New Biological Product For Agriculture

Jesús Mena Campos, a Doctor in Agricultural Science and Agronomic Engineering is the head of the project that developed HeberNem. Nematodes, he explained, are small worms present in soil, water, plants and inside animals; some are parasites and others live freely. Many plants are victims of such parasites, especially those grown in greenhouses, although they also attack plants grown outside. In countries with harsh winters it is customary to disinfect the soil with methyl-bromide, but due to the damage this chemical does to the ozone layer and because other chemicals used as substitutes have equally undesirable effects, the world has been painstakingly searching for organic solutions. HeberNem fulfills this need, declared the specialist. THE INVISIBLE POWER OF A BACTERIUM The crux of this work is a microorganism naturally occurring in soil and organic matter whose strain can be isolated and conserved in cell banks, which can then be reproduced on a large scale. Despite the fact that all of this occurs in an invisible world, HeberNem has demonstrated an “enormous” capacity to reduce the presence of nematodes, thus increasing agricultural yields. The product of the Camagüey scientists promises to be a sound alternative to methyl-bromide, which is regrettably known for making soil sterile, damaging human health, and destroying the ozone layer. It has been tested on more than 25 hectares of distinct soil types and, after 18 toxicological and ecological tests, the nematicide has proven to be an innocuous product without any type of negative environmental effects. full article: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/diciembre/juev15/51camaguey.html

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