Abstract

Maize is one of the most important staple crops in the highlands of the Andean region of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Most seeds come from landraces, with their own kernel characteristics. The kernels are used for the elaboration of traditional dishes and other elaborates for human consumption. In this region, maize breeding is conducted mainly by public institutions. In this review, we outline the methodology that has been used by the maize breeding programs (MBPs) of the National Institutes for Agricultural Research and other institutions in the highlands of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia during the last 20 years. The main objective of MBPs in the region has been to develop more uniform and productive open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) of floury maize (Zea mays L. var. Amylacea), which is the most important type of maize in the area. Participatory plant breeding, combined with half-sib, has been used to breed new maize varieties. At least 18 OPVs of floury maize have been released into the Andean region in the last 20 years. Breeding this type of maize has been very important to conserve diversity and promote consumption in the region, but they have had very little impact on yield. The yield of floury maize is around three times below that of dent or semident maize grown in the region. Therefore, there is a need to apply new breeding techniques in the region to accelerate the development of more productive floury-maize cultivars.

Highlights

  • In the highlands of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, between 1700 and 3500 m above sea level, there are numerous densely inhabited valleys where the cultivation of floury maize

  • This review describes the main methods used by the maize breeding programs (MBP) to conserve and improve native Andean races in the last 20 years, preserving the tradition and nutritional value of floury corn

  • At least 18 open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) of floury maize have been released in the highlands of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the last 20 years

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Summary

Introduction

In the highlands of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, between 1700 and 3500 m above sea level (masl), there are numerous densely inhabited valleys where the cultivation of floury maize This review describes the main methods used by the maize breeding programs (MBP) to conserve and improve native Andean races in the last 20 years, preserving the tradition and nutritional value of floury corn. It describes the varieties released in this period and analyzes the future of the genetic improvement of this type of maize. This information is useful to plant breeders in the Andean region and other parts of the world, where social aspects of farmers and breeding strategies used by the MBP are similar

Genetic Diversity of Maize in the Region
Breeding Methods Used in the Region
Breeding for Resistance to Ear Root
Bolivia
Breeding Method
Breeding Prospective
Findings
Conclusions
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