Edwin Villagran

Protected agriculture across the Americas ranges from high-technology greenhouses in North America to lower-cost protected systems in Latin America, yet both depend heavily on water, nutrients, energy, and synthetic materials. These technological and regional contrasts create unequal capacities to implement circular production models. This study aimed to characterize the evolution, collaboration patterns, conceptual structure, and research gaps of circular economy applications in protected agriculture across the Americas. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, 144 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1996 and 2025 were analyzed using VOSviewer version 1.6.20, and the Bibliometrix R package version 5.4.1. Performance indicators, co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic mapping were examined. The annual growth rate of 12.57% and an international co-authorship rate of 44.03% indicate an expanding and increasingly collaborative field; however, production remained concentrated in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. The conceptual structure was dominated by hydroponics, aquaponics, nutrient recycling, wastewater management, and water quality, showing that circularity has been operationalized mainly through water and nutrient loops. The thematic structure highlights connections among production technologies, water treatment, and nutrient management. The studies discussed illustrate advances in these areas and identify the need to evaluate resource recovery alongside crop performance, microbiological quality, energy requirements, and environmental impacts. Thus, the regional research agenda should prioritize these thematic gaps while strengthening collaboration with countries that remain weakly represented. These priorities can guide funding and coordinated research toward circular strategies adapted to the technological diversity of protected agriculture in the Americas.

This study maps research on energy, exergy, environmental, and economic assessment of solar agricultural drying systems using 145 Scopus-indexed documents published from 2003 to 2025. A broad search returned 917 records; addition of an explicit 4E/LCA block reduced the set to 155, and title-and-abstract screening retained 145 documents. The bibliometric corpus comprises 127 core and 18 contextual records. Full-counting analysis of author keywords retained 33 terms at a minimum occurrence of three, producing 178 links and a network density of 0.337. Of the 127 core records, 87 addressed energy, 105 exergy, 52 environmental performance, and 51 economics; only 23 integrated all four dimensions and 10 explicitly applied life cycle assessment. Energy–exergy was the strongest pairwise overlap (Jaccard = 0.587), followed by environment–economics (0.471). Indirect and mixed-mode configurations showed broader multi-dimensional coverage than direct or greenhouse configurations, while thermal storage/phase-change materials and PV/PVT were the most frequent integration niches. The field has expanded rapidly since 2020 but remains geographically concentrated and methodologically uneven. The evidence therefore supports partial convergence toward 4E assessment rather than a mature or dominant integrated paradigm.

La producción de cultivos está asociada con un balance en la aplicación de nutrientes que pueden ser aplicados a través del sistema de riego. En un sistema de riego presurizado, el sistema de filtrado y de inyección son los mayores consumidores de energía. El venturÍ debería ser capaz de generar un vacío suficiente para inducir la inyección de la solución nutritiva. Aun cuando existen alternativas para la inyección de fertilizantes. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar el comportamiento hidráulico de un dispositivo venturÍ para la inyección de fertilizantes en un sistema de riego agrícola, mediante el uso de un modelo numérico basado en Dinámica de Fluidos Computacional. Los resultados presentan que bajo las características del venturí simulado, la máxima succión se logra a los 10 mm después de la reducción del diámetro con un valor de presión de 18000 Pa. El tubo venturí es adecuado para inyectar fertilizantes en un sistema de riego presurizado y la dinámica de fluidos computacional puede ser útil para lograr la mejor eficiencia. En un sistema de riego en campo abierto, un inyector tipo venturí analizado hidráulicamente optimiza la pérdida de energía.

The growing demand for sustainable energy sources has intensified research on the valorization of biomass residues as feedstocks for energy production. This scoping review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent technological approaches for converting coconut and açaí residues into energy carriers and bioenergy products. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In addition to synthesizing the existing literature, this study evaluates the technology readiness level (TRL) of the reported conversion pathways based on the experimental evidence provided in the reviewed studies. The literature search was conducted using Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, focusing on peer-reviewed publications between 2015 and 2025 that reported experimental or pilot-scale research on thermochemical, chemical, and physical conversion processes for coconut and açaí residues. The TRL assessment indicates that most technologies remain at laboratory validation stages, with only a limited number reaching pilot or prototype demonstration levels. Nevertheless, several pathways—particularly thermochemical and densification processes—show promising potential for decentralized bioenergy applications. These findings are especially relevant for regions where coconut and açaí value chains generate significant volumes of agricultural residues. Their valorization could support decentralized energy systems, improve residue management, and contribute to sustainable bioeconomy strategies. Overall, this review identifies the main technological advances, limitations, and research gaps associated with the energy conversion of coconut and açaí residues, providing insights for future technological development and deployment.

