Effect of conservation agriculture practices on maize production in the milpa system in Yucatán, México

Abstract

Introduction. The change in land use in the Yucatan Peninsula has impacted the vegetation, and affecting on the milpa system that depends on that resource, and consequently, soil fertility and crop yields decrease. The conservation agriculture (CA) with crop diversification, minimum tillage and soil cover, is an option to improve sustainable food production. Objective. Evaluate the effect of four treatments with CA practices on the yield of maize (Zea mays L.) and their components. Materials and methods. The experiment was established in Yaxcabá, Yucatán, México. A randomized complete block experimental design with one control and three treatments were evaluated; T1 (control): Maize, frijol ib or lima bean, squash+fertilized with diammonium phosphate (DAP), T2: Maize, frijol ib or lima bean, squash+fertilized with sheep manure (SM), T3: Maize, pigeon pea, squash+SM and T4: Maize, velvet bean+SM. In T1 was applied 100 kg ha^-1 of DAP and the other treatments 4 t ha^-1 of SM. Maize of the Tuxpeño landrace was sowed. The depend variables were number of plants, number of cobs, maize kernel moisture, shelling coefficient and maize grain yield. Results. The number of plants, kernel, moisture and shelling coefficient were similar (p>0.05) in all treatments. There was significance difference in the number of cobs and grain yield (p≤0.05). The highest value of both variables was obtained in T2, which increased the number of cobs by 3.500 and the grain yield by 327 kg ha^-1, compared to T1. Conclusion. In treatment T2, the number of cobs and grain yield of the corn from the milpa can be increased from the first crop cycle when CA practices are established.