Latin American maize germplasm conservation: regeneration, in situ conservation, core subsets, and prebreeding

Abstract

This publication describes progress in collaborative efforts to document, characterize, regenerate, and conserve (both in seed banks and on-farm in situ) maize seed collections from the Americas since 1998. Participants from North, Central, and South America took part in a workshop at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) from 7-10 April, 2003, to discuss these issues as well as those related to core subsets and prebreeding for maize. Topics covered included: the growth of CIMMYT’s maize collection through the Cooperative Regeneration Project; core subsets and prebreeding; conservation and use of local maize races in Oaxaca and Chihuahua; kernel characteristics and tortilla making quality of maize accessions from Mexico, the Caribbean, South and Central America; and enhancement of farmers’ varieties using an example from Coahuila, Mexico. Status reports on collections held in 12 countries in the region are provided.