In semiarid areas of Mexico, lack of organic matter is a major constraint for production of corn and frijol beans, the main crops of the region. A multi-year experiment was carried out at the CENGUA Experiment Station, Guanajuato State, Mexico. Soil moisture was highest in the treatments with 100% or 67% of corn residues. Yields of frijol beans increased as the proportion of corn residues increased in all three years, but there was no significant difference between the treatment with all corn residues and the treatment with one-third reduction of corn residues in two of the three years. The
harvest index was highest in the same two treatments with higher proportions of corn residues in the last years. These results suggest that corn residues can be reduced by one third in fertilization of corn-frijol bean systems while maintaining adequate frijol bean yields. This could assist in
establishment of sustainable corn-frijol bean-cattle integrated agriculture in semi-arid areas of Mexico
