Precise irrigation water and nitrogen management improve water and nitrogen use efficiencies under conservation agriculture in the maize-wheat systems

Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

A 3-year field experiment was setup to address the threat of underground water depletion and sustainability of agrifood systems. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system combined with nitrogen management under conservation agriculture-based (CA) maize-wheat system (MWS) effects on crop yields, irrigation water productivity (WPi), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and profitability. Grain yields of maize, wheat, and MWS in the SDI with 100% recommended N were significantly higher by 15.8%, 5.2% and 11.2%, respectively, than conventional furrow/flood irrigation (CT-FI) system. System irrigation water savings (~ 55%) and the mean WPi were higher in maize, wheat, and MWS under the SDI than CT-FI system. There was saving of 25% of fertilizer N in maize and MWS whereas no saving of N was observed in wheat. Net returns from MWS were significantly higher (USD 265) under SDI with 100% N (with no subsidy) than CT-FI system despite with higher cost of production. The net returns were increased by 47% when considering a subsidy of 80% on laying SDI system. Our results showed a great potential of complementing CA with SDI and N management to maximize productivity, NUE, and WPi, which may be economically beneficial and environmentally sound in MWS in Trans-IGP of South Asia.

Subsurface Drip Irrigation Nitrogen Management Irrigation Water Productivity Water Savings CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA IRRIGATION WATER NITROGEN-USE EFFICIENCY CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE MAIZE WHEAT

Physiological ecology of Mexican CAM plants: history, progress, and opportunities

Joel David Flores Rivas Oscar Briones Villareal JOSE LUIS ANDRADE (2022, [Artículo])

"In Mexico, plants with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) are part of the Mexican culture, have different uses and are even emblematic. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of the Mexican CAM plants has been studied physiologically. For this review, the following questions were considered: What ecophysiological studies have been conducted with CAM species native to Mexico? What ecophysiological processes in Mexican CAM plants are the most studied? What type of ecophysiological studies with CAM plants are still needed? A database of scientific studies on CAM plant species from Mexico was documented, including field and laboratory works for species widely distributed, and those studies made outside Mexico with Mexican species. Physiological processes were grouped as germination, photosynthesis, and water relations. Most studies were done for CAM species of Cactaceae, Bromeliaceae, Asparagaceae and Orchidaceae, andmost ecophysiological studies have been done on germination of cacti. Field and laboratory studies on photosynthesis and water relations were mostly for terrestrial cacti and epiphytic bromeliads. There were few physiological studies with CAM seedlings in Mexico and few studies using stable isotopes of water and carbon of CAM plants in the field. More field and laboratory studies of physiological responses and plasticity of CAM plants to multiple stress factors are required to model plant responses to global climate change. In general, more physiological studies are essential for all CAM species and for species of the genus Clusia, with C3-CAM and CAM members, which can become ecologically important under some climate change scenarios."

Asparagaceae Bromeliaceae Cactaceae Germination Photosynthesis Water relations Orchidaceae BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA)

Gobernanza de múltiple escala para la gestión local del agua de consumo humano en América Latina: estudios de caso en Costa Rica, Honduras y México

Multilevel governance for local management of drinking water in Latin America: case studies from Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico

FERNANDO GUMETA GOMEZ ELVIRA DURAN MEDINA David Brayden (2017, [Artículo])

El abastecimiento del agua para consumo humano a escala local puede depender de la participación social. Se compararon tres regímenes de gobernanza para gestión del agua basado en acción colectiva y en entidades anidadas: 1) Asociaciones Administradoras de Sistemas de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Sanitario (ASADAS) en Costa Rica, 2) Juntas Ad-ministradoras del Agua (JAA) en Honduras y 3) Comités de Agua (CA) en Oaxaca, México. Se analizaron el marco legal, la estructura y operatividad y la eficiencia en la provisión y conservación de los recursos hídricos mediante revisión documental, observación partici-pativa y entrevistas informales.ASADAS y JAA son reconocidas legalmente, mientras que los CA no tienen soporte en el marco legal mexicano. Los regímenes mostraron estructuras y operatividad análoga, así como tendencias similares hacia eficiencia en la provisión del agua y en asegurar la recarga hídrica, pero capacidades económicas diferentes. Reconocer y empoderar los CA en México podría aumentar y garantizar el abastecimiento de agua a el largo plazo