The cultivation of blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) has undergone an unprecedented global expansion, driven by its nutraceutical value and the diversification of production zones across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its consolidation as a strategic crop has prompted intensive scientific activity aimed at optimizing every stage of management from propagation and physiology to harvest, postharvest, and environmental sustainability. However, the available evidence remains fragmented, limiting the integration of results and the formulation of knowledge-based, comparative production strategies. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize scientific and technological advances related to the integrated management of blueberry cultivation, incorporating physiological, agronomic, technological, and environmental dimensions. The PRISMA 2020 methodology (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was applied to ensure transparency and reproducibility in the search, selection, and analysis of scientific literature indexed in the Scopus database. After screening, 367 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed comparatively and thematically. The results reveal significant progress in propagation using hydrogel and micropropagation techniques, efficient fertigation practices, and the integration of climate control operations within greenhouses, leading to improved yield and fruit quality. Likewise, non-thermal technologies, edible coatings, and harvest automation enhance postharvest quality and reduce losses. In terms of sustainability, the incorporation of water reuse and waste biorefinery has emerged as key strategies to reduce the environmental footprint and promote circular systems. Among the main limitations are the lack of methodological standardization, the scarce economic evaluation of innovations, and the weak linkage between experimental and commercial scales. It is concluded that integrating physiology, technology, and sustainability within a unified management framework is essential to consolidate a resilient, low-carbon, and technologically advanced fruit-growing system.

Over the past decade, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a fundamental tool for the assessment, modeling, and optimization of thermal comfort in controlled architectural environments, enabling detailed simulation of airflow behavior, heat transfer processes, and the spatial distribution of thermo-environmental variables within indoor spaces. The integration of human thermophysiological models has enhanced the predictive capability of these simulations, allowing for more realistic estimations of occupants’ thermal responses and perceptual comfort. In parallel, the growth and maturation of open-source platforms have democratized access to these technologies, facilitating their implementation across multiple scales and building typologies, ranging from offices and residential buildings to vehicle cabins and urban environments. Recent studies have further addressed the evaluation of passive environmental conditioning strategies such as solar chimneys and natural ventilation indoor air quality assessment, and the adaptation of models to local climatic conditions, reflecting a transition toward more comprehensive, resilient, and sustainable design approaches. Moreover, the incorporation of artificial intelligence techniques and predictive control systems has opened new opportunities for operational automation and improved building energy efficiency. Within this context, the present systematic review synthesizes methodological advances, emerging applications, and current trends in the use of CFD and open-source platforms for indoor thermal comfort assessment in architecture, identifying their main contributions, technical limitations, and future research directions.

Reconociendo la importancia de contar con material vegetal de especies forestales nativas —arbóreas y arbustivas— que cumpla con los estándares de calidad requeridos para el desarrollo de iniciativas de reforestación ambiental, esta cartilla se presenta como una herramienta para fortalecer los procesos asociados a la producción de material vegetal, con énfasis en el departamento de Cundinamarca. El documento compila la experiencia obtenida en el Vivero Forestal del Centro de Investigación Tibaitatá de AGROSAVIA, y aborda los principales elementos que intervienen en la propagación de especies nativas, incluyendo el diseño y operación de viveros forestales, el marco normativo vigente, el manejo y la preparación de semillas, y los criterios fundamentales para garantizar material vegetal con óptima calidad física y sanitaria. Asimismo, esta publicación busca aportar elementos de apoyo para los viveristas forestales y los tomadores de decisiones comprometidos con la conservación de los recursos hídricos y los ecosistemas estratégicos del departamento. Con ello se contribuye a fortalecer las acciones institucionales orientadas a avanzar hacia una Cundinamarca más verde, resiliente y en equilibrio con su biodiversidad.

