Agroecology of corn production in Tlaxcala, Mexico
The primary components of Tlaxcalan corn agriculture are described, including cropping patterns employed, resource management strategies, and interactions of human and biological factors. Tlaxcalan farmers grow corn in an array of polyculture and agroforestry designs that result in a series of ecological processes important for insect pest and soil fertility management. Measurements derived from a few selected fields show that trees integrated into cropping systems modify the aerial and soil environment of associated understory corn plants, influencing their growth and yields. With decreasing distance from trees, surface concentrations of most soil nutrients increase. Certain tree species affect corn yields more than others. Arthropod abundance also varies depending on their degree of association with one or more of the vegetational components of the system. Densities of predators and the corn pest Macrodactylus sp. depend greatly on the presence and phenology of adjacent alfalfa strips. Although the data were derived from nonreplicated fields, they nevertheless point out some important trends, information that can be used to design new crop association that will achieve sustained soil fertility and low pest potentials.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Berkeley (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 7147418
- Journal Information:
- Hum. Ecol.; (United States), Vol. 15:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
MAIZE
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
MEXICO
AGRICULTURE
LAND USE
CROPS
CULTIVATION
ECOLOGY
FARMS
FERTILIZERS
FORESTRY
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INSECTS
IRRIGATION
LAND RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
PEST CONTROL
PLANT GROWTH
POPULATION DYNAMICS
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
SOIL CHEMISTRY
SOILS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
TREES
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
CEREALS
CHEMISTRY
CONTROL
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
GRASS
GROWTH
INDUSTRY
INVERTEBRATES
LATIN AMERICA
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
POPULATIONS
290400* - Energy Planning & Policy- Energy Resources