The value of old Mayan practices for pest storage grain management for modern and futureand future agriculture

Abstract

We present results of a series of studies documenting and evaluating traditional knowledge of pest in stored grains among Mayan farmers. We performed 257 interviews in five communities in the Chiapas highlands and in three communities in the Guatemalan highlands. Sithophilus zeamais and Sitotroga cerealella were the most commonly reported insects. Fifty % of farmers use the pesticide aluminum phosphide or malathion, often in inappropriate ways. However they still employ several traditional management practices, the majority of which are preventative (local varieties, strict harvest dates, drying maize before storage, lime application, incorporation of repellent plants and cool, dry granaries). We conducted experiments to test the efficacy of these practices. The use of traditional yellow corn variety, the incorporation of Piper auritum leaves and lime in the storage, and dry, cool storage room seem to reduce pest attacks. We communicated our findings through workshops inviting young farmers to try the techniques invented by their ancestors. A survey performed a year after the workshops suggested that the workshops induced positive changes in young farmers’ attitudes towards traditional practices. The principles of Maya traditional knowledge of stored grain protection have potential for application to organic agriculture and for food security in one of the domestication centers of maize, two priorities for today’s and tomorrow’s agriculture.