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Agricultura, sociedad y desarrollo
Print version ISSN 1870-5472
agric. soc. desarro vol.13 n.2 Texcoco Apr./Jun. 2016
Articles
Conservation of maize diversity in two communities of San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México
1 Centro de Estudios e Investigación en Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Agustín Gasca M. No. 208, Colonia Francisco Murguía, Toluca; Estado de México. México. 50130. (canj19732007@yahoo.com.mx).
This article is about the study of the cultivation and conservation of maize by peasant communities, and its objective is to identify and describe the peasant management of local maize cultivars in two cultivation environments, each one with its particularities, one rainfed and one with irrigation. The research was carried out in two ejidos of the municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México: San Pedro el Alto (irrigation) and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (rainfed). In the study, anthropological methods such as ethnography, direct observation and mainly interviews were used, with 200 peasants, 100 in each ejido, during 2012. The peasants cultivate local maize varieties, which they have improved empirically themselves, among which there are those of white grain (long cycle), yellow and black (intermediate cycle), pink and red (short or violent cycles) that belong to the conical group. The field data show that the continuity of maize varieties is product of the traditional peasant knowledge about the type of soil, irrigation, time of sowing, early maize, late maize, rain, uses, cultural management, associated crops, and activities of the cultivation cycle. The varieties cultivated are product of the collective work of the peasants, who adapted and domesticated through cultivation the varieties that are the basis and sustenance of the diet in this type of rural communities. In this sense, peasant knowledge, uses and management face the pressures of the environment and the market. Therefore, the conservation of maize varieties is present as a result of the dietary uses and the management of the environment’s resources.
Keywords: in situ conservation; anthropological study; ethnographic study; maize
El presente trabajo trata sobre el estudio del cultivo y conservación del maíz por comunidades campesinas, siendo el objetivo identificar y describir el manejo campesino de maíces locales en dos ambientes de cultivo; cada uno con sus particularidades, uno de temporal y otro de riego. La investigación se llevó a cabo en dos ejidos del municipio de San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México: San Pedro el Alto (riego) y San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (temporal). En el estudio se emplearon métodos antropológicos como el etnográfico, observación directa y principalmente entrevistas a 200 campesinos, 100 en cada ejido, durante el año 2012. Los campesinos cultivan variedades locales de maíz, que ellos mismos han mejorado empíricamente, entre las que se encuentran las de grano blanco (ciclo largo), amarillo y negro (ciclo intermedio), rosados y rojos (ciclos corto o violento) que pertenecen al grupo cónico. Los datos de campo muestran que la continuidad de las variedades de maíz es producto del conocimiento tradicional campesino del tipo de suelo, el riego, el tiempo de siembra, el maíz precoz, tardío, la lluvia, los usos, los manejos culturales, los cultivos asociados, y las actividades del ciclo de cultivo. Las variedades cultivadas son producto del trabajo colectivo de los campesinos, quienes a través del cultivo adaptaron y domesticaron las variedades que son la base y el sustento de la alimentación en este tipo de comunidades rurales. En este sentido el conocimiento campesino, los usos y manejos hacen frente a las presiones del entorno y del mercado. Por consiguiente la conservación de las variedades del maíz se presenta a partir de los usos alimenticios y el manejo de los recursos del ambiente.
Palabras clave: conservación In Situ; estudio antropológico; estudio etnográfico; maíz
Introduction
It is since the second half of the 20th Century that the environmental issue has received attention at the global level; one of the preoccupations is to conserve biodiversity, and from this the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) arose, of which México is part. The CBD establishes that in order to conserve biological diversity it is necessary to preserve cultural diversity, which among other things implies the in situ conservation of biodiversity. In the case of peasant agricultural activity, the in situ conservation of biodiversity means the cultivation of species in the farmers’ fields. In addition to conserving biological diversity, the sociocultural and environmental process is maintained, giving as a result, among other things, the production of foods, the conservation of identity, the evolution of local knowledge, and keeping jobs for people in the rural environment (Brack, 2003; Pérez, 2008). Therefore, the peasants are the ones who, with the purpose of continuing with their social reproduction, make use of various sources of knowledge in cultivating the land (Pérez, 2008), as well as allowing the conservation and continuity of its agroecosystems as part of their biocultural heritage (Boege, 2008).
