Total Organic Carbon Assessment in Soils Cultivated with Agave tequilana Weber in Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

The Agave tequilana Weber is an important commercial crop in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. However, the agave cultivation generates significant soil loss. For that reason, knowledge about the implementation of the agriculture management practices, such as manure application and the combination of inorganic fertilizers and manure, are relevant. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of agricultural management practices on the total organic carbon (TOC) in the soil in three study locations: Arandas, Tepatitlán, and Acatic in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco. A random sampling was carried out in each study location, 12 samples were obtained for each location at 0–30 cm deep, and a total of 36 samples were analyzed. The evaluated parameters were the potential hydrogen (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density (BD), soil-water saturation (SWS), total nitrogen (TN), and total organic carbon (TOC). Basic statistics and correlations between parameters were generated. In addition, to estimate TOC from a multivariate analysis, models were developed based on the lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) and of the classification and regression trees (CART). ANOVA and Tukey test were determined. Results demonstrated a significant difference in the TOC percentages between the study locations. The Tukey test showed that there is no difference in TOC content between the Tepatitlán and Arandas sites, but there is a difference between these two sites and the Acatic. The latter resulted with the lowest values of TOC. Long-term studies are recommended to develop crop management strategies.