Scientific agronomy of sugar cane (Álvaro Reynoso)
Agronomía científica de la caña de azúcar (Álvaro Reynoso)
- Date
- 1862 · confidence high
- Place
- Havana, Cuba
- Credited to
- Álvaro Reynoso, Cuban chemist and agronomist
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
In his Essay on the cultivation of sugar cane (1862) Reynoso advocated deep ploughing, drainage, manuring and variety selection based on chemical analyses of soil and plant. It is one of the first systematic applications of agricultural chemistry to a tropical crop.
Reynoso studied chemistry in Paris and also worked on sugar processing; the historical value lies in the method rather than in a single discovery.
What it led to
- higher yields on Cuban plantations through scientific techniques
- modern sugar agronomy in the Caribbean
- later experimental stations (Cuba, Puerto Rico)