Julián Baldomero Acuña Galé

He was born in Camagüey, a botanist by profession. He dedicated himself with profound commitment to scientific and teaching work.

He stood out for his contributions to agro-botanical knowledge in Cuba, conducting research of great importance to the country's economy. Of peasant origin, he learned to read at home, where he also received great influence regarding interest in nature.

At the age of 18, he began studying at the Agricultural School Farm of Camagüey, where he prepared a collection of economically important insects, which drew the attention of the Director, Doctor Roberto Luaces, who recommended him to other professors after graduating as an agricultural teacher in 1920.

He went to work on assignment at the Agronomic Experimental Station of Santiago de las Vegas, where he remained until his retirement in 1970.

In 1921 he was selected to hold a position as Student Assistant at that Institution, working under the direction of Doctor Stephen C. Bruner. Two years later he enrolled in the School of Agronomic and Sugar Engineering at the University of Havana, combining his studies with research tasks, and graduating in 1930.

In 1932 he advanced his professional training at the New York Botanical Garden in the United States, and that same year was appointed head of the Department of Botany at the Experimental Station of Santiago de las Vegas, where he also served as Director. He was also Advisor to the Agricultural and Industrial Bank of Cuba, and to numerous national and private commissions. He developed interesting taxonomic works, as well as botanical studies in general, but his greatest dedication was toward economic botany, addressing problems that affected Cuba's main crops, thereby seeking to improve the conditions of Cuban agriculture.

He studied new species with possible economic utility, and among his multiple investigations he distinguished himself for his work with other Cuban and North American technicians on fiber-producing species such as kenaf and ramie. He conducted studies related to rice, confirming the viral nature of the disease called "white stripe," as well as phytochemical studies and introduction of forage plants for the improvement of livestock raising. He enriched the Botany Department herbarium with 47 species found by him and 20 that have been named after his surname.

At the time of his death he was in transit in Mexico during a private visit.

ACTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
"Harvard Botanical Garden, at the Soledad Central". In: Revista de Agricultura, Comercio y Trabajo. Year 14. Vol. 14. No 2. La Habana, May 1932, pp. 3-11
"Descriptive catalog of Cuban orchids." In: Boletín. No 60. Experimental Station of Santiago de las Vegas, La Habana, 1938
"Species and varieties of coffee cultivated in Cuba". In: Boletín del Instituto de Estabilización del Café. La Habana, 1940
"Fruta Bomba or Papaya". In: Revista de Agricultura. Years 22-23. Vol. 23. No 10-15. La Habana, October 1939 to March 1940, pp. 49-80
"The Cuban forest problem". In: Revista de Agricultura y Ganadería. Year 7. No 10. Provincial Government of La Habana, La Habana, October 1944, pp. 49-58
"Situation of wild cane cultivation in Cuba." In: Revista de Agricultura y Ganadería. Provincial Government of La Habana, La Habana, 1944, pp. 32-83
Acuña Galé, Julián and J. M. Rodríguez. "The Cuban Flacourtiaceae. Investigations regarding the possibility of using oils extracted from Cuban species in the treatment of leprosy". In: Revista de Leprología, Dermatología y Sifilografía. Year 1. No 3. La Habana, July 1944, pp. 137-142
"Biographical data of Juan Tomás Roig y Mesa". In: Revista de la Sociedad Cubana de Botánica. Vol. 4. No 1. La Habana, January-March 1947, p. 4
Díaz Barreto, Ramón and Julián Acuña Galé. Economic and social study of the municipality of Baracoa. Ministry of Agriculture. BANFAIC, La Habana, 1952
"Rice. Varieties. Their obtaining and function in production". In: Agrotecnia. La Habana, 1956, pp. 21-32
"Some reasons in favor of using rotation in rice cultivation." In: Agrotecnia. La Habana, 1957
Undesirable plants in Cuban crops. Imprenta Academia de Ciencias, BANFAIC, La Habana, 1972.
PASSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Collective of Authors. 80 Years of the Agronomic Experimental Station of Santiago de las Vegas. Scientific-Technical Publishing House. La Habana, 1984 p. 685
Martínez Viera, Rafael. "Julián Acuña Galé on the 80th anniversary of his birth". In: Conferences and Studies on History and Organization of Sciences. No 21. CEHOC, La Habana, 1980, pp. 1-13.

Source: RedCiencias