Dynamic management of maize landraces in Central Mexico

Conservatiomsts of crop genetw resources have feared that m situ conservatton was not viable for agriculture prectsely because of changes resultmg from introduction of new varwtws of existing crops, new crops, and new farm practices In addmon, conservation within farming systems necessarily implies a constantly changmg crop populatton resulting from the processes of crop evolutton. Even though in situ conservatton of crop genetic resources ts now generally understood to be dynamw, there are few examples of how evolutton takes place m farmers fields. Thts study descrtbes several changes m maize landraces in four communmes along an altitude transect in Central Mexwo (1200 to 2400 masl) While true modern varieties have not been wtdely adopted in the study region, farmer management results m numerous changes in malze landrace populanons Fwe types of dynamtc management were observed" (1) purposeful hybrtdlzatton between tradmonal and modern maize types, (2) posstble creation of a new maize landrace by dtrectzonal selectton of the progeny of hybrtdlzatton between two tradttlonal landraces, (3) dtsplacement of a local landrace by the introductton of a modern varwty and a non-local landrace, (4) mamtenance of stable populattons of a locally dommant landrace, and (5) market-driven selectton for a minor variety We concur that m sttu conservation of crops must be conceived as an open process where the objecttve ts not to maintain historw varletws or stattc genetic condittons. Rather, m sttu conservation of crops ts totally in the hands of the farmer, although mterventions may be destgned to influence farmers' management of agrobtodtverstty.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Perales Rivera, Hugo Rafael Doctor autor/a 8273, Brush, Stephen B. autor/a, Qualset, Calvin O. autor/a
Format:	Texto biblioteca
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Maíz, Variación genética, Recursos de germoplasma,
Online Access:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0021:DMOMLI]2.0.CO;2
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