VARIETAL DIFFERENTIATION OF "CRIOLLO" CORN OF THE BREED TUXPEÑO OF THE STATE OF VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Abstract

In the humid tropical area of Mexíco, some native corn (Zea mays L.) varieties have been collected but they still wait to be evaluated, characterized and selected. These varieties can be used as a source of germplasm for maize breeding. The main objective ot thís study was to observe the phenotypic variation of 171 native maize varieties, in the rainy season of 1981 in the Experimental Station at Cotaxtla, Ver. Numerical taxonomy techniques  were used to differentiate varieties by analyzíng 19 vegetative and agronomic traits. 16 groups were defined at 0.80 ot dissimilarity distence value. Groups 1,3,4,5 and 6 included most of the collections, while the others contained only 2 to 7 collections each, except group 16 which had only one necession. Genetic and phenotypic voriatíon was found, wich can be explored to identífy useful populations for maize breeding programs.