Physicochemical characterization of Brazilian maize landraces and its relationship to quality factors

摘要

Native landraces of Brazilian maize constitute one of the most valuable resources for the development of corn cultivars with end-use quality. Besides, they have high environmental adaptation potential which makes them desirable for breeding programs.The cultivation of maize landraces by small producers helps in the rescue, preservation, and production of varieties, which in turn maintains corn's genetic variability. The choice of a particular landrace should be based not only on agronomic factors but also on the nutritional and industrial quality factors. For this purpose, eight Brazilian maize landraces were evaluated for their proximate composition, bulk density (test weight), average kernel weight (1,000-grain weight) according to AACC's official methods of analysis and endosperm type. Values for protein and lipids (dry basis) were in the range of 810.3% and 4.85.4%, respectively. The samples presented significant differences for at least two chemical parameters according to Tukey's test usinga P < 0.05. Test weight showed a significant correlation with protein (r > 0.9) and lipids (r > 0.6). Average kernel weight was significantly different for six of the eight landraces. None of the samples had floury endosperm. Most of them had either dent or semi-dent endosperm as measured by backlighting which will be illustrated by photographs.