Ex situ conservation of the Oca Oxalis tuberosa culture in the Cariamanga–Loja parish

Abstract

Introduction: The research project called “Ex situ conservation of the culture of the goose Oxalis tuberosa in the Cariamanga–Loja parish” is currently carrying out its activities in two specific areas: (1) the consolidation of the base germplasm collection and (2) ) the implementation of the agrobiodiversity ethnobotanical garden. In October 2022, the project activities begin and with respect to the first area, it has been possible to build and organize a database with the accessions present in the conservation area. The official donation of the goose accessions from the Yachay Botanical Garden. Materials and methods: Currently there are 19 accessions of which 18 accessions are of pure origin, where 50% of the accessions have managed to adapt to the soil and climate conditions of Cariamanga. Results: Regarding the second area, it was proposed to improve the conservation strategies of the agrobiodiversity of the goose, through the establishment of the ethnobotanical garden, for this, precultural and cultural work has been carried out. Discussion: The ethnobotanical garden is distributed over an area of 200 m2 and contains 96 furrows (each furrow is 5 m x 0.50 m); It is expected to achieve a collection of living germplasm with at least 36 goose accessions. Finally, for environmental education on the topic of agrobiodiversity, work is being done on the design of signage and labeling of the accessions present. Conclusions: 50% of the accessions have managed to adapt to the soil and climate conditions of Cariamanga. There was participation and cooperation on the part of the students of the Agroecology degree in the project. Accessions from different provinces of Ecuador such as Chimborazo, Imbabura, Pichincha and Loja were used.