Adequate supply of drinking water at local level depends, in many cases on community participation. We compare three governance regimes for drinking water management based on multilevel collective action: 1) ASADAS in Costa Rica, 2) Water Boards (JAA, for its acronym in spanish) in Honduras and 3) Water User Committees (CA, for its acronym in spanish) in Mexico. Our data is based on participant observation, and formal and informal interviews. Legal framework, structure and operation, and efficiency for provision and conservation of water resources are analyzed. ASADAS and Water Boards are legal entities with recog-nized community participation and collective action, while Water Committees have no legal support by the Mexican Government. Regimens showed similar structures and operation, but different economic capabilities and efficiencies in the provision of water and in ensur-ing water recharge. Recognition and empowerment of the Water Committees in Mexico could increase and ensure water provision in the long- term

HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA Abasto de agua Gobernanza local Comités de agua Oaxaca Sustentabilidad de agua Water supply Local governance Water committees Oaxaca Sustainability of water

Avances en Agricultura Sustentable : Resultados de plataformas de investigación Hub Pacífico Norte 2010-2021

Simon Fonteyne Nele Verhulst (2022, [Libro])

Esta edición presenta los resultados de la red de plataformas en el Hub Pacífico Norte, misma que resulta de la colaboración entre el CIMMYT; el Patronato para la Investigación y Experimentación Agrícola del Estado de Sonora A.C. (PIEAES); el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Sinaloa Poniente (AARSP); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Fuerte Sur (AARFS); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán (AARC); la Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS); Servicios Agrofinancieros del Norte S.A. de C.V. (SAFINSA); el Club de Labranza de Conservación del Valle del Évora; Granera del Noroeste S.A. de C.V; y el Instituto de Ciencias Agrícolas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (ICA-UABC). Los lectores podrán encontrar en este libro los resultados de las plataformas con más tiempo de operación, en donde ya se han podido generar suficientes datos para sacar conclusiones basadas en evidencias sólidas. Esperamos que el libro pueda servir de inspiración a los productores para que busquen que sus actividades en el campo sean más productivas, rentables y sustentables.

Plataformas de Investigación Maíz Amarillo Pulgón Áreas de extensión Módulos demostrativos Autosuficiencia Alimentaria Uso de Insumos Ganancias para el Productor Nodos de Innovación CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURA DE CONSERVACIÓN COSTOS DE PRODUCCIÓN EUTROFIZACIÓN MONOCULTIVO DEGRADACIÓN DEL SUELO CONTAMINACIÓN PLAGUICIDAS CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO PLATAFORMAS DE INNOVACIÓN EXTENSIÓN AGRÍCOLA AUTOSUFICIENCIA INSUMOS AGRÍCOLAS CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION COSTS EUTROPHICATION MONOCULTURE SOIL DEGRADATION CONTAMINATION PESTICIDES CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION PLATFORMS AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SELF-SUFFICIENCY FARM INPUTS

THE RIGHT TO THE CITY AND URBAN-RURAL LINKAGES. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, CHIAPAS.

Briseida Corzo Rivera Gabriel Castañeda Nolasco (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

Access to water is a common struggle of the communities in the state of Chiapas, with the effects of urban expansion these struggles increase and with them the challenges that these populations already face, having a greater impact on the rural environment. The struggles to satisfy this basic need are a factor that has triggered processes that promote community participation. Based on a qualitative analysis, this paper compares two existing forms of participation in the rural communities of the Metropolitan Area of Tuxtla Gutierrez that allow the population to manage actions to improve their quality of life. The objective is to analyze how these processes promote or restrict the empowerment of the community and allow progress, not only in the population's access to water, but also in the construction of the right to the city. From the urban-rural linkages, the right to the city is discussed beyond the city, addressing other territories. The study identifies factors that show changes in the participation of the populations and strengthen the community, as well as factors in the relationships of the community and of the community with other actors that limit the scope of the processes.