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) is a high-value crop due to its growing global demand, recognized nutraceutical properties, and strong linkage with emerging technologies in precision agriculture and postharvest management. To characterize the scientific evolution and intellectual structure, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of 474 documents indexed in Scopus between 1987 and 2025. A systematic search strategy based on taxonomic, agronomic, and technological descriptors was applied, followed by data cleaning and analysis with Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. Performance indicators and science-mapping techniques were used to examine temporal growth, geographical distribution, institutional and author leadership, and thematic structure. Scientific output shows a sustained upward trend with a maximum of 42 articles in 2024, confirming the consolidation of blueberry as a model crop for interdisciplinary research. Research articles represent over 75% of the total (359/474), evidencing an application-oriented and experimentally grounded field. Agricultural and Biological Sciences dominate (382 documents), followed by Engineering (70) and Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology (66), reflecting increasing integration of crop management, technological innovation, and food science. Thematic mapping identified five main clusters: physiology and health, plant protection, agronomic management and digitalization, processing and stability of phenolic compounds, and analytical characterization. The analysis reveals gaps in the integration of physiology, food science, and metabolomics, as well as in the biological validation of biomarkers and the study of peripheral Vaccinium species. Overall, the field exhibits a consolidated and sustainability-oriented interdisciplinarity, highlighting opportunities to advance toward more comparable analytical protocols, digital traceability, and artificial-intelligence-assisted decision support along the blueberry value chain.

Protected agriculture increasingly requires solutions that reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts while maintaining stable microclimatic conditions. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) with solar technologies has emerged as a pathway toward autonomous and energy-efficient greenhouses and solar dryers. This study analyzes the scientific and technological evolution of this convergence using a mixed review approach bibliometric and systematic, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. From Scopus records (2012–2025), 115 documents were screened and 79 met the inclusion criteria. Bibliometric results reveal accelerated growth since 2019, led by Engineering, Computer Science, and Energy, with China, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom as dominant contributors. Thematic analysis identifies four major research fronts: (i) thermal modeling and energy efficiency, (ii) predictive control and microclimate automation, (iii) integration of photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems and phase change materials (PCMs), and (iv) sustainability and agrivoltaics. Systematic evidence shows that AI, ML, and DL based models improve solar forecasting, microclimate regulation, and energy optimization; model predictive control (MPC), deep reinforcement learning (DRL), and energy management systems (EMS) enhance operational efficiency; and PV/T–PCM hybrids strengthen heat recovery and storage. Remaining gaps include long-term validation, metric standardization, and cross-context comparability. Overall, the field is advancing toward near-zero-energy greenhouses powered by Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and solar energy, enabling resilient, efficient, and decarbonized agro-energy systems.

The current study aimed to investigate mathematical modeling, drying kinetics, and thermodynamic properties for cost-effectively drying marjoram leaves under different operating pressures (OPs) and drying temperatures (DTs). Three DTs of 40, 50, and 60 °C and three OPs of (atm) atmospheric, −5 kPa, and −10 kPa were used in this study. All drying processes were conducted using the developed vacuum dryer (DVD) and a constant layer thickness of 1 cm and initial moisture content of 817.43 on a dry basis (d.b.). The results obtained showed that increasing the DT from 40 to 60 °C at OPs of atm, −5 kPa, and −10 kPa led to a decrease in the drying time by about 55.6%, 36.4%, and 42.9%, respectively. On the other hand, decreasing the OP from atm to −10 kPa resulted in a decrease in drying time of about 58.8%, 45.5%, and 50% at DTs of 40, 50, and 60 °C, respectively. The moisture diffusivity (D_eff) ranged between 1.13 and 5.51 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s, with the highest value of D_eff observed at an OP of −10 kPa and a DT of 60 °C. Under these conditions, the activation energy (AE) was minimal, at approximately 2.68 kJ/mol. Mathematical modeling revealed that the Modified Midilli (I) model was the most suitable for describing the drying kinetics of marjoram leaves under experimental conditions. Among the thermodynamic parameters of marjoram leaves, it was observed that enthalpy values decrease with increasing DT and decreasing OP. Additionally, all tests showed negative entropy, suggesting that the chemical adsorption and/or structural modifications of the adsorbent are responsible for these results. The economic analysis revealed that drying marjoram leaves at an OP of 10 kPa and a DT of 60 °C resulted in yearly cost savings of up to USD 2054.19 and reduced the investment payback period to approximately 0.139 years (about 2 months).