In terms of biological wealth, México is considered megadiverse because of its geographic and climate conditions, which allow large diversity of species of flora and fauna (Aguilar and Marielle, 2003). With regard to its contribution to the food chain, México is the center of origin and genetic diversification of 15.4 % of the principal species in the global food system (CONABIO, 2006). Among these species is maize, its cultivars and varieties, which since Pre- Hispanic times have been a primordial source of food and continue to be important as food and for other uses in Mexican households, primarily in the rural environment. At the international level, maize is of great importance in Africa, China, United States, Brazil, Argentina, India and France.
In México, maize is cultivated primarily by peasants, under an agroecological system. In this regard, FAO declares that the agriculture carried out by peasants is founded in the agroecological practice, and has great potential for the production of food in a sustainable manner, which is why they must receive support for it to be conserved and developed. In México, one example, both of in situ conservation of biodiversity and of sustainable agriculture, is the traditional cultivation of maize, which, despite the time and the policies focused at solely increasing field productivity, persists and continues to be an important part both of activities in the rural environment and of peasant identity. As part of the peasant identity there is local knowledge which, for the case of maize, are of great relevance considering the great diversity of environmental conditions where it is grown; maize cultivation is developed based on the local knowledge of indigenous and peasant women and men (Hernández and Zarate, 1991; Boege, 2008). Thus, in México maize cultivation implies cultural diversity, and environmental and biological wealth under specific conditions of the soil, rain, drought and frosts, among other environmental conditions; for example, we find maize fields from sea level up to 3000 m (Ortega, 2003).
The process of maize diversification in México began approximately 3000 years ago with the domestication of maize and its cultivation throughout the country (Smith, 2001; Piperno and Flannery, 2001; Pickersgill, 2007), a continuous process that has given rise to the existence of approximately 65 maize cultivars in the Mexican territory (CONABIO, 2012), product of the indigenous and peasant lifestyles. This broad variety of cultivars present in México, which peasants basically distinguish and name based on the color of the grain, are so diverse that there is no consensus in terms of their diversity. Ortega Paczka (2003) documents the existence of 41 cultivars, Sarukhan (2009) mentions 50 cultivars recognized in the Mexican territory, and for Sánchez et al. (2000) there are 59 cultivars, while for the Latin American Maize Project (LAMP) (1991) and the CONABIO (2012), they are 65.
The diversity of maize cultivars in México is based both in the diverse environmental conditions (Ruíz et al., 2008; Durán et al., 2007; Doolittle and Mabry, 2006; Wellhausen et al., 1951) throughout the national territory and in the cultural wealth, for example myths and beliefs around the process of maize cultivation itself (Vargas, 2007). It is a sacred food par excellence, which plays a predominant role in the worldview and therefore in the artistic manifestations of indigenous and peasant peoples (Hijar, 2003). Thus, the environmental conditions and cultural wealth influence the existence of maize biological diversity, so this study explores two forms of maize cultivation in two agricultural systems (irrigation and rainfed).
In this sense, the main incentive of conservation of maize varieties by peasants is the use and the function as human food and for animals which peasants have, in addition to the development of agriculture of traditional type. Thus, the use and management of maize varieties, the crops associated, and the elements from the environment, represent elements of cultural cohesion, equilibrium and continuity in the peasant- maize relationship.
The economic factor is added to this, where the various maize varieties represent usages, customs and family traditions, whose final production is destined, in addition to the family consumption, to the exchange and the community and regional sale through grain, corncob, tamales, atole, gorditas and tortillas. In this sense the working hypothesis suggested is that the diversity of maize cultivars and their continuity is in function of the uses and the cultural management that represent elements of cultural cohesion, equilibrium and continuity in the peasant-maize relationship.
