Francisco Albornoz

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Verified

Francisco verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

Background Beneficial microorganisms modify root architecture through different mechanisms mostly related to plant hormones synthesis. Less information is available regarding the emission of microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their effects on root architecture. Numerous studies describe the release of VOCs by bacteria and filamentous f...

Water scarcity is a rising issue in fast-growing cities in arid lands, where demand outpaces supply. This leads to non-renewable water systems and exacerbates social inequalities. This is the case for Alto Hospicio (AH), located in the northern Chilean Atacama Desert. Regarding its water availability, the main source of drinking water comes from un...

Citation: Albornoz, F.; Vilches, I.; del Río, C.; Carter, V. Soilless Production of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in the Atacama Desert Using Fog Water: Water Quality and Produce Mineral Composition. Horticulturae 2024, 10, 957. https://doi. Abstract: Soilless vegetable production in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile is spreading since it is perceive...

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has been cultivated for more than 7,000 years in the mountain regions (Andes Mountains) of South America. Five ecotypes differing in their phenology, morphology and stress resistance can be found. One of these ecotypes corresponds to the coastal ecotype, which is cultivated mainly in Chile. Little information is a...

Agricultural production in the Atacama Desert is restricted by extreme aridity and poor soil quality. Between 18°S and 30°S, low stratocumulus clouds regularly cover the southeastern Pacific Ocean reaching the Coastal Cordillera. Thus, marine fog is constantly present in the coastal areas of the desert. Fog can be harvested using fog collectors. Ho...

Background and aims Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) stimulate plant growth by a series of mechanisms, including atmospheric nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization and the synthesis of plant hormones. Within the group of PGPMs, several species of bacteria and fungi have been extensively studied. However, little information is ava...

Nitrogen fertilization is a key practice in agriculture and its effects on yield and quality of most commodity products are widely known. However, the response of seed production to N fertilization, especially with regard to its effects on seed quality, is still poorly understood. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of N fertili...

Endocrine disruptors like thiocyanate are some of the principal causes of chronic disorders worldwide. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to thiocyanate can interfere with normal neurological development in both fetuses and newborns. Currently, little information regarding thiocyanate levels and potential sources of exposure is available. In this stud...

BACKGROUND This research assessed the capacity for Cd²⁺ removal from water using canola meal‐based adsorbents: canola meal chemically activated with 1 mol L–1 NaOH and pyrolyzed for 1 h at 500 °C (CAC) and the second product obtained with a similar process but with a second pyrolysis at 750 °C in CO2 flow (CAC‐CO2). The materials were characterized...

Very little information is available with regards to the bioavailability of perchlorate in spinach or chard used in the production of baby foods commodities. In the present study, the uptake and accumulation of perchlorate were compared under two different treatments (T1: 1 and T2: 10 mg L⁻¹ ClO4⁻). Our results indicate that spinach has a higher ca...

Urban vegetation is generally exposed to adverse environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, compacted soils, low fertility, and a high pollutant concentration. The influence of biophysical and social factors on the survival and condition of trees and nontrees was analyzed using a census of plants in 37 green spaces of the Metropolitan Reg...

The use of grafting techniques for horticultural crops increases plant tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Tomato production under greenhouse conditions relies on plants grafted onto vigorous rootstocks because they sustain crops for longer periods. Growers under Mediterranean conditions usually grow crops in passive greenhouses durin...

A critical aspect of predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations is the lack of available soil information; where information on soil characteristics is available, it is usually focused on regions of high agricultural interest. To date, in Chile, a large proportion of the SOC data have been collected in areas of intensive agricultural or fo...

Vigorous interspecific rootstocks increase nitrogen (N) uptake in tomato plants but limited information is available on xylem transport rate. Non-grafted and self-grafted tomato plants cv. Attiya and plants grafted onto an interspecific hybrid, Kaiser, were grown under growth chamber conditions and subjected to two light levels, 400 or 800 μmol PAR...

