The researcher from the University of Sonora in Mexico, Edgar Rueda, pointed out that together with the ULS researchers who lead the initiative, they hope to develop an industrial application of the species.

The Mexican experience in the production and application of salicornia bigelovii, a wild plant that occurs in that country, is varied and has multiple uses such as forage, construction material, production of products for human consumption, cosmetics and edible oil.

Taking into account these good results, the researchers from the University of La Serena who lead the BIOSALIC project, which aims to evaluate the generation of biofuel from this species that also occurs in coastal environments of the Coquimbo Region, generated an alliance with the University of Sonora, Mexico, which has been involved in various initiatives related to salicornia.

In this context, the researcher and academic of said Mexican university, Edgar Rueda, offered a keynote talk at the ULS, in which he highlighted the advances of the research being carried out by said institution, with financing from the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC) of the Regional Government of Coquimbo, pointing out that they hope to generate an alliance to develop an industrial application of the species and give continuity to the BIOSALIC project.

The director of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the ULS and person in charge of the FIC initiative, Óscar Contreras, indicated that “the BIOSALIC project consisted of specifically investigating the cultivation of salicornia, a halophyte silver from our area, to produce biodiesel, the primary objective our. And in the development of said project that is now coming to an end, we have discovered many other benefits or particularities, which Dr. Rueda comes to ratify, indicating that we are on the correct lines of research, which means that we can generate a “new route to support regional development.”

Contreras highlighted that the projections aim to derive the use of this plant not only to what could be the production of biodiesel, but also to the development of a food supplement or nutrient for livestock or human consumption.

"We want to focus mainly on livestock, due to the drought problems that our region has, it is very likely that we will try to find a solution or alternative solutions, with this research that we are carrying out and with this important possibility of growing plants that are irrigated with seawater,” explained the ULS academic.

In this regard, Dr. Rueda was emphatic in pointing out that there is a growing need to reconvert traditional agriculture, use new vegetative materials with agroindustrial interest, and in this sense, he highlighted that “salicornia bigelovii is a prospective plant to be used in a comprehensive project. That is, use the aquaculture sector, the forestry sector, the agricultural sector, the industrial sector, through comprehensive production systems, for the production of forage, human food, production of cosmetic products or biofuels.

The expert highlighted that the alliance with the ULS “means mutual enrichment, let us remember that there are tips, there is continuous creativity in each of the researchers, in this case those from the University of La Serena have a typical way of acting agronomically speaking, that we don't have. So joining those efforts without a doubt, I believe, will lead us to become more efficient and offer a good salicornia bigelovii production system.”

For his part, the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, indicated that the innovations developed in Mexico from salicornia can also be applied in our region. “I believe that the BIOSALIC project has a very profitable future, we see that the studies they have in Mexico can be perfectly applied in our area,” he said.

In addition, Avilés highlighted the projections that are opening up for the ULS with the signing of agreements that can be established with the University of Sonora. “The fact that there may be mobility of our students, of our researchers, I think that in one way or another that will strengthen research in arid zones, especially in forestry, in livestock and food issues,” the authority pointed out.