Maize (Zea mays L.) production in Trinidad & Tobago : development, agronomic, and breeding perspectives

• Main Author: Spaner, Dean Michael.
• Other Authors: Mather, D. E. (advisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 1996
• Subjects: Corn > Trinidad and Tobago.; Corn > Breeding > Trinidad and Tobago.
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40447

Increasing maize production in Trinidad & Tobago could reduce imports and lessen dependency on foreign markets for food and feed. A review of large maize development projects and a survey of maize farmers on small landholdings indicated that mechanized production of maize grain is technically and economically impractical. Maize is normally grown and harvested in the green immature stage by small-scale farmers as a fast, easy, and relatively profitable sideline vegetable crop. An imported hybrid and an improved local landrace (ICTA Farm Corn) yielded more green maize than a Mexican-bred locally-distributed variety, following early (June) rainy season plantings. Hybrid and local unimproved open-pollinated maize were grown with two levels of weed control and with two levels of fertilizer application following late (November) rainy season plantings. For commercial carnival season production of green maize on productive soils in Trinidad, the purchase of imported hybrid seed is economically justifiable, but high inputs into weed control and fertility management may not be needed. A consumer preference study of the main varietal types eaten as boiled ears indicated panelists could not discern differences when seasoned with Creole seasoning, but preferred yellow, large-eared varieties when not seasoned. In a series of 11 variety trials on Inceptisolic and Ultasolic soils in Trinidad, imported hybrids and ICTA Farm Corn consistently yielded greater than 9 other varieties. Grid mass selection for ear weight and ear size was carried out in ICTA Farm Corn. Green maize ear length (1.9% cycle$ sp{-1}$), width (1.5% cycle$ sp {-1}$), and ear weight (2.4% cycle$ sp{-1}$) increased linearly with selection, leading to increases in green marketable (4.4% cycle$ sp{-1}$), green total (3.0% cycle$ sp{-1}$), and grain yield ha$ sp{-1}$ (4.3% cycle$ sp{-1}$). Phenotypic correlations indicated high levels of association between grain yield and both green marketable ear weight (r = 0.91