Resumen

OROZCO-RAMIREZ, Quetzalcóatl; ODENTHAL, Jorge  y  ASTIER, Marta. Maize diversity in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México and its relationship with environmental and social factors. Agrociencia [online]. 2017, vol.51, n.8, pp.867-884. ISSN 2521-9766.

The diversity of maize in the region of Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, includes 11 out of the 27 maize races found in the State of Michoacan. This study was carried out from 2012 to 2015, with the aim of exploring the spatial distribution of the diversity of maize and the related environmental and social factors. Our hypothesis was that diversity has a heterogeneous regional distribution: diversity is greater in those locations where traditional agriculture is practiced. This kind of agriculture is associated with the presence of indigenous farmers and a greater diversity of agricultural environments. The ethnobotanical method was used to collect maize and interview farmers. We obtained information about crop management and the socio-economic variables of the production unit and the producer. This information was analyzed at regional, local, and production unit scale, using geographical methods, general linear models, and multi-variable methods. On a regional scale, the association of only some races with the types of soil and altitude was significant. One set of localities with high race diversity featured low altitude and high soil diversity. There are many names for maize in production units where farmers speak an indigenous language and own several smallholdings.

Palabras llave : Zea mays subsp. mays; distribution of diversity; indigenous groups; purhepechas; maize races; general linear model.

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