Revisión bibliográfica de estas 3 especies, enfocado en su domesticación, mejoramiento, manejo asociado con la intensificación agroecológica, y el rol de los huertos familiares campesinos e indígenas en su conservación.

Water deficit presents new challenges for fruit production, among which, obtaining and selecting tolerant genotypes has become relevant. The aim of this work was to characterize novel Prunus rootstocks with tolerance to water deficit as a key trait to cope the challenges for agriculture imposed by the climate change expected in the near future. Her...

The commercial value of vegetable seeds has increased during the last decades, which has turned seed production into a specialized horticultural activity. Soilless production has been adopted by some seed producers mainly because of sanitary reasons. An additional advantage of soilless culture would be the possibility of managing plant nutrition wi...

Uno de los mayores recursos naturales que Chile posee es su biodiversidad botánica. Esta riqueza de plantas también se extiende a aquellas destinadas al consumo como alimentos por la población, donde se han ido seleccionando especies y variedades con interés agrícola desde hace siglos. Este proceso se desarrolló primero por los pueblos indígenas y,...

Grafting has become a common practice among tomato growers to obtain vigorous plants. These plants present a substantial increase in nitrogen (N) uptake from the root zone. However, the mechanisms involved in this higher uptake capacity have not been investigated. To elucidate whether the increase in N uptake in grafted tomato plants under high N d...

Current modelling approaches for energy simulations in green roofs use a range of values for parameters such as stomatal resistance (r s) of the vegetation. r s reflects the capability of a plant to transpire, thus it has a direct relation to the cooling potential of green roofs in buildings. Therefore, r s values need to be revised based on differ...

A replicated experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of various N fertilization regimes on seed quality. Increasing N doses reduce standard germination and seed longevity. Based on these results, N fertilization doses should be adjusted for seed production.

Under conditions of limited nutrient supply, plant nutrient uptake is controlled by the external concentration of the ions. Limited information exists about the whole-plant regulation of nutrient uptake when the supply is adequate. To study the relationship between growth rate and carbon dioxide (CO 2) assimilation with nutrient uptake, growth cham...

Diurnal root zone temperature variations affect strawberry waterrelations, growth, and fruit quality a b s t r a c t To test the hypothesis that the effect of daily root zone temperature (RZT) variations would affect straw-berry plant performance, root systems of Control ‘Albion’ strawberry plants Treatment 1 (T1) were maintained at 20◦C (no stre...

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study and quantify the daily uptake rate of nitrate, ammonium, phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfate (NO3−, NH4+, H2PO4−, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO42−) and to characterize the uptake daily pattern at different plant ages in a lettuce crop. The uptake rates per gram of plant fresh weight wer...

It is customary that growers apply high doses of nutrients to the soil in order to achieve high yields, with detrimental consequences for the environment; but no information exists with regards to the crop response to high fertilization levels. To evaluate the physiological response of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to various root zone nutrient conce...

In order to reduce nutrient wastes to the environment the supply should be in accordance to the demand for these. Two experiments were conducted to study and quantify the effect of temperature, irradiance, and plant age on the uptake of nitrate (NO3−), ammonium (NH4+), dihydrogen phosphate ion (H2PO4−), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg...

Las raíces son los órganos de las plantas encargados de la absorción de agua y nutrientes desde el suelo. Tanto la absorción como el posterior transporte de los nutrientes dentro de la planta están altamente regulados a nivel celular y molecular, con el fin de satisfacer los requerimientos para la producción de nueva materia vegetal, lo que en el c...

Nitrate content in leafy green vegetables has raised concerns among consumers and policy makers worldwide. Several cultural practices have been evaluated to manipulate NO3- content in fresh leaves with varying degrees of success. The present study was conducted to evaluate different concentrations of the nutrient solution applied during the day (D)...

An hydroponic tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was grown in a greenhouse at the University of Tarapaca, Agronomy Faculty, in northern Chile (Arica, Tarapaca Region) to study the effect of a controlled environment and the water quality on the crop yield and fruit quality. The study had four treatments: T1 nutrient solution made with Lluta...