Improving Waxy Maize, the Heritage of South East Asia

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 117 - 123
• Main Authors: STAMP, PETER, JAMPATONG, SANSERN, LE-HUY, HAM, STREB, SEBASTIAN, JOMPUK, CHOOSAK
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Research Center 2016
• Subjects: ethnic minorities; quality protein maize; starch quality; waxy maize landraces
• ISSN: 2185-159X; 2433-3700
• DOI: 10.32115/ijerd.7.1_117

Amylose-free (waxy), i.e. amylopectin maize has been a vegetable and staple food in East and South-East Asia for centuries, resulting in hundreds of landraces (LR). Eating preferences could have resulted in the additional selection for different starch properties of waxy maize, of interest in the food and feed industry. But within twenty LR from Vietnam and Thailand, disappointingly no evidence was found for special starch properties. For minority ethnic groups waxy LR are still the main staple food, well liked for their soft grains with favorable cooking properties. But maize protein is severely lacking in quality that makes waxy maize an unsuitable staple food especially for small children. High quality protein maize (QPM) developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has 90% of the nutritive value of milk protein. We combined the recessive waxy and QPM alleles into modern high yielding lines resulting in double quality grains. In a second step this double quality was introgressed into two landraces of the Hmong minority by two backcrosses. Seeds are available now of the two improved waxy landraces, which possess high yield potential, high protein quality and good eating quality. Consumption of double-quality waxy maize as staple food will improve the diets of children, a good reason to produce it.