Restoring the Soil - Canadian Foodgrains Bank

Green Manure/Cover Crop Systems578. Green Manure/Cover Crop Systems29. Honduras. The maize/mucuna-1 system coversthousands of hectares in Mexico, Guatemalaand Honduras. It is still spreading in some areas ofeach country, but is losing ground in others. Thefactors deciding spread or contraction include theabandonment of maize as a crop, the spontaneousspread to new farmers who just didn’t know aboutit, and the competition for maize land from cattleranchers and oil palm producers.Latin American GreenManure/Cover Crop SystemsMexicoS1. Maize/mucuna-1. The primary maize/mucuna (Mucuna spp., also called velvetbean)system extends along the east coastof Mexico, from about halfway betweenthe U.S. border and the city of Veracruzto Tabasco State, just west of the YucatanPeninsula (Photo 29). The mucuna diesin December, maize is planted in January,and the mucuna reseeds itself naturallyin January and grows until the followingDecember. A major advantage with thissystem is that very little weeding, if any, is necessary. The system results in slightlyimproved harvests over a period of at least 40 years, with maize grown every year andwith no use of chemical fertilizers (Photo 30). The system apparently either spreadoriginally from Guatemala, or was independently developed by Mexican farmers whenthe seed was introduced into Mexico from the southeastern U.S. during the earlyto middle 20th century. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 farmers use this system inMexico alone, and it is still expanding in Tabasco State and north of Veracruz.The same system has spread into Guatemala along the Polochic River Valley of theDepartment of Alta Verapaz. During the last 30 years, it has spread into many areas ofthe Department of El Peten. Nevertheless, it’s use along the Polochic River has beenreduced, largely because much of the land there has been bought up to grow sugarcanefor making biofuels. The system apparently was initiated about 60 years ago whenthe mucuna was first brought to Guatemala by the United Fruit Company to feed thecompany’s mules. Over 5,000 farmers likely use this system in Guatemala.The maize/mucuna-1 system has also spread from the Guatemalan border north intopatches of southern Belize and east to the mountains of north-central Honduras,where it was once used by an estimated 10,000 Honduran farmers. In this area,however, the system is losing ground rapidly because maize farmers are being replacedby large cattle ranchers who now prefer to use the hillsides to graze their cattle becauseHurricane Mitch killed many of the animals they previously grazed on the coastalflatlands.It should be mentioned that rainfall basically has to be year-round for this maizemucuna-1system to work.