Characterization of traditional maize populations cultivated in Benin
Abstract
Traditional maize populations widely grown in southern Benin were evaluated in that zone for agronomic traits in order to improve them if necessary. A randomized complete block design with four repetitions was used. Significant differences among populations were observed for earliness, plant and ear heights, number of ears per plant and number of grains per ear. One population (PTMB4) was susceptible to rust. All populations except one (PTMB8) showed good husk cover. The populations gave relatively low grain yields (less than 4 t/ha) and were not significantly different for that trait. All the populations should be improved for grain yield. In addition, the populations PTMB4 and PTMB8 must be improved respectively for rust resistance and husk cover.Keywords: Agronomic traits, southern Benin, traditional varieties, Zea mays.
Submission of a paper for publication implies the transfer of the copyright from the author(s) to the publisher upon acceptance. International Formulae Group is therefore the copyright holder after publication of an article in International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and published articles should not be used for commercial purpose without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. They are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.