CP-Elvia 3, new white maize variety resistant to tar spot complex for Mexican subtropical areas

Abstract

In maize production, farmers fase the alternative of planting commercial hybrid maize seed or an open pollinated variety including an improved variety or a native local variety. Hybrid maize seed is costly and new seed has to be planted each season, while seed of an improved open pollinated variety can be planted for several years, compites in grain yield with a hybrid, it is of low cost, and can be disseminated between farmers. The advantages of an open pollinated synthetic variety over a normal open pollinated variety are higher grain yield and uniformity in flowering time and phenotype. This work presents activities resulting in obtaining the open pollinated synthetic variety CP-Elvia 3 with good agronomic characters and resistance to the tar spot complex following an S1 recurrent selection scheme.