Comportamiento de mestizos de maíz en tres localidades del centro de México

To find out if there are useful alleles in native maize for use in a new hybridization program, 52 mestizos trained with 26 collections from the states of Mexico and Tlaxcala and two simple crosses from CIMMYT (CML246xCML242) and (CML457xCML459) were evaluated. They were included as controls to H-40, three experimental hybrid and both testers. The genetic material was evaluated in the field in a series of experiments in randomized complete blocks with two repetitions per site. The grain yield (REND), initial vigor (VIG), male flowering (DFM) and feminine (DFF), plant height (ALP) and cob (ALM), plant (ASP) and cob (ASM) aspects were recorded and percentages of lodging (PACA), tillering (PHI), cob rot (PMP) and twin plants (PPC). For treatments, highly significant differences were determined in all the variables. Among females, there were highly significant differences for most of the variables, indicating that the average behavior of each mestizo was largely due to the genetic contribution of one or the other of these. Among creoles there were highly significant differences in all the variables, except in ASP and PACA, so the native maize had a different behavior in their respective mestizos and there is genetic diversity among them that can be used in a new breeding program based on hybridization. The native maizes that formed the mestizos with the highest yield of grain were 22, 21, 9, 14, 20 and 26. Other important characteristics were percentages of lodging and cob rot.