Abstract

MONTIEL-AGUIRRE, G.; KRISHNAMURTHY, L.; VAZQUEZ-ALARCON, A.  and  URIBE-GOMEZ, M.. Agroforestry Options for Avocado Producers. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.1, pp.85-90. ISSN 2395-8030.

The present research was conducted to propose agroforestry options for avocado plantations in the State of Michoacan, Mexico, using the Diagnosis and Design (D & D) methodology developed by the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). The specific objectives of the present research were to diagnose the land-use problems of the avocado producers and to characterize the promising agroforestry options practiced at present by the innovative farmers. The study included a comparative evaluation of avocado-coffeeguava agroforestry system and avocado monocrop system. The species composition, spatial and temporal organization, product diversification, management regimen, labor requirements, productivity and economic profitability were analyzed. The value of land equivalent ratio (LER) of 2.30 was obtained for the avocado based agroforestry system. The values of benefit/cost ratio of 2.42 and 2.34 were obtained for the agroforestry system and the monocrop plantation, respectively. The results indicate that avocado based agroforestry system is more productive and economically more profitable than the monocropping system. In addition to the existing production systems, there are opportunities for improving agroforestry technologies with the incorporation of several promising plant species, in harmony with the biophysical conditions and socioeconomic possibilities of the farmers in the State of Michoacan to contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture.

Keywords : land use; agrosilviculture; technology innovation; Michoacan.

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