Agronomic performance, chemical composition and Fusarium verticillioides resistance of Italian white maize varieties

Abstract

White maize varieties were mainly grown in Italy before the advent of hybrids. The characterisation of their nutritional quality and safety will help to enhance the biodiversity of traditional materials, and to exploit it for food production. In fact, in recent years attention has been focused on the use of white maize varieties for the preparation of maizebased gluten-free products for coeliacs. Moreover it is also known that mycotoxin contamination of maize grain is a global threat to the safety of both human food and feed. In order to recover the biodiversity of traditionally maize, twenty-one Italian white maize varieties available at CREA Bergamo genebank were cultivated in Bergamo and Cremona in 2016. These genotypes were evaluated for grain chemical composition and agronomic performance; moreover an inoculation trial was carried out to test their resistance/susceptibility to Fusarium verticillioides. Chemical composition of the grain showed a wide range of variability; the samples from Bergamo accumulated more starch, whereas the plants grown in Cremona showed a higher content of proteins, lipids and total antioxidant capacity. Some varieties (VA86, VA1239 and VA1245) were valuable in both environments for their protein and lipid content, while VA185 showed a good 1000 kernels weight, in addition to interesting values of yield and test weight. Considerable variability was observed in fumonisin contamination. The response to fungal attack was very different in the two environments, the varieties grown in Cremona showed higher number of infected kernels at the inoculum point and higher level of fumonisins compared to the plants grown in Bergamo. Interestingly, some varieties (VA117, VA1213) showed a low fumonisin contamination in both locations. These genotypes could be potentially suitable for breeding programs with the aim to find new sources of genetic variability to improve the nutritional quality of maize genotypes and their resistance to pathogens.

Characterization and Valorization of Maize Landraces from Aosta Valley

“…In the context of a climate-changing agricultural scenario, there is an urgent need to discover new sources of adaptation to biotic and environmental stresses that may contribute to crop breeding aimed at maintaining productivity and reducing inputs. To address this objective, landraces can be valuable resources since they are characterized by high genetic variability and they can present favorable alleles for increasing the adaptation to harsh conditions and challenging environments that may have been selected through natural and human pressure [ 15 , 20 ].…”

Physical, chemical and pasting features of maize Italian inbred lines

“…The two white lines considered in this work (Lo1224w and Lo1446w), although the lack of carotenoid in their kernel, showed an intermediate TAC value (13.27 and 15.30 mmol TE/kg dm, respectively), probably due to the presence of other compounds such as polyphenols. Indeed, recent studies on white Italian landraces [19,20] demonstrated that TAC in white genotypes has comparable values to those found in yellow genotypes, and in the study by Tafuri and co-workers [18] no relation was found between kernel color and SPC. As expected, the TAC value in the black line B73, was one of the highest (20.90 mmol TE/kg dm).…”

“…In the European context, variability in a collection of maize populations from Portugal [15] and Spain [16] have been explored for bread-making purposes. As far as the Italian context, traditional maize germplasm was analyzed with a focus on its richness in biocomponents [17][18] and safety [19][20]. In particular, since the 1970s, the Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops in Bergamo has been developing breeding programs with the aim to obtain maize hybrids with a strong adaptation to the Po Valley environment, improving the cold tolerance at the seedling stage and the resistance to Fusarium rot and European corn borer [21].…”

Food Safety Aspects of Breeding Maize to Multi-Resistance against the Major (Fusarium graminearum, F. verticillioides, Aspergillus flavus) and Minor Toxigenic Fungi (Fusarium spp.) as Well as to Toxin Accumulation, Trends, and Solutions—A Review

“…Maize varieties have been tested in two locations in Italy: Bergamo and Cremona. The FER response after artificial inoculation was rather divergent; however, two varieties (VA117 and VA1213) were identified that had stable resistance in both locations [31]. Another important aspect of relevant research was the identification of genes that play a role in FER resistance, such as the jasmonate-mediated monocot-specific 9-lipoxygenase ZmLOX12 gene, which seems to play a key role in resistance to FER [157].…”