Due to increasing soil degradation caused by unsustainable agricultural practices and the continued demand for quality food for the human population, it is imperative to find sustainable strategies for high-quality food production. For this reason, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the interaction between the factors of consortium of phosphorus-solubilizing rhizobacteria, addition of phosphate rock and worm load in horse manure to produce an organic fertilizer fortified with phosphorus. For this, consortia of phosphate-solubilizing rhizobacteria of the genus Bacillus (Bacillus aryabhattai, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus) isolated from the rhizosphere of Distichlis spicata were inoculated. Igneous phosphate rock (0 and 2%) was added in the vermicomposting process (with 25 and 50 g of E. fetida worms per kg of horse manure). The results obtained show that there is a significant interaction between the factors of inoculation with bacterial consortia (1 × 10⁸ CFU mL⁻¹), phosphate rock (2%) and earthworm biomass (50 g kg⁻¹ of manure), and that this interaction promotes the production of assimilable forms of phosphorus for plants (such as monobasic phosphate ions H₂PO₄⁻¹ or dibasic phosphate ions HPO₄⁻²) within the vermicomposting process, having as a product an organic substrate supplemented with the optimal nutritional requirements for the development and growth of crops. This work can serve as a basis to produce high-quality organic fertilizer. However, field studies are required in order to observe the impact of vermicompost on the yield and quality of the fruits, and it can be compared with other types of fertilizers and the relevance of their use in different types of climates.

Debido a la falta de métodos para estimar con precisión la pérdida de suelo en México, es necesario realizar estudios experimentales para estimar la erosión basada en datos validados. Por lo que el objetivo de esta investigación fue estimar la Tasa de Erosión Anual (A) para diversas coberturas de suelo empleando la Ecuación Universal de Pérdida de Suelo (EUPS), y ajustada mediante su relación con el índice de Generación de Sedimentos (IGS) obtenido en lotes de escurrimiento. Los resultados muestran que, durante el período y las condiciones de este estudio: EUPS subestima el valor de A al calcular la erosividad de la lluvia con el Índice Modif icado de Fournier (RIMF) en los tratamientos con Vegetación Natural (VN) y Roturación con Esquilmo (RE). Los suelos sin coberturas ref lejaron mayor IGS. Las ecuaciones obtenidas con la relación IGS vs A, de los tratamientos con Suelo Desnudo (SD) y Roturados (RT), pueden ser empleadas para ajustar la tasa de pérdida edáf ica en suelos con características similares a las del estudio, cumpliéndose de forma parcial el objetivo de este trabajo.

Ricinus communis yields oilseeds of great commercial importance to industry. The aim of this study was to generate morphometric information on seed size and shape of wild castor bean accessions collected in the Durango State's arid zone, Mexico. Bivariate scatter plots were used to identify possible relationships between seed morphometric attributes. Principal component analysis allowed the identification of three seed groups that are highly dependent on shape attributes and volume. One group involves seeds with high volume, low eccentricity, high roundness and medium flatness. Another group includes seeds with medium volume, high eccentricity, medium roundness and high flatness. The last group involves seeds with small volume, eccentricity, roundness, and flatness with high dispersion. Relationships between seed area or volume with the axes of the seeds suggest that their shapes are complex. Knowledge of seed sizes and shapes can be helpful to design technical innovation for R. communis seed handling and storage in natural ecosystems and agricultural farms.

Riparian ecosystems are among the most impacted by human activities despite their great importance as refuges for biodiversity and providers of environmental services. The Nazas River is one of the most important wetlands in north-central Mexico. This river boosted the development of La Comarca Lagunera, a region of great economic importance to the country. However, regional development has led to the deterioration of this vital socio-ecosystem and its services. Despite these efforts, no studies have integrated multiple indicators to comprehensively assess the overall health of the basin. Instead, previous research has largely relied on isolated indicators. For this reason, this study prioritized an initial health assessment of the Nazas River, considering three main indicators: a biological indicator based on the fish community, a physicochemical indicator of water quality, and a physical indicator of the condition of the territory surrounding the river. The study found a marked gradient in overall health, ranging from the least degraded in the upper reaches (0.76 Ramos River and 0.68 Sextín River) of the river to the most degraded in the lower reaches (0.63 Lower Nazas), and highlighted the Peñón Blanco River in the middle section as a priority area for conservation and a possible biodiversity refuge due the Comprehensive Health Assessment 0.80.

