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January 2011 - N°8
Editorial
The year 2010 again brought us the satisfaction of having fulfilled the expectations of our clients in terms of the quality of our products and the agility of delivery. The economic crisis that has severely impacted the globe has not deterred the many investors who are now initiating new projects in several countries or replanting old stands to capitalize on the many advantages of new oil palm planting materials. The fact that many such projects have chosen ASD as their supplier of planting materials and trust our technical assistance gives us the confidence to continue with our efforts to back up our services and products with the quality expected to guarantee the success of new endeavors.
Héctor Albertazzi Leandro
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Hector is a young man, a key member of the ASD team, who has already accumulated plenty of experience and knowledge in oil palm. A graduate in agronomy from the University of Costa Rica, he later completed his studies in the same university to get a master’s degree with an emphasis on integrated pest management. His tied to the oil palm world started in 1997 when he came to the ASD field station to do the field work for his master’s degree. His studies on root health and aerial diseases of oil palm significantly helped give new impulse to the idea that disease management starts with making sure that the root system is given an environment where it can grow without impediments. His talent was not overlooked and he was readily hired in 2001 as part of the group working on phytosanitary aspects of the crop.
Later, Hector was transferred to ASD’s sister company, Palma Tica, to take full responsibility of the commercial program on pest and disease management (several thousand hectares in Costa Rica and Nicaragua). In 2007 he was appointed as the head of research in the group of plantations located in southern Costa Rica.
In 2008 he was brought back to ASD to take charge of commercial seed production, but his responsibilities were soon expanded to make full use of his intelligence, ability to learn and administrate, and of course, his charming personality. More recently, he was called to fill the gap left by Sergio Mora (separate note) as the person in charge of the commercial seed processing unit.
Sergio Mora: looking for new opportunities
Sergio has been in charge of ASD’s Seed Production Unit in Coto since 2001. Now, and due to personal reasons, he has left the company. His link with ASD started in 1998 when he came to do the field work for his master’s degree from the University of Costa Rica. His research focused on improving the quantity of first-quality seed produced for export. Additionally, he studied the effects of poor management in the prenursery as a factor that negatively affected the quality of the seedlings obtained.
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Sergio Mora supervising the production of germinated oil palm seeds |
Large room where workers carry out several of the phases that will guarantee the production of the best quality germinated seeds) |
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| General view of the facilities for processing solid and liquid residues from seed germination (mesocarp residues, oily waters and pesticide residues). The tank on the left is part of the system for processing pesticide residues such as the fungicides used to treat the seeds. |
Once he became the head of the Seed Production Unit, his duties included all administrative aspects (200 employees) and the supervision of every step of this rather lengthy process. He made important technological contributions to improve the process that guarantees the production of better quality germinated seeds and to reduce losses during the process. Under his guidance, ASD was able to export about 30 million seeds to the international market in the year 2008.
Producing first quality seeds was highly facilitated when the whole operation moved from an old building into a modern facility, considered the best of its kind in America. This building has ample working spaces and rooms with temperature and moisture control. A nearby building was constructed to process all the residues produced during seed germination.
ASD highly appreciates all of Sergio’s contributions and wishes him great success in his future professional life.
First International Oil Palm Congress in Peru
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Participants at the First International Oil Palm Congress in the city of Pucallpa in Peru. September, 2010 |
ASD thanks the organizers of the First International Oil Palm Congress for the invitation to participate in this meeting in the Peruvian city of Pucallpa on September 24-25, 2010. Amancio Alvarado and Carlos Chinchilla gave talks on the new planting materials available and new ways to deal with the most important phytosanitary problems of the crop in tropical America.
Technical support to our clients
Oil palm growers and several organizations of Chiriqui Province in Panama joined efforts to hold a short course on oil palm. ASD was ready to cooperate with this effort and sent two persons with ample experience in the crop to give talks on the most important agronomic aspects for obtaining the best from the seeds supplied by the company.
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On the left, Rodrigo Obando gives his talk on weed management in oil palm plantations. On the right, the instructors and organizers of the event hand out the participation diplomas to the oil palm growers) |
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Regional Workshop on Pests of Interest in Palmae and National Meeting on Coco in Honduras
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Partial view of the attendees of the Regional Workshop on Pests of Importance to Palms, held in La Lima, Honduras in December, 2010) |
This workshop was held in December 2010 at the FHIA facilities in La Lima, Honduras. Several organizations (SAG, SENASA, DICTA, OIRSA, El Zamorano and FHIA) joined efforts to ensure the success of the activity that received visitors from the 12 member countries of OIRSA (Organismo Internacional Regional de Sanidad Agropecuaria). ASD thanks the organizers for the invitation to participate in this important event, where Carlos Chinchilla gave a talk on the integrated management of important sanitary problems of the crop in the region.
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