Reduccion del rendimiento de maiz por la erosion del suelo en Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca, Mexico

In the Mixteca Oaxaquena region several studies have shown that about 95% of its surface is affected by moderate, high, and very high erosion. The causes of this situation are deforestation, overgrazing, and land tillage. The present study was carried out in the county of Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca, Mexico, to determine the reduction of maize yield due to the effect of erosion on some soil properties. Thirty-one experimental plots were established on low eroded, moderately eroded and severely eroded soils, without and with fertilizer rates of 80-40-40 kg ha(-1) N-P2O5-K2O. Information on soil and crop management factors, rainfall and soil humidity during the growing season, as well as on grain and straw yield was collected. Production functions for grain and straw yield were obtained and it showed that the yield of grain and straw were affected by soil factors such as slope, depth, organic matter, and available water, available water in the soil during 45 days before feminine flowering, rainfall in the first month after sowing date, and inorganic fertilization. Among the soil factors associated with the soil erosion classes low, moderate and severe, 99 to 61 and 26 cm decrease in soil depth caused the greatest reduction in maize yield, and the increase of soil slope of 2.1 to 3.0 and 10.0% caused a medium reduction in maize yield; whereas, soil organic matter, which was not associated with soil erosion classes, did not cause reduction of maize yield among soil erosion classes, but did between its extreme values observed.