Castor bean plants yield commercially important oilseeds with multiple uses; they are characterised by tolerance to drought and adaptation to marginal soils in arid and semi-arid regions. In northern Mexico, a large amount of arid land is categorised as “ejidos”: a system of mixed land ownership managed under a specific legal system, where land users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land. This work aimed to examine the suitability of castor bean cultivation on unused marginal land in ejido land. To determine the environmental suitability of the ejido lands of Coahuila, Mexico, we adapted a land Productivity Index (PI) from an existing method; it consisted of a set of biophysical indicators (edaphic factors, climate, and topography) adapted to castor bean cultivation. We then complemented this index with a “cultural component”, assessing the ethnobotanical knowledge of the people, their willingness to implement a new crop type, and the type and current use of the land. As a result, we found that 114,300 ha of ejido land (1.76% of the total) were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the Environmental-PI and that 808,524 ha of ejido land (12.4% of the total) was very suitable according to the Cultural-PI. We also hypothesised that the willingness of “ejidatarios” to cultivate castor beans was related to their degree of knowledge about the plant and the land available for its cultivation; however, their willingness was mostly related to differences in land tenure: “ejidatarios” who own parcelled land were more interested in obtaining benefits from the land through the implementation of novel crops, compared to those who only have access to common land. Highlights • In Mexico, the “ejido” is a unique land ownership and management system where users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land. • According to our Environmental Productivity Index, 114,300 ha of ejido land in Coahuila, México, were very suitable for castor bean cultivation. • This index was complemented with a “cultural component” gauging the people’s perception and willingness to introduce castor bean as a new crop. • 808,524 ha (12.4%) of ejido land were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the cultural component of our index. • Differences in land tenure most strongly influence the willingness of the ejido people to cultivate castor beans.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a globally important vegetable, prized for its nutritional value and antioxidant content. Given the increasing demand for foods with health-promoting properties and the need for sustainable production practices, this study evaluated the impact of different growth substrates combined with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculation on the yield and nutraceutical quality of greenhouse tomatoes grown in a semi-hydroponic system. ‘Nereida’ variety saladette tomato plants were either inoculated with a single PGPR consortium (1 × 10⁸ CFU mL⁻¹) or uninoculated. Three substrates were used: a chemical fertilization control and a sand-vermicompost mixture with two inherent levels of phosphorus (253 and 442 ppm). The chemically fertilized substrate without inoculation served as the control treatment. The results indicated that the chemically fertilized substrate presented a significantly higher yield per square meter (p < 0.05), reaching values of 5.20 ± 0.70 kg m⁻² and 4.83 ± 0.35 kg m⁻² in the control treatment. However, fruits grown in the vermicompost-based substrate with higher phosphorus content (442 ppm) and PGPR inoculation exhibited significantly greater antioxidant capacity (54.16 µmol TE g⁻¹ FW) and higher concentrations of vitamin C (14.03 mg·100 g⁻¹ FW), lycopene (47.68 mg·100 g⁻¹ FW), flavonoids, carotenoids, and glutathione. This represented an increase of 28–45% in bioactive compounds including lycopene, vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids, and glutathione compared to the chemical control. While the interaction between substrate and inoculation was significant only for soluble solids, both factors independently and additively contributed to the enhancement of nutraceutical parameters. These findings suggest that the use of vermicompost-based substrates, particularly those with higher phosphorus content, in combination with PGPR inoculation, is a promising strategy to enhance the accumulation of health-promoting bioactive compounds in tomato fruits, despite a trade-off in total yield.