agroecological zoning of coffea arabica in the atoyac de Álvarez municipality, guerrero state, méxico

Costa Grande, the largest coffee-producing region in the state of Guerrero, is where the lowest yields are obtained at the state level: An average 249 kg per ha, according to Sagarpa et al. (2011). This may be due not only to the low plant density in the area (approximately 1 274 plants per hectare), but also to the lack of chemical fertilization. It is estimated that chemical fertilizers are applied to only 0.2% of the coffee plants, and only 3% of them benefit from the manure added to the soil. With the aim to establish agro-ecological areas for Coffea arabica (i.e., those with the most favorable agricultural conditions and the highest biophysical potential for optimum yields) a territorial survey was carried out in the municipality of Atoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero analyzing geomorphological, hydrothermal and edaphic maps based on GIS platforms. Six map sheets at a scale of 1:50 000 (INEGI, 2009) were employed so as to cover the entire area of study. On these maps the altitude, inclination, climate (temperature, rainfall) and soil types...