Abstract

BURGOS-DIAZ, Johnny A. et al. Susceptibility of native maize populations and preference of the weevil in Yucatán, México. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2020, vol.11, n.7, pp.1469-1479.  Epub Nov 29, 2021. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v11i7.2081.

One of the problems with the storage of seeds in corn is the presence of pests that reduce quality. To deal with this problem, materials with little or no susceptibility are used. The native varieties of maize in Yucatan are reservoirs of genes for resistance to storage pests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the attack of weevils (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky) in eight populations of corn and two control varieties. To determine the susceptibility, 100 seeds of each population were exposed to the presence of 100 weevils for 15 days, with 10 repetitions, the variables were number of live weevils, weight loss and percentage of damaged grain. Preference was determined by placing 100 seeds from each population and 1 000 weevils in the same container, they were stored for 30 days and repeated five times. The percentage of grain damaged by color was recorded. The highest susceptibility was presented in the populations Chichen Itza, Sac beh and Nal t’eel white, the first two registered the highest percentage of damaged grain, with 15% higher than the other populations evaluated, while the Nal t’eel White population registered 6.1% above the lower loss. The insect’s preference was for white grains. The pericarp (0.495) and scutellum (0.418) showed a relationship with the presence of damaged grains. There are differences in the susceptibility and preference of the evaluated populations, which indicates variability that can be used in genetic improvement programs.

Keywords : endosperm; color preference; Nal t’eel; perforated seed; purple corn; red corn.