TY  - PRO
AU  - Menkir,A.
AU  - Maziya Dixon,B.
ED  - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT), Mexico DF (Mexico)
ED  - Arnel R. Hallauer International Symposium on Plant Breeding
TI  - Assessment of B-carotene content in tropical early- and late-maturing yellow maize varieties
U1  - 631.53 
PY  - 2003///
CY  - Mexico, DF (Mexico)
PB  - CIMMYT
KW  - Food crops
KW  - Grain yield
KW  - Maize
KW  - AGROVOC
KW  - Rural areas
KW  - Vitamins
KW  - Genetics
KW  - Plant breeding
N2  - National and local surveys show that millions of people in West and Central Africa suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which can result in blindness, poor immune systems, and early death (WHO 2000). Maize is one of the main staple food crops in this region, and maize cultivars with high pro-vitamin A content could serve as effective tools to deliver naturally fortified foods to malnourished populations in remote rural areas, and to people with limited access to supplements or fortified foods. Some yellow maize varieties contain substantial amounts of pro-vitamin A carotenoids, with all trans-B-carotene having the greatest vitamin A activity. Characterization of elite yellow maize varieties for B-carotene content is, therefore, important in assessing the genetic potential for delivering cultivars with high vitamin A content
ER  -