Therefore, this research had the objective of documenting the management of maize diversity in the ejidos of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa and San Pedro el Alto, municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México, to contribute to the understanding of socio-environmental processes for the conservation of in situ biodiversity.
To carry out this study, field work was performed during the spring-summer 2012 agricultural cycle, under a qualitative approach, with the objective of addressing the agricultural activities that give place to the use and management of maize diversity under irrigation and rainfed conditions. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with peasants about the surface cultivated, the type of maize and other species cultivated, characteristics of the maize seed, activities for land cultivation, participation of members of the family in maize cultivation, as well as its main uses.
Materials and Methods
Place of study
San Pedro el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa are ejidos in the municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, Estado de México; the study is centered on the ejido because it is a basic unit of rural society (Concheiro, 1990), where land cultivation cannot be understood without considering both the use and the management of natural resources of its territory, while within the environmental issue, the ejido and the original cultures, as is the case of Mesoamerican ones, are a bastion of biocultural patrimony, and in addition represent the possibility of conserving the ecological equilibrium (Boege, 2008).
The municipality of San Felipe del Progreso is located in the northwest of Estado de México and is the second in territorial extension within the state, with a surface of 856.05 km2 (Gobierno del Estado de México, 2005). Castillo Nonato and Chávez Mejía (2013) mention that the ejidos of San Pedro el Alto (SPA) and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (SPT) are located, respectively, in the northwest and southeast part of the municipality, with SPA at an altitude of 2550 m and SPT at 2750 m.
SPA is an ejido that is found in the valley of Ixtlahuaca, a place of flat terrains, and access to the ejido is through the state road of Ixtlahuca-San Felipe del Progreso; SPT is found in the zone of hills, slopes and mountainsides (Municipal development plan 2009-2012). The location of the ejidos within the municipality and in the context of Estado de México is shown in Figure 1.
Research techniques
With the purpose of collecting the information, field work was carried out during the spring-summer 2012 agricultural cycle, under a qualitative approach, with the purpose of addressing the agricultural activities that give rise to the use and management of the diversity in irrigation and rainfed milpas. Semi-structured interviews were performed with peasants and observation and participant was practiced with the aim of capturing and analyzing the uses and management of the diversity from their perspective. Therefore, the battery of questions that contained the interview with the peasants in function of the greatest diversity of maize cultivars present in the milpas was applied. The questions were related to the following aspects: type of crop, varieties, production, uses and management.
To understand the agricultural activities that give place to the use and management of the diversity in the irrigation and rainfed milpas in this municipality, surveys were applied to 100 peasants in each community. In San Pedro el Alto, 90 were men and 10 women, while in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa 85 men and 15 women, from a random sample taking into account that their cultivation activity presented 4 or more varieties for sowing, dietary uses, primarily the elaboration of tortillas, atole, tamales, managing varieties, type of soil, sowing dates, qualities of the corncob, and transmission of knowledge. From these data, the method used for the analysis of the field work and the data from interviews is fundamentally anthropological and ethnographic.
From the interviews, it was found that 100 % of the peasants are owners of their lands, 100 peasants in San Pedro el Alto have their properties on flatlands that allow the use of agricultural machinery and access to state-of-the-art irrigation; 50 % of the remaining peasants (San Pablo Tlalchichipla) have their properties on slopes and mountainsides, giving rise to the use of mule yokes to perform the main agricultural activities. The age range is 45 to 82 years old, the ownership of the land fluctuates between three and four hectares (50 %), followed by 25 % with two to three hectares, 10 % have one hectare and the remaining 15 % have surfaces of 0.25 to 0.5 ha.
