Pesticides are vital for agricultural productivity, but their improper use poses risks to human health, the environment, and product quality, necessitating the development of new solutions.
In response to this need, an interdisciplinary and intersectoral research team worked collaboratively on the Fondef ID23I10326 project “Development of a portable device for the detection/identification of pesticides: quality control through the generation of an optical fingerprint,” whose results were presented at the initiative's closing seminar, held on Tuesday, August 26, at the INIA La Platina auditorium.
“This research is fully aligned with our University's mission as a public institution: to contribute to the country's sustainable development through science, innovation, and human capital formation,” said Dr. Sebastián Allende, a researcher at the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Cedenna) at the University of Santiago, at the beginning of the event.
Results and Scope
To develop a portable device that quantifies and identifies pesticides by processing optical signals, ensuring application levels adhere to commercial product labels.
After two years, the research team successfully developed a unique prototype for Chile, demonstrating potential for scaling, transfer, and impact on the national fruit sector.
The work and results were presented by two speakers: Dr. Rafael Melo (UCEN) discussed prior experience and the development of optical signals for pesticide detection, while Dr. Álvaro Espejo (Cedenna/UDP) covered the project's execution and prototyping.
Dr. Danae Riquelme (project director, INIA La Platina) highlighted portability as a major innovation. She noted that current industry quantification methods—using expensive instruments or time-consuming chemical titrations—could change. Riquelme explained, "This could reduce costs, allow for the monitoring of different lines within a plant, and decrease operators' exposure to pesticides."
Other benefits include identifying pesticides in mixtures, ensuring label-compliant concentrations, offering low-cost and easy-to-use analysis via a user-friendly interface, and enabling immediate corrective action.
Dr. Dora Altbir (director of the Cedenna Foundation and initial team member) praised the swift progress: "The results achieved are extremely positive. In just 24 months, we designed and built a device that is already delivering its first results." She added, "We hope to optimize the device over the next two years and thus offer this valuable tool to the national fruit industry."
Applied Science and Collaboration
The interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers from physics, engineering, data analysis, chemistry, and agronomy was one of the initiative's most highly valued aspects.
Gabriel Raffo (director of the INIA La Platina Regional Research Center) asserted that the proposal "is a concrete example of how applied science can have a direct impact on production, industry, and consumers." He concluded that the project "confirms that collaborative knowledge is the most powerful tool we have to face the challenges of agriculture and ensure the future of our food."
For his part, Carlos Ladrix (deputy director of Applied Research at ANID) emphasized that Fondef projects aim not only to generate market-transferable technology but also to train specialized human capital. He highlighted the project's success in "the training of young people in research, which ultimately looks at the market or the public benefit of society."
Dr. Sebastián Allende pointed out that the team's "diversity of perspectives and skills allowed us to face the challenges that arose with greater strength, giving greater consistency, depth, and projection to the results achieved."
Other Presentations
The conference also featured other presentations on relevant post-harvest aspects of fruit production.
Presentations were also given by Edgar Álvarez (INIA La Platina) on citrus physiology and management, Óscar Becerra (DECCO Mercosur) on technological challenges, and Dr. Danae Riquelme on post-harvest diseases and the dosage manual.