Sustainability and the social fabric in commercial apple orchards in Puebla, Mexico

Apple ( Malus domestica Borkh.) is a key perennial crop of global economic importance that faces several challenges associated with global change, particularly environmental degradation and climate change. This is due in part to its ecological requirements, including its significant reliance upon managed and wild pollinators that are susceptible to land use/land cover change, as well as climate change. Commercial apple production is performed either following “Conventional agriculture” (CA), “Integrated Pest Management'' (IPM) or “organic agriculture” (OA) production schemes. OA is sometimes described as the preferred strategy to mitigate the vulnerability of apple production in a context of environmental pressures. In this study, we aimed to test the validity of these claims and to identify key sustainability attributes by assessing the sustainability of apple orchards located in Puebla (Mexico). Specifically, we compared the three agricultural management systems described above (“CA” vs. “IPM” vs. “OA'') using a range of sustainability indicators and classification approaches. Our results provide evidence for strong contrasts in sustainability among agricultural management systems, and highlight social organization as the critical attribute towards sustainability in commercial apple production. Our results reiterate the influence of peasant organizations on the effective adoption of sustainable management systems, and the importance of the social fabric to cope with the obstacles towards sustainability faced by agricultural management systems in Mexico. Therefore, the results suggest a need to strengthen agreements and collective actions to increase the probability of success in the implementation of sustainable management systems. • Sustainability trends were identified among management systems through the EAMIS framework. • Social organization was the critical attribute in common among most orchards. • Organic orchards have the least sustainable practices of all. • These trends evidenced the conventionalization that organic orchards are undergoing.