Maize Genetic Resources

Maize is one of the most economically important food crops worldwide. It is used for livestock feeds and human nutrition. Recent strategies have been adopted for improving maize crops. This book brings together recent advances, breeding strategies, and applications in the biological control, breeding, and genetic improvement of maize genetic resources. It also provides new insights and sheds light on new perspectives and future research work that have been carried out for further improvement of maize crops. This book is a useful resource for students, researchers, and scientists.

Guatemala has a rich cultural history and is a centre of origin and diversity for cultivated plants. This case study seeks to examine the role of human culture in the evolution of plant resources and the dynamic relationship between people and their natural environment. It focuses on the agricultural production of maize in Guatemala and looks at the role that women have played in its genetic conservation.

The most valuable ethnobotanical studies are carries out in regions rich in both cultural diversity and plant genetic resources. These two conditions are present in Guatemala, a country in the heart of Central America and a centre of origin and diversity for cultivated plants. It possesses a rich cultural environment as a legacy and in the living traditions of the Maya and other ethnic groups. Through their interactions with the environment, humans have selected certain plant species for breeding and domestication. These processes of varietal selection and crop evolution are driven by the preferences and needs of specific human communities. Understanding the role that women have played in agricultural production processes is essential for an appreciation of their influence on the evolution o maize and the conservation of maize genetic resources. Co-published with the International Plant Genetic resources Institute (IPGRI)