Interannual variability of productive aspects of bean culture in a municipality in the Semi-arid region of Alagoas, Brazil

Abstract

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most cultivated and consumed legumes worldwide. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of this crop, which constitutes an important primary source of protein in the diet of its population. In the Northeast region, this legume is a key crop, especially for small family farmers. However, this region has high production susceptibility, which is mainly due to local climatic conditions and the low degree of technification employed. In this sense, the objective of this study was to analyze the productive variations of the bean crop in the municipality of Dois Riachos, Semi-arid of Alagoas, in the period 1998-2015. The production data were obtained from the IBGE Municipal Agricultural Production database, using the Automatic Recovery System (SIDRA), and subjected to correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed high interannual variability in the production of beans, reflected in the strong oscillation of the analyzed variables. Significant correlations were observed between all variables. The PCA gathered 93.8% of the original data variance in its first two axes, generating 4 clusters that grouped years with similar productive characteristics. The reductions observed for the variables may be linked mainly to abiotic factors, such as the occurrence of prolonged droughts, and the low degree of technification used for this culture.