Maize–Velvet Bean Rotation in Summer and Winter Milpas: A Greener Technology

Abstract

In Central America, the traditional cropping system milpa de año (summer season) and tornamilpa (winter season) were compared over 3 yr (2007–2009). Our experimental objectives were to measure the performance of a maize (Zea mays L.)–velvet bean [Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. subsp. utilis (Wight) Burck] milpa system throughout the summer and winter cultivation, to detect any problems associated with velvet bean use, and to determine the contribution of this tropical legume to soil fertility and maize productivity. In each crop season (separated in space and time) we used a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with five repetitions each: without velvet bean and without fertilizer (–V–F), with velvet bean and without fertilizer (+V–F), without velvet bean and with fertilizer (–V+F), and with velvet bean and with fertilizer (+V+F). Results showed that in the winter milpas the presence of velvet bean significantly increased the soil pH, organic matter content, total N, and decreased soil bulk density. In both cycles (winter and summer), treatment with velvet bean (+V) produced higher grain yield, while the treatment without velvet bean (–V) had a lower production. We concluded that the use of velvet bean in the winter milpa contributed to the restoration of soil fertility and increased yield maize in agricultural systems of the small‐holder farmers based on low external input.

Wet Agriculture in the Lowlands: Maize Marceña

“…When evaluating elite maize variants in six regions under multiple conditions of abiotic stress, Trachsel et al (2016) reached an average yield of 6.2 and 2.15 Mg ha –1 under optimal conditions and drought and N deficiency, respectively. The results of this study showed that the traditional mején cultivar yielded 3.3 Mg ha –1 , a production that was significantly higher (18.5%) than that of the improved cultivars (CP‐560, CP‐561, and CP‐562, equivalent to 45–60% of yield under no stress conditions; Mejía‐Conteras and Molina, 2002), but similar to the maize–mucuna rotation agroecosystem practiced in southeastern Mexico and Latin America (Ortiz‐Ceballos et al, 2012, 2015; Pacheco‐Cobos et al, 2015). Also, the traditional mején cultivar reached an average yield higher than the obtained in lowland milpas of the Mexican tropics (Donnet et al, 2017).…”

Review of agronomic research on the milpa, the traditional polyculture system of Mesoamerica

“…Their economic value is lower than that of beans and they do not produce food, but they can be used for fodder (Ruiz-Vega and Loaeza-Ramıŕez, 2003;Beaupréet al, 2021). Similarly, higher maize yields have been observed after a rotation with mucuna in Las Tuxtlas, Veracruz (Ortiz-Ceballos et al, 2015) and in the Selva de Chiapas Region (Aguilar-Jimeńez et al, 2011).…”

Situación de las legumbres en Chile: Una mirada agronómica

“…Las leguminosas en rotación con cereales, a la vez que aportan nitrógeno y fósforo reducen la incidencia de malezas al retardar la aparición y aumento de biotipos de gramíneas como avenilla y ballica 9 , las cuales son resistentes a herbicidas selectivos en cultivos de la misma familia botánica (trigo, avena, cebada, triticale). Por otra parte, las leguminosas, por su cobertura y capacidad alelopática (compuesto químico liberado por una planta sobre el desarrollo y crecimiento de otra planta), evitan que las malezas proliferen, gracias a la secreción de compuestos fenólicos, tanto a nivel radical como producto de la descomposición del rastrojo 25,27,28 . Asimismo, ha sido ampliamente documentado el efecto sobre la incidencia de enfermedades en cereales de invierno.…”