UTILIZATION OF GENETIC-RESOURCES FOR MAIZE AND SOYBEAN BREEDING IN BRAZIL

A survey was carried out among maize and soybean plant breeders from p ublic and private institutions to evaluate the use of germplasm collec tions and to identify the sources of variability that are being used i nbreeding programs. Germplasm banks are regularly used by soybean bree ders. However, they have been little used by maize breeders. The amoun t of information concerning available accessions in germplasm banks wa s considered 70% insufficient for maize and 30% for soybean. The main sources of genetic variability have been the breeder's own work collec tion and breeder-to-breeder germplasm exchange. It was observed that a gronomically adapted breeding materials show wide enough variability t o assure continuous progress through selection.