Preparación y Usos de la Harina de Maíz en Antojitos Regionales en el Municipio de Escárcega, Campeche, México

Corn, as it is said in Mexico (Zea mays L.) is an annual grass native to America, specifically from the central-western region of Mexico. There is a great diversity of varieties of corn. Ethnic groups and farmers have selected this crop for thousands of years for different uses, and have created and preserved the right types of corn for specialized uses. Based on all of the above, the objective of this research was to identify the processes of the preparation of corn flour (masa) and its uses in the gastronomy of the southern state of Campeche, Mexico. In order to achieve the research, a total of 28 establishments were visited, 10 dedicated to the production of corn flour (masa) and 18 focused on the preparation of regional snacks based on corn masa. Basically two ways of preparing corn flour were observed. Similarly, for the preparation of the dough to make regional snacks, four styles were identified. In the city of Escárcega 14 different types of regional snacks are sold. Fried or comal empanadas are the ones in greatest demand. The south of the state of Campeche presents a gastronomic wealth in the preparation of regional snacks, since it has influences from the central and southern communities of Mexico, so it is important to consider the area as an area rich in its gastronomy. El maíz, como se dice en México (Zea mays L.) es una gramínea anual originaria de América, concretamente de la región centro Occidente de México. Existe una gran diversidad de variedades de maíz. Los grupos étnicos y agricultores han seleccionado este cultivo por miles de años para diferentes usos, y han creado y conservado los tipos adecuados de maíz para usos especializados. Con base en todo lo anterior, el objetivo de la presente investigación fue identificar los procesos de la preparación de la harina de maíz (masa) y sus usos en la gastronomía del sur del estado de Campeche, México. Para el logro de la investigación se visitaron en total 28 establecimientos, 10 dedicados a la elaboración de la harina de maíz (masa) y 18 enfocadas a la preparación de antojitos regionales a base de masa de maíz. Se observaron básicamente dos formas de preparar harina de maíz. De igual forma para la preparación de la masa para elaborar antojitos regionales fueron identificados cuatro estilos. En la ciudad de Escárcega se comercializan 14 tipos diferentes de antojitos regionales. Las empanadas fritas o al comal son las de mayor demanda. El sur del estado de Campeche presenta una riqueza gastronómica en la preparación de antojitos regionales, ya que presenta influencias de comunidades centro y sur de México, por lo que es importante considerar al área como una zona rica en su gastronomía.

Influence of the sowing time and mineral fertilizers on the productivity of annual grass mixtures

The productivity of annual feed grass mixtures (vetch + oats, Sudan grass + white mustard, Sudan grass + oilseed radish), sown after the winter rye harvesting during the “shooting” phase (the 1st time of sowing), during the “heading” phase (the 2nd time of sowing), and during the phase of complete ripeness (the 3d time of sowing), was studied in the conditions of forest-steppe soils of the Volga Region (the Republic of Mordovia). The experiment was carried out in 2018-2020 on heavy loamy soils against the background of three doses of mineral fertilizers use (without fertilizers, N16P16K16 + N30, N16P16K16 + N60). It has been established that the duration of vegetation of feed mixtures according to the time of sowing when harvesting for green mass was: at the first the time of sowing - 63-85 days, at the second - 63-76 days, at the third - 56-62 days. The highest height of the plant was at the first time of sowing with the use of fertilizers at a dose of N16P16K16 + N60, the lowest - at the third time of sowing. The highest growth was achieved by Sudan grass (48-116 cm), the lowest - by the mixture of vetch and oats (18-67 cm). The highest yield of green mass (14.0 t/ha) was observed when cultivating Sudan grass mixed with oilseed radish on the background of N16P16K16 + N60 at the first time of sowing. For mixture of Sudan grass with white mustard, the yield was 2-7 % lower, and for vetch + oats mixture - 32-45 % lower. The same was observed according to the yield of dry matter and feed units. As to the protein content, mixtures of Sudan grass with cruciferous crops exceeded the vetch + oats mixture by 7-26 %. The fiber content in the grass mixtures was decreasing from the first time of sowing to the last. The greatest amount of fiber (28.11-28.72 %) was observed during the second time of sowing. The economic assessment showed that the cultivation of annual grass mixtures after winter rye without mineral fertilizers was the most cost-effective (29-208 %). The highest efficiency (202-208 %) was provided by the mixture of Sudan grass with oilseed radish and white mustard.

Fuel connectivity, burn severity, and seedbank survivorship drive the grass fire cycle in a semi-arid shrubland.

Introduced grasses can initiate novel grass-fire cycles that alter ecosystem structure and function, and threaten biodiversity. In sagebrush communities in the western United States, annual grass invasion increases the connectivity of fine fuels, which increases the size and spatial contiguity of fires. This increase in fire size and contiguity results in post-fire plant communities that are dominated by introduced annual grasses (IAG), which are themselves more likely to promote large fires and initiate a novel grass-fire cycle. But the mechanisms by which pre-fire invasion and fire occurrence are linked to higher post-fire flammability are not fully understood. Here, we investigate the successive mechanisms in a potential positive feedback that maintains the novel annual grass-fire cycle. We used total vegetation cover (TVC) as a proxy for fuel connectivity and found that pre-fire TVC increased burn severity. We then used a Bayesian joint species distribution model to examine how burn severity affected the proportion of IAG in the seed bank, and found that higher burn severity had mostly positive or neutral effects on the occurrence of IAG and other non-native species, and mostly negative or neutral relationships with native species. We found that the abundance of IAG seeds in the seedbank immediately post-fire had a positive effect on the fuel connectivity 3 years after fire, thus completing a positive feedback promoting IAG. These results suggest that measurable characteristics of ecosystem structure (e.g. TVC) and fire (dNBR) may be used to inform management actions to mitigate the negative effects of the grass-fire cycle, perhaps via targeted restoration applications or pre-fire fuel treatments.