Manejo y conservación de Vanilla planifolia en sistemas agroforestales tradicionales de la Huasteca Potosina

Abstract

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), is an orchid whose fruit is highly valued in the national and international market. Its center of origin and distribution is Mexico and part of Central America. In our country, it has been intensely exploited since the pre- Columbian era, so its excessive extraction, as well as the reduction of genetic variability, and the fragmentation of its habitat, have caused the decrease of natural populations. It is currently cited in Official Mexican Standard 059 (NOM-059- SEMARNAT-2010), in the category of Subject to Special Protection. Vanilla production has generated economic expectations, since its high market value encourages the establishment of the crop, and it is expected to generate income that improves the quality of life of local producers. In the last decade, various efforts have been channeled to increase the planted area and crop productivity. Government institutions have allocated financial resources to the acquisition of vegetative material and the establishment of new plantations, as well as to training and technical assistance. For their part, research institutions have directed their efforts to meet the demands of agriculture, such as the reproduction of the species, the fall of the fruit, the low yield and conservation. In San Luis Potosí, since 2002 several projects have been approved aimed at the establishment of production systems, and technical and productive technical support. In the Huasteca potosina, vanilla is grown in thirteen municipalities in the central-south region, under three main production systems: the shadow mesh house, the association with citrus fruits and traditional agroforestry systems. Agricultural policies have encouraged the development of simplified production systems such as the shadow mesh house and monocultures, projecting high productivity in small areas, but whose results have not been as expected. In addition to the above, the costs are not very accessible for small producers. They are also

vulnerable systems from the socio-environmental approach; susceptible to meteorological phenomena and the presence of pests or diseases, reduce biodiversity reservoirs and ecosystem services, so that impacts on food security and sovereignty, since then the producer depends on the income provided by the crop to satisfy Your goods and services. In contrast to simplified systems, there are also traditional production systems, such as the agroforestry system. Traditional agroforestry systems (SAT) are similar to a natural ecosystem, because they are highly biodiverse and management is minimal, so they are considered low impact. They are also valued for the biocultural knowledge around them. To establish vanilla in these systems, implies a lower cost and less risk of plagues and natural damages. Among its strengths is also having wild or "feral" vanilla individuals that, under proper management, can be appropriate plants for cultivation. The yield between the different production systems remains scarce and very similar, so that many more advantages are observed in a traditional, economic, resilient and less vulnerable production system, which has also remained for centuries in the region. In the region, it is necessary to increase the areas and planting density with a healthy plant adapted to the region. Considering the benefits of the traditional system, it has been selected as an object of study and is intended to satisfy the following questions: • What is the potential for the conservation of local vanilla? • How do sociopolitical-economic-cultural factors influence the gradient of vanilla production in the traditional system? • What implications would vanilla micropropagation with organic substrates have to meet the demand for vegetative material?

The objectives of the investigation were to identify the current and potential distribution from Vanilla planifolia Jacks. former Andrews., design actions for its conservation, characterize the agroforestry systems where vanilla is produced, to typify them based on its management characteristics and establish a protocol for in vitro regeneration of V. planifolia through the use of natural extracts in the Huasteca Potosina. To do this, consultations were conducted in herbariums, field trips, interviews with vanilla producers and participatory workshops with local inhabitants. It took carry out a spatial analysis based on geographic information systems, to know the environmental characteristics of the sites with the presence of the species and He modeled his potential distribution. Likewise, 355 cases were analyzed, obtaining 135 agronomic variables and characteristics of the producer. The information was complemented with a spatial analysis based on a GIS to define the spatial pattern of distribution of these systems. For the typology, the two-stage cluster analysis was applied. Finally, sterile seeds were grown in medium without plant growth regulators to obtain protoorms as explants. Once the protoorms were formed, they were sown in the culture media supplemented with the organic extracts of pineapple, banana and coconut water and a control medium, which did not contain the addition of any extract. In Huasteca Potosina, 28 sites were located with the presence of the taxon under study, the majority in traditional agroforestry systems and, to a lesser extent, in the relics of medium forest that still persist in the region, anchored to the tutors who. They provide the necessary support. Its potential distribution was estimated at 85.5 km2. The Germplasm without domestication processes and adapted to the environmental conditions that were identified, has the possibility of being conserved. The holders of this genetic resource, they consider a Wildlife Management Unit

It would be the most appropriate way to achieve its conservation in situ. In the region there are three groups of producers, which are differentiated by the amount of activities carried out for the production of vanilla, the number of tutors employed and belonging to an ethnic group. The systems of the Tének ethnic group present less modifications compared to the Nahua systems. The latter even begin to specialize in the management of commercial species, but still retain some features of the original systems. Germination treatments showed that the best treatment was the medium with pineapple extract, where the formation of 5.7 ± 3.5 shoots of 36.9 ± 7.3 mm in height was observed, and the formation of 2.2 ± 0.5 buds per bud. In addition, the formation of 13.0 ± was achieved 1.1 roots per outbreak with the addition of 0.5 mg L-1 of AIA and pre-acclimatization of in vitro plants.