Grassland-based livestock systems across Mexico’s arid and semi-arid belt are increasingly exposed to drought, degrading forage reliability, and soil function. This review synthesizes evidence on native C4 grasses and forage shrubs as complementary building blocks of drought-resilient swards. We searched Web of Science, Scopus, CAB Abstracts and key grey sources (USDA/NRCS Plant Guides, USFS FEIS, Tropical Forages, SNICS) for 1990–2025 studies in English/Spanish. Dominant native grasses (Bouteloua spp., Hilaria belangeri, Digitaria californica, Trichloris crinita, Sporobolus airoides, Panicum hallii) provide high warm-season digestibility and structural cover via C4 physiology, basal/intercalary meristems, and deep/fibrous roots. Forage shrubs (Atriplex canescens, Desmanthus bicornutus, Leucaena leucocephala, Flourensia cernua, Prosopis spp.) bridge the dry-season protein/energy gap and create “resource islands” that enhance infiltration, provided anti-nutritional risks (mimosine/DHP, tannins, salts/oxalates, terpenoids) are managed by dose and diet mixing. We integrate these findings into a Resistance–Recovery–Persistence framework and translate them into operations: (i) site-matching rules for species/layouts, (ii) PLS (pure live seed)-based seed specifications and establishment protocols, (iii) grazing TIDD (timing–intensity–distribution–duration) with a practical monitoring dashboard (CP targets, stubble/cover thresholds, NDVI/SPEI triggers). Remaining bottlenecks are seed quality/availability and uneven extension; policy alignment on PLS procurement and regional seed increase can accelerate adoption. Mixed native grass–shrub systems are a viable, scalable pathway to strengthening drought resilience in Mexican rangelands.

La evaluación productiva y bromatológica de especies forrajeras de temporal en climas semisecos es esencial para la toma de decisiones de agricultores y el mantenimiento de los sistemas mixtos de producción. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar las características agronómicas y bromatológicas de maíz, sorgo, avena y girasol de temporal en clima semiseco de México. Las siembras se realizaron durante el 2021 y 2022. Se utilizó un diseño de bloques completos al azar con cuatro repeticiones, en donde las variables evaluadas fueron altura de planta (AP), materia seca (MS), forraje seco (FS), proteína cruda (PC), fibra detergente neutra (FDN) y digestibilidad in vitro de la materia seca (DIVMS). Todas las variables presentaron diferencias significativas. El sorgo presentó mayor AP (2,67 m) y FS (12,1 t ha-1) que el maíz, girasol y avena que promediaron AP 2,36, 2,15, y 1,27; y FS 9,63, 6,14, y 4,14, respectivamente. La PC () fue mayor en el girasol que promedió 12,82, seguido de la avena (9,2), maíz (7,5) y el sorgo (5,7). La FDN fue menor en girasol, promediando 41%. El sorgo promedió 25 más rendimiento t ha-1 que el maíz, y presentó un ciclo de dos años por rebrote, disminuyendo prácticas agronómicas. El girasol generó 70% más PC que el maíz, lo cual lo hace una opción para aumentar el valor nutricional de los forrajes.