Results and Discussion
Rainfed maize cultivars
Agriculture in San Pablo Tlalchichipla depends completely on seasonal rains. The maize crops are located on slopes and mountainsides (Figure 2). This situation makes the combination of human and animal work necessary to perform agricultural activities. Peasants have a yoke or mule train of their own or rented to work on clearing, raking, sowing and weeding, and the harvest is done manually.
Fotografía: Jesús Castillo Nonato.
Figure 2 Slopes and mountainsides in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa, 2012.
Since it is a rainfed crop, there is a clear dependence on rain water for the development of maize; thus, peasant management with regard to maize and the type of soil are affected by the delay, absence, scarcity and in some cases abundance of rain. Facing such situations, the sowing is carried out after the first rains or in soils that keep moisture, thus ensuring that seeds germinate. In soils that do not hold moisture, the sowing is carried out in April or May, or even June, although if it is done in June, only maize stubble is harvested to feed the animals.
The diversity of maize cultivars found in the ejido includes white maize (long cycle), black and yellow maize, called by the peasants of intermediate cycle, while the red and pink ones are known as “violent maize cultivars” or of short cycle. In San Pedro el Alto, peasant men and women identify maize cultivars based on their color (Table 1).
The biological diversity of maize is measured based on numbers, shapes, types and different cultivars there are in a family production unit, community and region. In this study the diversity of maize is shown from the management in function of the type of soil, dates of sowing, irrigation, moisture from rain water, characteristics of the corncob and transmission of generational knowledge.
In addition to the variety of maize cultivars, peasants have two or more cultivation plots, which allows them to somehow guarantee maize production in face of adverse climate conditions, such as rainfall scarcity, early and late frosts, and hail. In this light, as an example of the management of maize diversity and land for cultivation, four ways of sowing maize cultivars are found in San Pablo Tlalchichilpa:
Sowing of white and pink maize. White maize is sown in most of the plot (in extensions of approximately 800 to 2500 m2), and on the edge of the land pink maize is sown (in 15 or 20 furrows, that is, 12 or 16 m wide, resulting in a surface of 1200 or 1600 square meters1); this arrangement for maize sowing is practiced by 15b% of the peasants.
Sowing of white, black, yellow or pink maize. In a hectare the case of white maize cultivation is presented in an area of 5000 m2 and the other half of the plot can be destined by the peasant to cultivation of black, yellow or pink maize, that is, a single variety not all three. This arrangement of sowing of maize cultivars is practiced by 40 % of the peasants.
Sowing lands with a single maize variety. Of the peasants, 20 % sow only white, black, pink or yellow maize, on surfaces from 0.5 ha to one ha. These peasants also cultivate other species such as oats, peas and potato as monocrops.
Sowing maize in association to other crops. This cultivation system is only established on surfaces of 0.5 or less, and it is practiced by 25 % of the peasants. The maize crops in association to other species are generally located near the household, for their care and management to be constant. The peasant sows 5 to 10 furrows of white, black or pink maize, in association with broad bean, bean or squash, and no herbicides are applied for weed control, so these plants, known by the generic name of quelites, are used to prepare food for the family.
Irrigation maize cultivars
For the development of agriculture in San Pedro el Alto, there is irrigation water and infrastructure. The water comes from the Tepetitlán dam (built in 1964), of which three general canals are derived that benefit the communities and ejidos of the municipalities of Jocotitlán, Ixtlahuaca and San Felipe del Progreso in Estado de México; the ejido of San Pedro el Alto, since it is inside the canal’s course, benefits from the irrigation water flowing down the general Enyege (Figure 3).
Maize crops are on flat terrains and long-cycle maize cultivars are grown (white maize); yellow, black or blue are of intermediate cycle; at the same time, red and pink maize are considered of “violent” or short cycle. The following arrangements are found for maize sowing.
Sowing of a single type of maize. A single variety of maize that can be: white, black or yellow, is sown by 50 % of the peasants who have two or three hectares of cultivation land.
Cultivation of white and yellow maize. Of the peasants, 25 % sow two varieties of maize, devoting 0.5 ha to the white variety and 0.5 ha to black or blue maize.
