New popcorn races in a diversity microcenter of Zea mays L. in the Far West of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

Identification of alleles for sweet phenotype in local corn varieties in southern Brazil

“…Regarding the need to test the 2433F variety at crossings with other materials, the chances of being a new mutant allele are high, based on the following factors: (i) it is a local variety from a region of high diversity, recently indicated as a microcenter of diversity of the genus Zea (Costa et al, 2016;Silva et al, 2015), and which has been subjected to constant adaptive and evolutionary processes (Silva et al, 2017); (ii) it has typical morphological characteristics (ear size, length, width and grain thickness) of a local material, differing from Embrapa accessions and improved cultivars; and (iii) in the cluster analysis, the 2433F variety was not grouped with any local variety, which indicates its particularity in relation to the other varieties, although it is derived from the same region.…”

“…Despite initiatives to rescue genetic material from maize, in the various Brazilian biomes, there are still many regions in Brazil that harbor an expressive and unknown diversity of local varieties with rare use values and adaptive values to particular agricultural ecosystems (Coradin, 2006). Among the regions of Brazil recognized by the high diversity of local varieties and wild populations of the Zea genus, the far west of Santa Catarina (FWSC) state stands out (Ogliari & Alves, 2007;Costa, Silva & Ogliari, 2016;Reichert Jr. et al, 2020;Silva, Vidal & Ogliari, 2017). Located in the Atlantic Forest Biome and within the Rio das Antas Valley, this region is indicated as a microcenter of maize diversity (Costa et al, 2016).…”

“…Located in the Atlantic Forest Biome and within the Rio das Antas Valley, this region is indicated as a microcenter of maize diversity (Costa et al, 2016). The constant adaptive and evolutionary processes (Silva et al, 2017) and the coevolution in the presence of wild populations of the species (Silva, Vidal, Costa, Vaio & Ogliari, 2015) led to the diversification of corn in this region, such as the formation of new races of popcorn identified by Silva et al (2017).…”

Relationship between phenological and morphological characteristics of plant with popcorn races of a diversity microcenter in southern Brazil

“…In the Zea mays L. species, one initial way of classifying the diversity of populations is to define races. About 300 races of maize, widely distributed in the American continent, have already been classified in the western hemisphere Vilaró, Vidal, & Abadie, 2020), and new races being discovered recently (Silva, Vidal, & Ogliari, 2016). A race is defined as a related group of populations with common characteristics that allow them to be recognized as a group (Anderson & Cutler 1942), being considered one of the first levels of classification of diversity in maize collections.…”

“…Due to this diversity of local varieties and the presence of wild corn relatives, this region was indicated as a microcenter of diversity of the Zea genus (Costa, Silva, & Ogliari, 2016). After collecting populations in 2013 representing the local diversity of this microregion (Vidal, 2016, Vidal, Silva, & Ogliari, 2018, a race study based on ear and grain characteristics was carried out by Silva et al (2016), and from which they identified at least five races of popcorn, three of which were considered new.…”