La importancia de algunas leguminosas presentes en regiones semiáridas es que pueden utilizarse como forraje en pastizales y han sido estudiadas como recurso alimentario para rumiantes. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la calidad nutricional de la varaduz en clima semiseco de Zacatecas, México. Entre los años 2021 y 2022 se realizaron 20 muestreos aleatorios en un agostadero de 100 ha. Las variables medidas fueron cenizas (C), materia orgánica (MO), proteína cruda (PC), fibra neutra detergente (FND) y fibra acido detergente (FAD) y degradabilidad in vitro de la materia seca (DivMS). La mayor cantidad de PC (p< 0.05) fue en primavera con 25.8%. El nivel superior de FND se observó en el otoño y verano (59.17 y 56.26%) y el menor en primavera e invierno (43.25 y 39.77%). La FAD más alta se obtuvo en verano (36.67%) y la más baja en invierno (24.68%). En la DivMS no se encontraron diferencias significativas (p> 0.05), promediando 45.06%. La arbustiva provee los mayores niveles proteicos en primavera y niveles adecuados de fibra para su uso en rumiantes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of corn processing method (ground corn, GC, vs. steam-flaked corn, SFC) and daily calcium propionate (CaPr; 0 vs. 9.45 g/lamb/d) supplementation on productive performance, dietary energetics, fat deposition, and carcass characteristics in finishing lambs. Thirty-six Dorper × Katahdin lambs (44.95 ± 3.30 kg initial body weight, IBW), blocked by IBW and randomly assigned within block to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, were used. Diets contained 50% corn grain and treatments consisted of: (1) GC, (2) SFC, (3) GC plus CaPr, and (4) SFC plus CaPr. There were no corn processing × CaPr interactions for growth performance, dietary energetics, or observed-to-expected dietary net energy (NE) ratios. Steam-flaked corn decreased DMI (1.30 vs. 1.35 kg/d; p = 0.0036) and increased average daily gain (ADG; 0.168 vs. 0.144 kg/d), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), and observed-to-expected dietary NE ratios compared with GC diets (p < 0.05). In contrast, CaPr supplementation increased DMI (1.35 vs. 1.30 kg/d; p = 0.0215) without affecting ADG, G:F, or observed-to-expected dietary NE ratios (p > 0.05). Steam-flaked corn increased hot carcass weight (p = 0.0339), cold carcass weight (p = 0.0241), Longissimus lumborum muscle area (p = 0.0206), and chest depth (p = 0.0368), whereas CaPr increased carcass length (p = 0.0451). Interactions between corn processing and CaPr supplementation were observed for rib fat thickness (p = 0.0491), rump fat thickness (p = 0.0272), visceral fat (p = 0.0485), perirenal fat (p = 0.0209), and shoulder tissue composition, including muscle (p = 0.0309), fat (p = 0.0438), and muscle:fat ratio (p = 0.0348). In GC diets, CaPr supplementation decreased fat deposition and increased muscle proportion, whereas in SFC diets CaPr supplementation increased fat deposition and reduced muscle proportion. Neither corn processing nor CaPr supplementation affected visceral mass (g viscera/g empty body weight). Calcium propionate supplementation decreased hindquarter yield (p = 0.0494), increased shoulder IMPS207 yield (p = 0.0494), and increased purge loss at 24 h (p = 0.0496). Water-holding capacity showed a corn processing × CaPr interaction (p = 0.0170), whereas the remaining meat-quality variables were not affected. Overall, SFC improved productive performance and dietary energy utilization, whereas CaPr increased DMI and altered fat deposition and tissue composition responses depending on corn processing method.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plant growth, but its availability in soils is often limited due to the low solubility of phosphate rock (PR), a major natural P source. Acid-based solubilization is a common strategy to enhance P availability, using both inorganic acids (sulfuric acid, H2SO4; nitric acid, HNO3) and organic acids (citric acid, C6H8O7; oxalic acid, C2H2O4). This study assessed the solubilization efficiency of these acids at three different molar concentrations (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 M) under controlled laboratory conditions. PR samples were treated with acid solutions for 24 h, and soluble phosphorus was quantified using the vanadomolybdate method. Results showed that nitric acid at 0.1 M (102 ± 3 mg L-1), sulfuric acid at 0.01 M (102 ± 1 mg L-1), and oxalic acid at 0.01 M (101 ± 2 mg L-1) exhibited comparable and high solubilization values. In contrast, citric acid at 0.01 M showed the lowest efficiency (58 ± 1 mg L-1). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test (p < 0.05) confirmed significant differences among treatments. These findings suggest that oxalic acid at a low concentration (0.01 M) may serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to strong mineral acids for PR solubilization. Furthermore, combining acid treatments with biological strategies could enhance P availability in a sustainable manner.

Phosphorus is a vital nutrient for plant development, yet its availability in soil is often limited by fixation in insoluble compounds. While abundant, phosphate rock (PR) exhibits low solubility, which reduces its agronomic value. The use of phosphate‐solubilizing microorganisms offers an eco‐friendly alternative for enhancing phosphorus bioavailability in agriculture. This study aimed to evaluate six bacterial strains from the Burkholderia and Paraburkholderia genera for their ability to solubilize phosphorus from PR using two selective media: Pikovskaya (PVK) and National Botanical Research Institute’s Phosphate. Solubilization was assessed via halo formation on solid media and quantification of soluble phosphorus in PVK and PVK + PR liquid cultures, and we quantified indole‐3‐acetic‐acid. A three‐way ANOVA indicated that bacterial strain and evaluation time significantly affected halo diameter, but not the type of medium. In PVK + PR liquid medium, B. anthina (10 PEI) and B. gladioli (FB‐1Ma3) showed the highest phosphorus solubilization (31.6 ± 0.2 and 26.3 ± 0.2 mg L ⁻¹ , respectively; n = 3), whereas B. contaminans (MSR2) exhibited the lowest (6.44 ± 0.7 mg L ⁻¹ ). Indole‐3‐acetic acid production ranged from 4.1 ± 0.9 to 10.6 ± 1.4 μg mL ⁻¹ , with P. rhynchosiae (SCV21) and P. graminis (SCV16) yielding the highest values. Notably, B. gladioli did not form halos in solid media despite strong PR solubilization in liquid culture, underscoring the limits of halo‐based screening. These results highlight strain‐dependent solubilization of PR and the complementary value of liquid assays. Selected Burkholderia sensu lato strains, together with their indole‐3‐acetic acid production, are promising candidates for biofertilizer development in phosphorus‐deficient systems, provided biosafety is carefully assessed.