Climatic Adaptation and Ecological Descriptors of 42 Mexican Maize Races

• Published in: Crop science Vol. 48; no. 4; pp. 1502 - 1512
• Main Authors: Ruiz Corral, J.A, Duran Puga, N, Sanchez Gonzalez, J. de J, Parra, J.R, González Eguiarte, D.R, Holland, J.B, Medina García, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison Crop Science Society of America 01.07.2008; American Society of Agronomy
• Subjects: Adaptability; Agricultural production; agroecosystems; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; air temperature; altitude; Biological and medical sciences; Classification; Climate adaptation; Climatic conditions; climatic factors; Corn; cultivars; Environmental conditions; environmental factors; Environmental information; Environmental organizations; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; Geographic information systems; Geographical coordinates; geographical variation; Growing season; Information systems; landraces; photoperiod; plant adaptation; plant ecology; rain; Remote sensing; wild relatives; Zea mays; Zea mays subsp. parviglumis; Mexico; Central America; America; Climatic condition; Monocotyledones; Zea mays; Gramineae; Angiospermae; Race; Descriptor; Spermatophyta; Ecology; Cereal crop; Adaptation
• ISSN: 0011-183X; 1435-0653
• DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2007.09.0518

To better understand the range of adaptation of maize (Zea mays L.) landraces, climatic adaptation intervals of 42 Mexican maize races were determined. A database of 4161 maize accessions was used to characterize altitudinal and climatic conditions where the 42 maize races grow, yielding ecological descriptors for each race. Using the geographical coordinates of the collection sites of each accession, their climatic conditions were characterized using the geographic information system IDRISI and a national environmental information system. Analyses of variance and cluster analyses of the racial ecological descriptors were performed to determine possible environmental groupings of the races. We found a very high level of variation among and within Mexican maize races for climate adaptation and ecological descriptors. The general overall climatic ranges for maize were 0 to 2900 m of altitude, 11.3 to 26.6°C annual mean temperature, 12.0 to 29.1°C growing season mean temperature, 426 to 4245 mm annual rainfall, 400 to 3555 mm growing season rainfall, and 12.46 to 12.98 h mean growing season daylength. These climatic ranges of maize surpass those from its closest relative, teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis Iltis and Doebley), indicating that maize has evolved adaptability beyond the environmental range in which ancestral maize was first domesticated.