Cultivation of white maize or yellow with blue. The cultivation of white or yellow maize predominates, and blue maize is sown only on the edges of the plot; 15 % of the peasants sow maize in this manner. According to them, they cultivate blue maize to accelerate the maturation of the white maize.
Maize associated with other crops. White maize is cultivated (10 % of the peasants) in association to other crops like broad bean and squash.
Cultivation of rainfed and irrigation maize cultivars
The agricultural tasks for maize cultivation in San Pedro el Alto begin with irrigation by flooding; once the irrigation has taken place, the plots are left for a lapse of 20 days, after which they verify that the soil does not have a sticky, tough or cracked consistency to begin sowing. After this period, to begin sowing, the peasant makes sure that the plot is apt for farming. The way in which peasants test that the soil is ready is by burying the tip of a shovel or mattock in the soil, and if the soil still adheres it is not yet time to work it, but if the tool comes out clean then the soil is ready to be sown (Figure 4).
Fotografía: Jesús Castillo Nonato.
Figure 4 Peasant showing the moment when the land is ready to be sown in San Pedro el Alto, 2012.
Given that, the activities of rainfed milpa depend on the early rains that can be present in the month of March or April; if this is the case, the peasants sow maize taking advantage of the scarce moisture in the soil.
Peasants cultivate the maize cultivars and its varieties in relation to the type of soil and the cycle of development they present, with white maize predominating, followed by the black, then the yellow and finally the pink and red maize. The maize diversity, in addition to its growth cycle, is related to family tastes like eating tortillas of different color or preparing different local foods with maize in its different stages of development. For example, cobs are harvested from August to the end of September; they are prepared boiled or in esquites.
Peasants from both ejidos recognize several types of soil (Table 2) and they identify them according to their main characteristics, which relate to the maize variety that has the highest probability of developing in a specific type of soil. The characteristics of the soil that peasant men and women take into account to sow the maize variety that is appropriate for each type are presented next:
Clay, black or red clay. Sticky and rubbery hard soil. Soil that holds moisture, but it is difficult to work; its characteristics make preparation of the terrain difficult, since with moisture saturation it must be left to dry for 25 to 30 days to begin sowing after irrigation. In both ejidos clearing should be done in December, when the task is eased; otherwise the land hardens and makes the penetration of the tractor plough and disks into the land difficult.
Red dust. Loose soft soils. They are quite valued by peasants because they retain moisture, and cultivation tasks can be easily performed. In irrigation, this type of soil is sown 15 or 20 days after the soil is dry.
White. Soft maneagable soil. It retains moisture, which is why it is also valued by peasants. It is sown after 15 to 20 days of drying.
Sand. Porous soft soil. They are of low fertility, quick drainage and low moisture retention. Both in irrigation and rainfed conditions, sowing is done from April to the second week of May.
Tepetates. These are soils that are not favorable for cultivation, they require arduous human work and applying pumicita (known locally as white sand) and manure to improve moisture retention and texture of the soil.
Sowing of maize and its varieties carried out by peasants in the ejidos of San Pedro el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa, in function of the type of soil, is shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Sowing dates and maturation time per variety in the ejidos of San Pedro el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Source: based on Castillo Nonato and Chávez Mejía (2013).
The agricultural cycle begins with clearing and covers a period that goes from December to February; the task consists in breaking the prior cultivation furrow and incorporating residues from the harvest and weeds into the soil. Then it is dragged to make the terrain uniform, at the end of February and in the first two weeks of March.
Sowing begins on March 15th and depending on the varieties identified by the peasant such as: short, intermediate and long cycle, white maize is sown (long cycle) in the month of March, followed by the black and yellow (intermediate), finishing in the month of May with the sowing of the red and pink variety of short cycle. Table 3 presents the sowing dates per variety in the ejidos.
