Yield and expansion capacity of the corn grain in the Palomero Toluqueño race

Abstract

It has been suggested that the Palomero Toluqueño corn race contributed to the origin of other races and despite having the capacity to burst, this quality has not been enhanced. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the yield and expansion capacity of accessions of this race kept in germplasm banks. 47 accessions of Palomero Toluqueño were evaluated, three materials in the process of genetic improvement for trapping and a commercial material as a reference. The experiments were established in a randomized complete block design with two repetitions in the spring-summer 2014 agricultural cycle in Montecillo, State of Mexico and Santa Maria Zacatepec, Puebla. The variables evaluated were grain yield, expansion volume, percentage of grains without popping, rosette shape, pericarp spray and volume of popcorn per hectare. The general average yield was 3.38 t ha-1 and the volume of popcorn per hectare was 8.86 m3 ha-1, while the volume of expansion per sample, percentage of unpopped grains and the pulverized pericarp had averages of 2.73 cm³ g-1, 67.59% and 3.2 (visual scale 1-5), respectively; in contrast, the commercial control, for the same variables, showed values of 19.33 cm³ g-1, 27.49% and 1.6. Only the butterfly rosette shape was featured. The results indicate that the Palomero Toluqueño race has a low expansion capacity in relation to the commercial material; however, its grain yield exceeded the national average. The variables evaluated demonstrate the diversity that exists within the race.