The Landraces of Maize (Zea mays L.): Diversity and Utility

Landraces, the germplasm maintained by the farmers over the decades or centuries, were evolved and selected to thrive under particular environmental conditions and to meet local food preferences. Although maize originated in Mexico, landraces of this crop of worldwide importance are widely spread across the continents. India too forms arichhub of diversity formaize land races, particularly in the North-Eastern Himalayan (NEH) region.These land races provide immense range of useful genes that could be efficiently utilized for allele mining and population improvement. Maize landraces of Americas and Europe have been subjected to intensive molecular analyses in the last 10–15 years, leading to significant insights regarding diversity, population genetic structure and global migration routes. Comprehensive genetic and agronomic knowledge of the landraces is critical for effective management as well as utilization in breeding programmes. We review here the tremendous diversity of maize landraces worldwide and in India, and the prospects for tapping this vast genetic potential.