Participatory selection and diversity characterization of maize prospections in Chiapas, México

Main Article Content

M. Martínez

Abstract

In March and April, 2003, a maize prospection
was carried out in 20 municipalities belonging to five regions
of Chiapas, Mexico. 331 accessions of maize were collected,
two donated by INIFAP and the rest collected in the farmer�??s
farms. Prospections are integrated by accessions with different
grain colors. On May 30, 2003, 85 maize accessions were sowed
in �??La Albarrada�?� Center of Community Development, located
in the municipality of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Different
evaluations were carried out showing a wide maize variability;
this variability was found within accessions of different color
as well as among accessions of different color. This variability
was also proved among different farms where they were
collected. On December 6, 2003, a biodiversity fair was carried
out. During the fair 51 accessions were selected at least once
by farmers (60 % of all the exposed diversity). Farmers showed
a bigger interest for accessions with black and yellow grain
color, constituting 66.6 % of the collected diversity. During
the selection, men and women had different approaches when
selecting the accessions and they also differed in the number
of selected accessions. In general, farmers showed a great
interest on creole accessions that showed some tolerance to
their specific conditions.

Article Details

How to Cite
Martínez, M. (2013). Participatory selection and diversity characterization of maize prospections in Chiapas, México. Cultivos Tropicales, 27(1), 55–62. Retrieved from https://ediciones.inca.edu.cu/index.php/ediciones/article/view/392
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Original Article