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Fernando López Tuero (1857-1907) was an agricultural scientist and agronomist who discovered the bug (believed at first to be a germ) which was destroying Puerto Rico sugar canes.

Agricultural epidemic

In the latter part of the 19th Century, an epidemic was affecting the agricultural industry of Puerto Rico. Among the crops affected was the sugar cane, whose main product "sugar" was vital to Puerto Rico's economy. The Spanish colonial government, created an emergency commission composed of scientists, which included Dr. Agustín Stahl and Fernando López Tuero, to study the situation. Dr. Agustín Stahl concluded that the epidemic was caused by a "germ" in the terrain, however his findings were inconclusive. In 1894, Fernando López Tuero, who was the head agronomist of the Agronomical Station of Río Piedras, discovered that the cause of the epidemic was the white grub (Phyllophaga).

The Phyllophaga is a very large genus (more than 260 species) of New World scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers. The adults are chafers, feeding on foliage of trees and shrubs. They may cause significant damage when emerging in large numbers. The larvae (called white grubs) feed on the roots of grasses and other plants.

López Tuero's scientific investigations have been uncluded in Madre Teresa Cortés Zavala's "Fernando López Tuero, La Revista de Agricultura, Industria y Comercio de Puerto Rico y el progreso agrícola de 1885-1898" written for the Escuela de Historia; Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo.

Written works

Among López Tuero's written works are the following:

• "Imagen del editor Unitarismo de La Patria Espanola" (ISBN: 9781146505253)
• "Imagen del editor Unitarismo De La Patria Espanola: La Descentralizacion, El Regionalismo, Portugal, Gibraltar, Sintesis Del Unitarismo" (ISBN: 9781146505253)
• "VALORACION DE MATERIAS AGRICOLAS"
• "EL CHACOLÍ SANTANDERINO EN LOS SIGLOS XIII AL XIX"
• "El hombre"
• " ENFERMEDAD DE LA CAÑA DE AZÚCAR Y MODO DE COMBATIRLA"
• "ESTADO MORAL DE LOS FACTORES DE LA PRODUCCION EN CUBA Y PUERTO-RICO"

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican scientists and inventors

Notes

1. Template:Spanish name

References

1. ^ Rigau Pérez, José G., MD, MPH. "Historia de la investigación científica en Puerto Rico],". CienciaPR. Retrieved 2008-10-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. El aroma económicamente embrujador del café y el olvido de la buena dieta, Retrieved October 4, 2008
3. "June Beetle / June Bug - Cirrus Digital Imaging". Red Planet Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
4. Seminario Internacional: "Los caminos del progreso en el Caribe hispano contemporáneo: economía, ciencia y cultura"
5. Written works

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