Potential Areas for Growing Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) under Rainfed Conditions in Mexico

Abstract

Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub., commonly known as guar gum, is a le-gume of great industrial importance due to the multiple uses which can be given by galactomannans contained in the seed's endosperm. Keeping in mind the acquiring relevance of this crop, it was considered of great importance to characterize the physical environment and the natural factors in order to locate the most suitable cultivation areas under rainfed conditions. The software Arc/View version 3.3 was used to process and analyze the information. The optimal agroclimatic requirements of guar gum were identified and each variable factor was matched with those found at ground level. A carto-graphic mapping was carried out to regionalize and locate the optimal and suboptimal zones. It was determined that in Mexico there is a great potential for its cultivation since it was found the existence of 900 thousand hectares with high or optimal potential and more than 200 thousand hectares of medium and sub-optimal potential where crop can be well established under rainfed conditions.