Naslov
Decision tools for improving underused Portuguese maize landraces

Autori
Alves, Mara Lisa ; Brites, Cláudia ; Paulo, Manuel ; Carbas, Bruna ; Belo, Maria ; Mendes-Moreira, Pedro ; Brites, Carla ; Bronze, Maria do Rosário ; Gunjača, Jerko ; Šatović, Zlatko ; Vaz Patto, Maria Carlota

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Proceedings of Diversifood Final Congress / Chable, Véronique ; Bocci, Riccardo ; Colley, Micaela ; Costanzo, Ambriogio ; Fadda, Carlo ; Goldringer, Isabelle ; Messmer, Monika ; Nuijten, Edwin ; Oehen, Bernadette ; Rey, Frédéric - Rennes : Diversifood, 2018, 44-44

Skup
The DIVERSIFOOD Final Congress

Mjesto i datum
Rennes, Francuska, 10.12.2018. - 12.12.2018

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
open-pollinated varieties, Zea mays L., farmers, adaptability, quality, diversity

Sažetak
There is an increasing awareness that preserving and promoting genetic diversity is crucial for the future breeding of food crops, such as maize, and therefore for promoting food security. Presently, in Portugal, one can still find maize landraces under cultivation. These have been used for centuries to produce the ethnic maizebased bread called “broa”. By the time the European project DIVERSIFOOD started these materials were not subjected to any formal breeding activity, neither conventional nor participatory. Maize landraces, when compared to commercial hybrid varieties, are considered to have a broader plasticity to adapt to different environments. Given the present climate change scenarios, landraces could represent a valuable asset to breed for climate unpredictability. However, landraces are generally less productive than hybrid varieties. Therefore, their agronomic improvement (yield) is an important aspect that also needs to be taken into consideration in any breeding activities. In this work maize landraces, collected at farmers’ fields from a region traditionally linked to the production of “broa” were evaluated from different perspectives (Alves et al. 2017). Our main objective was to generate decision tools to support an efficient and effective management and breeding of these underused genetic resources. Sixteen farmers’ maize landraces, together with 9 other maize open-pollinated populations breed by participatory approaches and chosen for comparison purposes, were evaluated for grain yield and ear weight in nine locations across Portugal. The different locations represent different areas where maize landraces are usually produced in Portugal, covering the different agronomic production systems normally associated with maize landraces. The maize populations’ adaptability and stability were evaluated using additive main effects and multiplication interaction (AMMI) model analysis. These maize populations were also multiplied in a common-garden experiment for a comparative exploratory quality evaluation. Flour from each population was used to assess its chemical composition (protein, fibre, and fat), pasting behaviour, aroma volatiles and antioxidant compounds content (carotenoids, tocopherols, phenolic compounds). This phenotypic characterization was complemented with a molecular characterization, in which 30 individuals per population were genotyped with 20 microsatellite molecular markers. Using diverse multivariate approaches we observed that the majority of the farmers’ maize landraces had high levels of protein and fiber, low levels of carotenoids, volatile aldehydes, α- and δ-tocopherols, and low breakdown viscosity values. Regarding the agronomic performance, farmers’ maize landraces had low but considerably stable grain yields across the tested environments. The integration of both phenotypic and genotypic characterization of these maize landraces allowed to identify possible future breeding paths. Therefore, through this work, valuable integrative decision tools were generated to support an efficient and effective management of these underused genetic resources. Concluding, this work improved our knowledge on the agronomic and quality characterization of Portuguese maize landraces, and allowed us to postulate future paths for breeding using these materials.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Poljoprivreda (agronomija)

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