Sowing is carried out with tractor in the irrigation milpa, depositing 4 or 5 grams per plant. The amount of seed depends on the surface to be sown. In a hectare, 14 to 15 quartiles of maize are required, that is 21 to 22.5 kilograms, based on the relationship (quartiles/ha). Sowing is an activity that marks the future of the harvest: in case that not all of the seed germinates, it is re-sown with the aim of covering the holes of the furrow where maize did not germinate and for the furrow to be filled with plants. For re-sowing the peasants previously soak the seed with the aim of accelerating the time of germination and for the plants from re-sowing to mature at the same time than those that were sown first.
Sowing of rainfed maize is done with animal traction and family or hired workforce. The task consists in making the furrow and then depositing the seed manually; the man drives the yoke and it is generally women who deposit the seed in the soil (four seeds per plant), moving at the rhythm that the yoke imposes; with time, women have developed the ability of depositing the seed where there is more moisture to guarantee maize germination. Women who carry out the task of sowing are locally known as echadoras because they are who, at the time of sowing, have the ability of counting the seed and depositing it in the soil. In both ejidos, peasant men and women take into account the characteristics of the corncob to sow the best. They observe for the cob to have a thin stalk, and they also consider the size of the grain and its luster, as well as the color of the corncob. Likewise, for the sowing, they take into account the type of soil where a certain type of maize develops better (Table 4).
Table 4 Physical qualities of the corncob that peasants seek in the seed selection.
Source: field work, 2012.
Peasants in San Pedro el Alto consider a combination of characteristics that give place to 20 % of the peasants choosing one of the six characteristics mentioned, 30 % opts for two, 50 % for three, while in the ejido of San Pablo Tlalchichilpa 15 % of the peasants choose one characteristic, 35 % two and 55b% three.
In both ejidos the selection of the seed is a priority activity that is performed by the women (in 70 % of the cases), who get help from their daughters and sons. With regard to the transmission of local knowledge to select the seed, 30 % of the men refer that the knowledge for the selection of seed was transmitted by the mother, followed by the father, grandfather and finally by an uncle or another family member. Table 5 shows who performs each agricultural task and to whom it is transmitted.
Weeding out is carried out 50 days after the sowing to bring soil to the plant and for it to hold and also to conserve soil moisture. Weeding allows anchoring of the plant roots to the soil, and at the same time shaping the furrow, which will have its final shape once the second weeding is performed, which is fifteen or twenty days after the first.
The first and second weeding are performed with a yoke or tractor, and they are destined to giving support and certain resistance to the attack from rains and winds, trying to reduce the lodging; in the second weeding, the fertilizer, urea, salt and soil are added, which in face of the high costs of the chemical fertilizer (550 pesos per package of 50 kg in 2011), peasants have opted and returned to the use of cattle organic manure, fertilizer of higher generalization and use by the peasants. The fertilizers, whether chemical or organic, are added to the maize manually; the fertilizer is placed plant by plant.
The weeding is carried out with chemical products and manually, and it is done on the month of July until the end of August. On August 15th, “closing of the milpa” takes place: the ritual consists in placing small bunches of flowers in the corners of the milpa, accompanied by blue or black corncobs, with the aim of asking for the rains to continue and for the maize to continue its growth and development, and in that manner to obtain an abundant harvest; they also ask for there not to be plagues, as well as for strong winds not to happen, which provoke plant lodging. The ritual of closing the milpa is carried out by elderly peasants, who in company of their wives “close the milpa” at around 8:00 and 12:00 hours.
The maize harvest begins in October and ends in December, according to the maturation of each type of maize. The time of harvest also depends on the money that the peasant has to cover the costs of the workmen (from the same ejidos) to carry out the harvest, and for the transport of sacks from the milpa to the home. A prior and fundamental task in the harvest is opening the streets in the milpa (a space 80 cm wide that allows movement of the people who carry the maize sacks outside the milpa). The streets are opened in September, when the maize is still green; to open a street the maize is inclined to the side next to the plants from other furrows.
