquellas de carga natural, se concluyó que el ajuste de carga permite obtener mayores rendimientos y pesos frescos de frutos para un mismo nivel de carga y que la carga natural tiene un efecto más acentuado en la reducción del peso promedio y rendimiento (al aumentar la carga). Palabras clave: carga frutal; peso fresco; peso pulpa; peso cáscara; pH; sólidos solubles; acidez titulable; firmeza; contenido de jugo. Abstract With the aim of studying the effect of fruit load of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica, M) on fruit yield and quality, two trials were carried out: one in which different fruit loads were adjusted at the cladode levels (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 y 16 fruits/cladode) in The Noviciado of commune Pudahuel in Santiago de Chile. In the test crop load it decreased fruit yield decreased but increased the following variables of fruit quality: fresh weight, size (polar and equatorial diameters), relationship pulp / peel and firmness. Furthermore, in percentage of juice from pulp it was reduced by decreasing the crop load, while no effects of the load on the content of soluble solids, pH and titratable acidity of the pulp was observed. Comparing the adjusted load plants with those of natural load in the town of Novitiate concluded that the load adjustment allows for higher yields and fresh fruit pesos for the same charge level and the natural load has an effect more accentuated in reducing the average weight and performance (by increasing the load). These differences indicate that the growth of the fruits of tuna supply depends mainly assimilated and cladode nutrients on which they develop. Keywords: fruit load; fresh mass; pulp mass; peel mass; pH; soluble solids; titratable acidity; firmness; juice content.

The Portoviejo valley in the Manabi province, Ecuador, is an important ‘Sutil’ lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) producer, but since the water resources in the region are of vital importance, a good management of the irrigation is needed. The objective of this research was to know the physiological response of the plant expressed in terms of gas exchange and fluorescence, under different levels of irrigation. The study zone is located at Maconta site, 40 masl, in an orchard with 15 year old plants grafted on rootstock ‘Cleopatra’, planted at 6 x 6 m. The following irrigation treatments were tested, according to the atmospheric demand: 0.3ET0, 0.5ET0, 0.7ET0, 0.9ET0, and a control (farmer's irrigation). A randomized complete block design with five treatments and six replications was established. Significant differences (P≤0,05) were found among treatments measured in the dry season, where the photosynthesis rate (A) was higher in the control treatment, decreasing in those treatments with water restrictions (0,3ET0) or excess (0,9ET0) in the soil. Similar behavior was observed in stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration (T); the increase or decrease of A, would be associated with T and gs. The water use efficiency (WUE) was higher in the treatment of 0,5ET0 than in the rest of treatments, suggesting that the increase in this variable would be due to a good equilibrium of the Ci/Ca, ratio, avoiding water loss and still maintaining active physiological processes. Low values of the Fv/Fm ratio existed in conditions of excess moisture. The performance of gs in both periods leads to deduce the rapid adaptation of the crop to different levels of soil moisture.

La agricultura representa a la actividad que garantiza a la humanidad los alimentos y el sustento económico y su preservación y cuidado es esencial en todas las especies vegetales. Por ende, el objetivo de este estudio fue identificar los principales insectos que afectan el cultivo de pimiento (Capsicum annuum L.) en el campus experimental "La Teodomira" cantón Santa Ana, permitiendo el reconocimiento de la entomofauna benéfica y perjudicial asociada al cultivo. La metodología de este estudio consistió en la captura e identificación de insectos en tres parcelas tratadas bajo diferentes métodos (Manejo convencional, Manejo Integrado de Plagas (MIP), y sin aplicación). Para tal efecto, se realizaron evaluaciones directas (pasada en red) e indirectas (trampas cromáticas), encontrando desde insectos fitófagos, predadores, parasitoides y polinizadores de 61 especies, englobadas en 32 familias y 9 órdenes, por cuanto la mayor diversidad de insectos se observó en la parcela sin aplicación (75,43%). Cabe mencionar que, en la estimación de la biodiversidad, según los índices de Margalef, Simpson y Shannon, resalta la parcela sin aplicación con un índice de 4,956, además de 4,612 y 4,267 en la parcela con aplicación y MIP, respectivamente.