Participation Right to the city Urban-rural linkages Access to water participación, derecho a la ciudad, vínculos urbano-rurales, acceso al agua. CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Climate-smart agricultural practices influence the fungal communities and soil properties under major agri-food systems

madhu choudhary ML JAT Parbodh Chander Sharma (2022, [Artículo])

Fungal communities in agricultural soils are assumed to be affected by climate, weather, and anthropogenic activities, and magnitude of their effect depends on the agricultural activities. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the impact of the portfolio of management practices on fungal communities and soil physical–chemical properties. The study comprised different climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based management scenarios (Sc) established on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA), namely, ScI is conventional tillage-based rice–wheat rotation, ScII is partial CA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIII is partial CSA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIV is partial CSA-based maize–wheat–mungbean, and ScV and ScVI are CSA-based scenarios and similar to ScIII and ScIV, respectively, except for fertigation method. All the scenarios were flood irrigated except the ScV and ScVI where water and nitrogen were given through subsurface drip irrigation. Soils of these scenarios were collected from 0 to 15 cm depth and analyzed by Illumina paired-end sequencing of Internal Transcribed Spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) for the study of fungal community composition. Analysis of 5 million processed sequences showed a higher Shannon diversity index of 1.47 times and a Simpson index of 1.12 times in maize-based CSA scenarios (ScIV and ScVI) compared with rice-based CSA scenarios (ScIII and ScV). Seven phyla were present in all the scenarios, where Ascomycota was the most abundant phyla and it was followed by Basidiomycota and Zygomycota. Ascomycota was found more abundant in rice-based CSA scenarios as compared to maize-based CSA scenarios. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen were found to be 1.62 and 1.25 times higher in CSA scenarios compared with other scenarios. Bulk density was found highest in farmers' practice (Sc1); however, mean weight diameter and water-stable aggregates were found lowest in ScI. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties were found better under CSA-based practices, which also increased the wheat grain yield by 12.5% and system yield by 18.8%. These results indicate that bundling/layering of smart agricultural practices over farmers' practices has tremendous effects on soil properties, and hence play an important role in sustaining soil quality/health.

Agriculture Management Fungal Community Diversity Indices Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURE TILLAGE CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

Diversifying with grain legumes amplifies carbon in management-sensitive soil organic carbon pools on smallholder farms

Regis Chikowo Sieglinde Snapp (2023, [Artículo])

Crop diversification with grain legumes has been advocated as a means to increase agroecological resilience, diversify livelihoods, boost household nutrition, and enhance soil health and fertility in cereal-based cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a primary indicator of soil health and there is limited data regarding SOC pools and grain legume diversification on smallholder farms where soils are often marginal. In Malawi, a range of legume diversification options are under investigation, including rotations and a doubled-up legume rotation (DLR) system in which two compatible legumes are intercropped and then rotated with a cereal. The impact of the DLR system on SOC has not yet been determined, and there is a lack of evidence regarding SOC status over a gradient of simple to complex grain legume diversified systems. We address this knowledge gap by evaluating these systems in comparison to continuous sole maize (Zea mays L.) at three on-farm trial sites in central Malawi. After six years of trial establishment, we measured SOC in bulk soils and aggregate fractions and in faster cycling SOC pools that respond more rapidly to management practices, including water extractable organic carbon (WEOC), particulate organic matter carbon (POM-C), potentially mineralizable carbon (C), and macroaggregate C. Cropping treatment differences were not seen in bulk SOC or total N, but they were apparent in SOC pools with a shorter turnover time. The DLR system of intercropped pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) rotated with maize had higher WEOC, POM-C, potentially mineralizable C, macroaggregate and microaggregate C values than continuous maize. Of the single legume rotations, the pigeonpea-maize rotation had more mineralizable C and microaggregate C compared to continuous maize, while the groundnut-maize rotation had similar C values to the maize system. Overall, this study shows the potential for crop rotations diversified with grain legumes to enhance C in management sensitive SOC pools, and it is one of the first reports to show this effect on smallholder farm sites.

