Caracterización molecular y germinación de semillas de maíces criollos azules con envejecimiento acelerado

The objectiveof this work was to determine the effect of accelerated agingon seeds of blue corn landraces. The study was conducted inthe laboratorie s of National Polytechnic Institute and NationalUniversity of Mexico. See ds of four blue corn landraces(Cuijingo, Cocotitlan, Puebla and Oaxaca), were subjectedto accelerated aging treatments: humid heat (HH, 41°C, 72h, and 100% r. h.), and dry heat (DH, 60°C, 48 h. The parametersmeasured were: radicle protrusion (RP) in at 0 to 72h of imbibition, and after seven days of incubation at 25°C,normal seedlings (NS ), abnormal seedlings (AS ), and deadseeds (DS) were counted. The molecular characterization byRA PD was also performed and the respective dendrogramswere constructed. In normal seedlings obtained from seedswithout accelerated ageing, the varie tie s Oaxaca and Pueblawere significantly superior. Seedling dry weight diminishedwith deterioration, being minimum under dry heat. The numberof abnormal seedlings increased under both deteriorationtreatments, in the order Oaxaca, Puebla, Cocotitlan andCuijingo. Differentiation of the band profiles among controland deteriorated seeds occurred in the sequence: Oaxaca(31,6%), Cocotitlan (25,8%), Puebla (19,6%) and Cuijingo(18,6%). These similarity values were inversely related toseed vigour, and irectly related to the presence of abnormalities in seedlings.