Practical and theoretical knowledge of corn and beans in the triqui high region, Oaxaca

Abstract

The objective of the article is to contrast the practical knowledge that women and men possess about the quality and use of corn and beans, with the theoretical knowledge to evaluate the quality of these grains in the laboratory. There were 27 semi-structured interviews and two participatory workshops, in the mother tongue ‛triqui’, in Santo Domingo of the state, region triqui high, Oaxaca. The hectolitre weight (PH) and flotation index (IF) were evaluated in 20 corn collections. In beans, cooking time (TC), water absorption capacity during soaking (CAA) and percentage of solids in the cooking broth (PSC) in 15 accessions were evaluated. The results were analyzed with a completely randomized design, comparison test of tukey means and correlations. The interviewees indicated preference for white corn, with hard grains (IF= 0-12) and intermediate grains (IF= 38-62), followed by blue, pinto, yellow, red was less preferred. All the pigmented maize was hard grain (IF= 13-37). The pH was between 74-81 kg hl^-1. In beans, the species Phaseolus vulgaris L. (common) and Phaseolus coccineus L. (ayocote) were identified, the one with the longest tradition and preference for consumption was the ‛dry bean’ (ayocote) which requires 317 min for cooking. The practical knowledge of men and women of Santo Domingo del Estado on the quality of corn and beans, showed an association with the theoretical trends of quality in corn; in the bean there was an association with the cooking time.