Crop Diversification Water Extractable Organic Carbon CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DIVERSIFICATION LEGUMES PARTICULATE ORGANIC MATTER SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

Studies of plant hydraulics and water relations in mexican environments: adaptation, physiology, and applications

Estudios sobre hidráulica y relaciones hídricas de plantas en ambientes mexicanos: adaptaciones, fisiología y aplicaciones

RODRIGO MENDEZ ALONZO Mark Olson Horacio Paz Casandra Reyes García CELENE MARISOL ESPADAS MANRIQUE CLARA TINOCO OJANGUREN Santiago Trueba (2022, [Artículo])

Given the outstanding global progress of research on the hydraulic pathway in plants, and its important role as an indicator of plant mortality risk, we reviewed: (1) the adaptive basis of hydraulic traits and their importance for overall plant function; (2) the number of primary scientific articles on plant hydraulics that have been produced in Mexico in the last 40 years, (3) research related to specific environments in Mexico, and (4) the possible applications of plant hydraulics to natural resource management. Our systematic review included 83 articles. The number of publications per year steadily increased over time, reaching its maximum in 2021. Veracruz and Yucatán are the states where the majority of scientific articles on plant hydraulics have been produced, but for most states less than two publications on this subject appeared in ca. 40 years, and none was found for Oaxaca and Chiapas, the most biodiverse states. In plant hydraulics, the most studied biome in Mexico was the tropical dry forest, followed by crops; trees were the most studied growth-form, followed by herbaceous crops and epiphytes. We point to the need of enhancing research in the interface between plant hydraulic function and remote sensing, as well as developing applications in adaptive forest management and ecological restoration. We hope that this review may ignite a national collaborative effort to quantify critical traits that could inform the hydraulic functioning of Mexican ecosystems, particularly in the underrepresented and highly diverse states of Mexico. © 2022 Sociedad Botanica de Mexico, A.C. All rights reserved.

ADAPTATION DROUGHT VULNERABILITY ECOPHYSIOLOGY PLANT WATER RELATIONS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Changes in soil organic carbon pools after 15 years of Conservation Agriculture in rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system of eastern Indo-Gangetic plains

C.M. Parihar Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

The present study was carried out at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur, Bihar during 2021-2023 to focus on examining alterations in SOC pools resulting from conservation agriculture (CA) practices in R-W system in the eastern IGP, following the collection of soil samples from a long-term trial that was initiated in rainy (kharif) season 2006. The trial included eight combinations, namely: conventional tilled rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (CTR-CTW); CT rice and zero till wheat (CTR-ZTW); direct seeded rice (DSR) and wheat on permanent raised beds (PBDSR-PBW); ZTDSR and CT Wheat (ZTDSR-CTW); ZTDSR and ZT wheat without residue (ZTDSR-ZTW-R); ZTDSR-ZT wheat with residue (ZTDSR-ZTW +R); unpuddled transplanted riceZTW (UpTR-ZTW) and ZTDSR-sesbania brown manure-ZTW (ZTDSR-S-ZTW). Results revealed that implementing zero tillage (ZT) combined with residue retention in rice and wheat cultivation led to enhanced levels of soil organic carbon (SOC) across all four fractions, namely very labile (CVL), labile (CL), less labile (CLL), and non-labile (CNL), in comparison to the continuous and rotational tillage practices. The tillage and residue management options significantly affected the lability index (LI) and C pool index (CPI), with zero-tillage and residue retention leading to lower LI and higher CPI values. The management practices significantly affected the C management index (CMI), with zero-tillage and residue retention showing the highest CMI values. Findings showed the potential of CA practices for enhancing soil C quality as well as C sequestration in soil of the Eastern IGP of India.

Carbon Management Index Soil Organic Carbon Fractions CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE SOIL ORGANIC CARBON ZERO TILLAGE

Advancing the science and practice of ecological nutrient management for smallholder farmers

Sieglinde Snapp (2022, [Artículo])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGROECOLOGY DEGRADATION NUTRIENT CYCLES NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY SOIL ORGANIC MATTER SMALLHOLDERS