Gavino Trono
| Gavino C. Trono, Jr. | |
|---|---|
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| Born | November 9, 1931 |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Fields | Biology |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines, Araneta University, University of Hawaii |
| Known for | Seaweed Farming |
| Notable awards | National Scientist of the Philippines |
Gavino Cajulao Trono Jr., Ph.D. (born November 9, 1931) is a Filipino biologist dubbed as the “Father of Kappaphycus farming”. He was conferred the rank of National Scientist of the Philippines for contributions to the study of tropical marine phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity. He is currently working as a technical consultant for the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Aquaculture Seaweed Research and Development and is a professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute.
Trono obtained his bachelor of science degree in botany from the University of the Philippines, his master's degree in agricultural botany from the Araneta University and his doctorate in botany from the University of Hawaii. His research focuses on seaweeds including studies on the culture of Eucheuma denticulatum, Kappaphycus alvarezii, Gracilaria spp., Caulerpa lentillifera, and Halymenia durvillei for coastal communities. He wrote an academic paper reporting the occurrence of ice-ice disease that had affected seaweed farms. This disease devastated the commercial production of seaweed in the Philippines. The seaweed is farmed for the food additive carrageenan.
Trono led the assessment of several coastal areas in Western Mindanao as potential sites for seaweed farms; and discovered twenty-five (25) new marine benthic algae. He also established the largest phycological herbarium in the country – the G.T. Velasquez Herbarium in the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute and authored two-volume books on Field Guide and Atlas of the Seaweed Resources of the Philippines, considered as the most authoritative books in the country on the seaweed flora.
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