Amid rapid urbanization and persistent food insecurity in Latin America, urban gardens have emerged as sustainable alternatives to conventional agriculture. This study evaluates the technical and economic efficiency of producing four vegetables (lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach, and tomato) in urban and conventional systems in Puebla, Mexico. Using a stochastic frontier model, the analysis integrates key environmental costs, specifically, water-use efficiency and nutrient balance valuation, to assess the sustainability trade-offs. The results show that urban gardens achieve comparable efficiency to conventional systems while reducing water use by up to 66% and optimizing nutrient cycling. These findings support urban agroecological models as viable strategies for local food production and provide actionable insights for municipal policies aimed at enhancing urban food resilience and environmental performance.

En 2007 y 2008 se capacitó a 74 mujeres indígenas de seis comunidades Mixtecas del Distrito de Nochixtlán, Oaxaca, en la preparación y uso de la lombricultura. En 2010 y 2011 se aplicó una encuesta a las mujeres participantes con el objetivo de determinar el efecto de los factores tecnológicos, económicos, sociales y culturales sobre la adopción de la lombricultura. Los datos se analizaron mediante correlaciones y regresión múltiple. Los resultados revelaron que 100 % de la mujeres adoptaron la lombricultura, 89.2 % en un nivel alto, 10.8 % en un nivel medio, y ninguna en el nivel bajo. Los factores que se correlacionaron con Adopción fueron, de los tecnológicos, Conocimiento de la tecnología (r=0.59) y Relevancia de la tecnología (r=0.24); de los sociales, la Edad (r=-0.53) y la Escolaridad (r=0.45); y de los culturales, Lengua (r=0.41). En el modelo de regresión múltiple, solo Conocimiento de la tecnología, Edad y Escolaridad mostraron ser factores determinantes en la Adopción de la lombricultura. Se concluye que el curso de capacitación y apoyos económicos otorgados fueron eficientes en enseñar la técnica de lombricultura a las mujeres participantes. Se sugiere contar con un traductor en la lengua local para mejorar la enseñanza.

Maize in Mexico suffers severe economic losses due to root-feeding and defoliating pests, among which Macrodactylus nigripes is particularly damaging, attacking roots during its larval stage and reducing pollination in adults. The intensive use of chemical insecticides has generated environmental impacts and resistance risks, driving the search for sustainable alternatives. In this study, the efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae), diatomaceous earth, and a chemical control was evaluated against larvae and adults of M. nigripes under laboratory (controlled) conditions. A completely randomized factorial design was employed, and mortality and survival were assessed using Abbott’s correction, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, and Probit regression. Results revealed highly significant differences among treatments. The native strain of B. bassiana (MA-Bb1) achieved the highest Abbott-corrected cumulative mortality in L₁ larvae (99.4 ± 1.0%) and adults (75.3 ± 3.9%), with lethal times (LT₅₀) of approximately 1.1–1.3 days in larvae and 1.6 days in adults, outperforming commercial strains and diatomaceous earth. Chemical control exhibited immediate action (LT₅₀ < 0.4 days). These findings highlight the potential of entomopathogenic fungi, particularly the native strain MA-Bb1 exhibited high pathogenicity against M. nigripes under laboratory conditions and represents a promising candidate for future biological control programs. Additional studies under semi-field and field conditions are required to confirm its effectiveness under agricultural production systems.