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Sustainable Improvement of Agricultural Production Systems in the Mixteca Region of Mexico (263 KB) J.C. Velásquez (NRG Paper 02-01) | |
| With support from the Conrad N. Hilton and Ford Foundations and in collaboration with three Mexican nongovernmental organizations, the CIMMYT Natural Resources Group (NRG) worked with small-scale farmers in the impoverished, semi-arid region of southeast Mexico known as the Mixteca during 1998-2001 to increase food production and improve the quality of rainfed, maize-based agro-ecosystems. Participants worked in four communities to help farmers identify and test a set of 19 technologies. The most promising were green legume cover crops and grain legumes such as lablab and pigeon pea, oyster mushroom production by a women’s group in one village, drip irrigation for home gardens, greenhouse cropping, selection among local maize varieties, and triticale production. Several of these have been adopted in the communities. The project also bolstered farmers’ self-esteem, community spirit, and communication with peers, and enhanced local leadership, organizational, analytical, and experimentation capabilities. | ||
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Effects
of Conservation Tillage on Water Supply and Rainfed Maize Production in
Semiarid Zones of West-Central Mexico
(284.96KB) E. Scopel, F. Tardieu, G. Edmeades, and M. Sebillotte (NRG Paper 01-01) |
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| This study analyzes the potential of conservation tillage (CT) for improving maize productivity under a range of soil and rainfall conditions in a semiarid zone of West-Central Mexico, evaluating the consequences of tillage practices on the crop's ability to take up and store water, on evapotranspiration, on crop physiology, and on grain yield, under cropping systems typical of small-scale farmers. Even with low use of crop residue mulching ( 0.2 kg/m2), CT has considerable potential for adoption in these areas, once technical issues such as supply of appropriate machinery, weed control, and the competing use of the maize residue for forage have been resolved. Even under wetter conditions, CT resulted in acceptable ytields. | ||
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Maize
Production Environments Revisited. A GIS-based Approach
(975.49KB)
A.D. Hartkamp, J.W. White, A. Rodríguez Aguilar, M. Bänziger, G. Srinivasan, G. Granados, and J. Crossa |
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| This publication presents a GIS-based approach for revising the definitions of global maize production environments, called "mega-environments" ((MEs), used by CIMMYT and its partners. A cluster analysis was performed on climate data, representing a four-month growing season, for key maize producing locations. Assuming rainfed production, the onset of the growing season was determined based on the month when the ratio of precipitation over potential evapotranspiration exceeds 0.5.Diagnostic criteria for mapping MEs were based on cluster analysis results and expert knowledge. The resulting maps can be used to select appropriate target environments for maize germplasm and trials, as well as in priority setting and site selection for global maize breeding programs. | ||
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La
conservación de residuos en los sistemas de producción de maíz en
Ciudad Guzmán y San Gabriel, Jalisco
(332.12KB) O. Erenstein (NRG Documento 99-01 Es) (in Spanish only). |
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La tecnología de conservación de los residuos del cultivo, mejor conocida como labranza de conservación, brinda la posibilidad de incrementar la productividad y la sustentabilidad de los sistemas agrícolas en zonas con escasez de agua. La tecnología propone el uso de los residuos de la cosecha anterior como mantillo protector del suelo, con el propósito de lograr efectos benéficos en la conservación del suelo y del agua. Este estudio revisa el potencial de la tecnología en los sistemas de producción de maíz de temporal en una zona de estudio en el sureste del estado de Jalisco, México. La adopción actual de la tecnología en la zona de estudio es mínima (aproximadamente 1%), aunque una tercera parte de los productores sí la conoce. El estudio muestra que la adopción de la tecnología de conservación de residuos no es sencilla, pues depende de varios factores como la no quema,la reducción de la labranza primaria, así como adaptaciones en la siembra y el control de malezas;asimismo,la extracción requeriría de algunos ajustes que originarían costos adicionales. El estudio indica que existen dos opciones para la conservación de residuos en la zona:1) un sistema de labranza cero con extracción de residuos; 2) un sistema de labranza mínima sin extracción de residuos. Además es necesario distinguir entre dos zonas de temporal: una de (relativamente) buen temporal y otra de mal temporal. La conservación de residuos permite obtener rendimientos considerablemente mayores y estables mediante la conservación de agua en la zona de mal temporal. Sin embargo,en la zona de buen temporal no parece haber efecto alguno sobre el rendimiento a corto plazo. |
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Increasing
Wheat Yields Sustainably through Agronomic Means P.R. Hobbs, K.D. Sayre, and J.I. Ortiz-Monasterio (NRG Paper 98-01) (440.40KB) |
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| This paper examines common factors that constrain wheat yields: insufficient nutrients (using nitrogen as an example); problems of late planting and poor crop establishment; suboptimal water management; lodging; and weeds. The authors suggest agronomic practices, including tillage practices, rotations, and input management options that can ameliorate important constraints and sustainably improve yields. Examples are drawn largely from rice-wheat systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and from wheat systems in northwestern Mexico. These examples indicate that there is still considerable potential for raising wheat yields in a sustainable manner and meeting rapidly expanding demand for wheat in developing countries. | ||
| © CIMMYT March 2004 | ||