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Native corn in Cherán, Michoacán, southwestern Mexico, represents a high-impact economic, social, and religious support, although its yield is low due to fungal diseases. Fungicides are mainly used for their control, but the fungi involved create resistance. The aims of this study are to determine the incidence of foliar diseases in the field, isolate the causal fungi, evaluate the in vitro effect of the essential oil of rue (Ruta graveolens) on them, and identify the secondary metabolites. The essential oil was obtained using the steam distillation technique on fresh plants. Also used was an industrial-grade chitosan, and the commercial fungicide benomyl was used as a positive control. Rue essential oil was characterized by mass spectrometry with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization (UHPLC-ESI). The highest incidence of disease was obtained for leaf rust (35%), followed by gray leaf spot (GLS) (24%) and leaf blight (19%). Rue essential oil inhibited 100% of the mycelial growth of Coniothyrium phyllachorae and 96% of the mycelium of Exseroilum turcicum. The benomyl fungicide effectively inhibited C. phyllachorae (86 to 91%), but not E. turcicum, with the opposite effect when using chitosan by inhibiting 89 to 90% of the latter's mycelial development. The majority compound of the essential oil of R. graveolens was 2-(3-phenylprop-2-enoyl)chromen-4-one; however, fatty acids were also detected: linoleic, palmitic, and retinoic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the strong impact of soil salination on the productivity of crops, the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) such as phytodesalination is intended to reverse its effects. While this practice is used in most Middle Eastern countries, Mexico has just begun envisaging its benefits and potential. This study evaluated factors promoting the adoption of phytodesalination among agricultural producers based on the municipality of Villamar, Mexico. Two hundred forty-five semistructured surveys were designed and applied to farmers who participated in various events to disseminate the practice of phytodesalination. Information was gathered on the socioeconomic/demographic characteristics and affectation levels of their parcels due to the effects of salinity. Through a logistic regression using Lasso restriction, the factors influencing the farmers' decisions to adopt phytodesalination in their specific productive models were evaluated. The results show that more than 87% of the surveyed farmers are male, that their average age is 52 years, that more than 82% have at most an elementary or high school education, that the average plot size in the study area is roughly 4 ha, that more than 76% of the farmers are native to the area and that approximately of 84% use their production exclusively for sales. According to the model employed [prediction of 90% and AUC (area under the curve) of 0.97], the surveyed farmers are mostly influenced by institutional (advice on implementing desalination), organizational (skills and competencies to spread halophyte species in accordance with parcel length and access to halophyte plants) and economic (time to implement phytodesalination) factors. The promotion of this approach and commitment of the region's various institutions are recommended so that farmers can extend their knowledge of SAPs through a comprehensive strategic approach that allows them to address their specific challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to describe how farmers of indigenous communities respond to climate variations in Chilchota, Michoacán, Mexico. It is important to know which are the emerging processes affecting their food crop production, while that may increase vulnerability of these communities. This contribution presents seven different kinds of farmer's adaptations, the factors that influence their capacity to cope with climatic variations, and the socioeconomic differences among farmers. Attention is placed on the importance of political and historical relationships that limit adaptive responses at the regional level. At the same time, the discursive framework of State and capitalized farmers is identified, which benefits “modern agribusiness" and contributes to dismiss collective responses based on traditional and agro-ecological knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]