EVALUATION OF CARIBBEAN MAIZE ACCESSIONS IN PUERTO-RICO

Populations of the maize germplasm collection of Caribbean origin were obtained from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (C IMMYT) germplasm bank and evaluated in two stages for grain yield and agronomic traits in Puerto Rico. The objectives were to evaluate the p opulations for traits of agronomic importance, determine which populat ions would be most useful in Caribbean breeding programmes, and compar e the agronomic traits of maize collected from the various islands or countries of the Caribbean. This evaluation was part of the Latin Amer ican Maize Project (LAMP), a five-stage collaboration of 12 countries in the Western Hemisphere, to evaluate their native maize germplasm. T he 562 accessions included in the first stage represented seven races and mixtures of these races commonly found in the Caribbean. The best 20% based on grain yield at 15% moisture were reevaluated at two locat ions in Puerto Rico. Yields of the best 20% ranged from 3937 to 7773 k g ha-1, and 18 accessions had yield exceeding the check 'Diente de Cab allo', a local improved variety. Accessions with good ear quality and grain yield were identified for use in the Caribbean and other tropica l breeding programmes.