Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 28 (2007) 21 – 38 © 2007 The Author Journal compilation © 2007 Department of Geography, National University of Singapore and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd doi:10.1111/j.1467-9493.2006.00274.x Gendered production spaces and crop varietal selection: Case study in Yucatán, Mexico Diana Gabriela Lope-Alzina Gender Studies in Agriculture, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands Correspondence: Diana Gabriela Lope-Alzina (email: diana.lope-alzina@wur.nl) This paper examines the influence of gender relations and gendered domains on maize and squash varietal selection in a village in Yucatán State, southeast Mexico. Results of the exploratory study indicate that the traditional production spaces of homegardens and agricultural fields are comple- mentary gendered domains of varietal maintenance for both crops although with different cropping patterns, while a ‘new’ space, of land allocated to some families for future residential construction (terreno) is in the meantime a jointly worked agricultural domain. Women’s labour, knowledge and preferences predominate in post-harvest processes. Fieldwork revealed that neither men nor women are independent decision-makers, planning what to grow, where and in what amounts, but that in most aspects of farming the interests of both are accommodated within the household’s pro- duction spaces. Keywords: agricultural fields, gender relations, homegardens, varietal selection, Mexico Introduction Mexico is considered one of the centres of diversity and origins of maize ( Zea mays L.), beans (Phaseolus spp.), chillis (Capsicum annum) and squash (Curcubita spp.) (Jarvis et al., 2000). It has been determined that over 50 per cent of the total area under maize in Mex- ico is cultivated with local varieties, with much higher percentages in some regions and states (Perales et al ., 1998). However, such investigations, as with others on squash and/ or beans (e.g. Terán et al ., 1998; Canul et al ., 2000; Montes & Eguiarte, 2001; Canul, 2004), have focused only on ‘men’s spaces’ – traditional milpas or the small native agri- cultural fields – oblivious to other production spaces such as homegardens that not only complement but also support and enhance the existence and persistence of the tradi- tional milpa agricultural system. Homegardens have been found to have a number of adaptive functions over time: namely, producing plentiful supplies of food with relatively little labour on small plots of land; providing a ‘genetic backstop’ during periods of crop failure or disruption; as well as being spaces for experimentation with new species or vari- eties (Niñez, 1987). In the maize belt region of the Yucatán, for instance, indigenous Yucatec homegardens contain an average of 156 cultivated and wild plant species that are used for subsistence and medicines (García, 2000), while also providing economic bene- fits to households and, importantly, maintaining ethnic identity and traditions (Green- berg, 2003). Yet homegardens are not generally considered part of the ‘productive’ agricultural sphere due to their small size and great local genetic diversity, their physical proximity to the household, their strong association with women’s decision-making and labour, and their production of largely non-commoditized cultural and material values (Howard, 2003). Although it is increasingly recognized among researchers in Mexico that women in farming households have an influence on men’s varietal selection in agricultural fields (e.g. Smale et al ., 1998), research on crop varietal selection and farmers’ preferences has focused overwhelmingly on environmental and agronomic characteristics (genotype x