Rooftop Urban Agriculture Model with Two Tomato Varieties (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill) and Toppings in the High Jungle – Peru

Abstract

The study objective was to design and evaluate the agroecological system of an agricultural model with vegetable covers (Luffa cylindrica, Cyclanthera pedata and Mucuna pruriens) associated with tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill), Rio Grande and Cherry varieties. The agroecological system is shown with its components of inputs, processes and outputs. The main entrances being solar radiation, rainwater and air as main sources for plant photosynthesis. Components of rooftop agroecosystem are soil, plants, animals and microbes, which form the food pyramid in ecological balance. Production benefits the family in terms of food safety with safe pesticide-free tomatoes. At the same time there is a plant barrier on the roofs to reduce the effects of solar radiation that favors the comfort of the family; in this way the research is framed in the nature of cities with green roofs with their multiple ecological benefits. A new tomato variety obtained by natural crossbreeding between the Cherry and Rio Grande varieties has also been obtained, with medium-sized fruits favorable to the organic tomato market, whose average equatorial diameter is 2.82 ± 0.086 cm, and the average polar diameter 2.47 ± 0.105 cm.

Urban Agriculture in Latin America: A Green Culture Beyond Growing and Feeding

“…Nevertheless, the cultural bundle was seen to be of similar importance. Urban farmers recognized UA as an activity with important services that enabled vulnerable people to improve their lives and well-being (Cantor, 2010;Costa et al, 2015;Batitucci et al, 2019), and allow sharing popular and traditional knowledge (Montes and Gómez, 2011;Gold, 2014;Fernández et al, 2020), enjoying aesthetic or scenic beauty (Lattuca and Terrile, 2014;Urbana et al, 2019), promoting tourism (Losada et al, 2000;Lattuca and Terrile, 2014), to organizing fairs (Niederle et al, 2018;Peralta-González et al, 2019), and educational and recreational activities (Urbana et al, 2019;Nagib and Nakamura, 2020), or recognizing that UA promotes the maintenance of urban biodiversity (Pino et al, 2007;do Amaral and Guarim Neto, 2008;Alomía-Lucero et al, 2020).…”

“…Similarly, most of the weaknesses have derived from a lack of studies on the misuse, degradation, loss of ES, or poor knowledge of ecosystem dis-services. UA in LA has promoted the emergence of opportunities (Gianquinto et al, 2007;Schiavo, 2009;Rodríguez-Delfín, 2012;Pérez Fernández et al, 2018;Alomía-Lucero et al, 2020;Fuzinatto et al, 2021) to integrate popular knowledge and to develop new products, technologies, careers, jobs, and businesses, often supported by the urban farmers themselves, by international agencies, and sometimes by universities and scientific institutions. Despite the threats and difficulties that UA experiences in LA, there are also cases in the region (FAO, 2014;Lattuca and Terrile, 2014;Amato-Lourenço et al, 2021) that are examples of how local governments, through public policies in urban planning and legal frameworks, together with civil organizations and other institutions, have managed to incorporate UA into the urban dynamics, improving the wellbeing of the participants, and sustaining the programs over time.…”