Award-Winning Research
The idea of greener and more productive nurseries for papaya in the municipality of Jagüey Grande summarizes the work that earned one of the five provincial Innovation prizes awarded by the delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (CITMA).
The Facebook post of CITMA Matanzas specifies that it is the study «Effect of different substrates on the growth and development of papaya (Carica papaya L.) in the nursery phase, cultivar Gigante Matancera under the conditions of Jagüey Grande.»
Roberto Luzbet Pascual is the author of a proposal shared as co-authors with Navia García Cejas, José Pérez Rodríguez, Arianne del Valle Pérez, and Minerva A. García Pérez, of the project developed at the Base Scientific-Technological Unit on the grounds of this municipality, which bets on transforming the production of papaya seedlings through sustainable alternatives that substitute chemical fertilizers.
«The idea was born because the production of papaya seedlings was very limited by the scarcity of fertilizers in the nursery stage, which led its authors to seek alternatives to achieve quality seedlings,» explains the publication.
It points out as the main obstacle the obtaining of materials to produce an adequate substrate that would allow the seedling optimal growth and development, and notes that although all the products used can be made on any farm, there are always difficulties in getting the resources.
The method can be taken to other nurseries producing papaya seedlings or other crops such as tomato, chili pepper, and bell pepper, among others, because its impact is already real, by achieving the production of quality seedlings in a short time, without using chemical products that contaminate the environment.
The Provincial Innovation Prize recognizes initiatives and projects that contribute to the scientific and technological development of the territory, and in this 2026 it was also granted to proposals submitted by researchers from Caracol in the city of Cárdenas, the University of Matanzas, the University of Medical Sciences, and Geocuba.
Photo: Taken from the Facebook profile of CITMA Matanzas