The harvest is manual, and the family and workmen participate in it. The latter are in charge of performing the harvest or cut of the corncob, who with the help of a puncher, make a vertical opening in the totomoxtle or leaves that cover the cob in order to release it and to deposit it in the ayate they carry; once full, they deposit it in the sacks placed in strategic places on the street to be taken out by the people known as sack carriers outside the milpa and transported in pickup trucks rented or of their own, or with backyard animals, to the rooftop or a room in the house where the cobs are deposited.
The entry of the maize harvest to the house constitutes a ritual act full of symbolism, for the corncob is received in a special way, since it is from the cob that the peasant obtains food and seed to continue with the cultivation cycle. Maize is part of his/her invaluable belongings since it is inherited and transmitted by parents, uncles/aunts or grandparents. The reception consists in lighting candles or votive candles and resin (copal), thanking God for the harvest obtained. Men and women make a cross with the highest maize plants and with largest corncobs or with those plants that have two or more cobs, and they leave it on the maize harvest for the cross to care for and bless the maize obtained.
For the harvest, a considerable economic investment is required to cover the payment of workmen, and to purchase beverages and food that is offered to the workmen after the harvest. The harvest begins at seven in the morning and ends at around 15 hours. In this time, and mostly in the morning, the workmen have to harvest the largest amount of corncobs, since as the day advances, the sun and its sunrays will make the work more difficult. During the harvest the owner of the land must supply the workmen with beverages like water, sodas, beers or pulque to resist the period of sunshine and the dehydration. Once the harvest ends, food is offered that is prepared by the women, their daughters, other women in the family or neighbors; the meal is held at the house or in the plot where the harvest was made. Table 6 shows a comparative of the activities in land cultivation and their costs in San Pedro el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Table 6 Maize cultivation tasks and their cost in 2012 in San Pedro el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa.
Source: field work, 2012.
The closing of the cultivation cycle is marked by the cutting of zacate, fodder which is used to feed the animals. The cutting is carried out during the month of December, and it is an entirely masculine task, performed in a morning schedule that covers from 6:00 to 11:00 hours. The task within this schedule responds to two factors, one because in this period the sunrays are not as intense and therefore the fatigue is less, and because the zacate can be cut more easily because it has the moisture from the morning dew; otherwise, later, the sunrays make the plant brittle, making cutting zacate more difficult. Table 7 shows the main uses of maize by peasant men and women (100 per community).
Conclusions
Peasants in the ejidos of San Pablo el Alto and San Pablo Tlalchichilpa conserve a diversity of maize cultivars under different arrangements and systems of cultivation, conservation and diversity in function of the climatic conditions, availability of irrigation water and type of soil, which results in the development of agricultural practices and knowledge related to the qualities of the maize and its characteristics.
Among the peasant practices that allow in situ conservation of maize the sowing of maize cultivars of different development cycle (maize cultivars of short, intermediate and long cycle) stands out, in function of which the sowing date for each one is established, according to the rainfed and irrigation conditions for agriculture; and to the management of the soils based on the local knowledge about them and their characteristics attributed in relation to the characteristics of each type of maize.
Concerning the cultivation systems and arrangements for sowing of maize cultivars, the rainfed is cultivated to a greater extent under an association of poly-crops, where it is the guiding axis, in association with squash, broad bean, bean, etc., and where quelites are promoted and tolerated, resulting in the milpa. Under irrigation conditions the milpa is also cultivated, but the maize monocrop predominates; however, in this system there is also maize diversity, because the peasants cultivate two or more varieties in a single plot.
The production system in two different conditions for producing, one with irrigation and another rainfed, allows, from the particularities of the management by the peasant culture, to be the basis to continue and preserve the maize diversity in situ, conservation that is based on the logic of peasant knowledge to produce, taking as the basis the environmental conditions and the characteristics of its varieties.
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Received: April 2014; Accepted: November 2015
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