05-09_Libro_Practicas_Agricolas - Territorios Centroamericanos

Buenas prácticas agrícolas para la adaptación al cambio climático Parte 2AbstractMaize is an important crop in Chiapas, Mexico, and the Central Americanregion due to its economic and social relevance. Historically, it has been inhigh demand as a basic grain and also as food for animals. Neverthelessmaize production techniques today are environmentally aggressive, especiallyon hillsides where soil erosion is highly accelerated. This situationrequires alternative technologies, especially environmentally friendly techniquesthat offer better soil management; conservation of other naturalresources, such as natural or secondary vegetation; and improvement inprofitability of the crop. In this sense, intercropping seems to have a keyanswer, particularly the association of maize-legumes as cover crops orgreen manures. It is widely documented that maize intercropped representsa comparative advantage over monoculture because legumes contributepositive interactions to the overall production system. Other benefits areyield improvement, weed control, depletion of pest and disease populations,optimization of water, nutrients and radiation and reduction inproduction risks. Moreover maize-legume intercropping has implicationsfor natural resources conservation at both agroecosystem and naturallandscape levels. The conjunction of these aspects represents clear indicatorsthat intercropping of maize and legumes contributes positively toadaptation to global climate change.Key words: interaction, legumes, green manures, cover crops, climatechange, association.128