Maize, Zea mays L., is a staple food crop and used as feed in most of the developing world. Subsistence farmers who store maize often encounter losses in excess of 20% due to storage pests. Most of these farmers cannot afford hermetic storage structures nor chemical control measures, which also present a health risk due to improper handling. Host plant resistance is an effective and environmentally safe means of reducing storage losses and has been under utilized in maize. A source population with multiple storage pest resistance has been developed at CIMMYT by recombining Caribbean accessions with moderate levels of resistance to Prostephanus truncatus (larger grain borer, LGB) and Sitophilus zeamais (maize weevil, MW). Resistance to storage pests is polygenically controlled and has a strong maternal effect (Serratos et al. 1997). The mechanism of resistance is thought to involve phenolic compounds located within the aleurone layer or pericarp of the kernel (Sen et al.1994; Serratos et al. 1997). Using 503 recurrent selection under artificial infestation, broad-based sources of resistance have been developed and the biochemical basis for this resistance identified -it not only includes phenolics, but also extensin linkages within the pericarp cell wall.

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0309|AGRIS 0301|AL-Maize Program

CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection