APORTES DE CRUZAS DE LÍNEAS TEMPLADAS Y TROPICALES DE MAÍZ (Zea mays L.) EN AMBIENTES DE SIEMBRA TARDÍA EN LA REGIÓN CENTRAL DE ARGENTINA

Abstract

Corn plays an important economic role throughout the world. It is one of the most widely used cereals as a basis for human and/or animal food and as a supply of raw materials for energy production and industry. Despite its tropical origin, maize is grown in very diverse environments. In fact, the planting area covers a wide range of latitudes, from 58o north latitude in Canada to 40o south latitude in Argentina and Chile (Fischer et al., 2014). In Argentina, the main constraint for maize production is water availability. Maize production has moved away from the traditional temperate production zone towards semi-arid environments and late planting dates (<700 mm per year) with a higher frequency of heat stress events (Maddonni, 2012). Farmers have implemented this practice to reduce the risk of water deficit during the critical flowering period (Otegui, 2021) despite the decrease in environmental conditions (radiation and temperature) for crop growth during the reproductive period. Commercially, the hybrids that lead the preferences of corn producers were characterized by being the product of crossing temperate lines. However, the advantages of tropical corn hybrids have been promoted because they can show greater adaptation to the environment when the optimal planting date is delayed (Valentinuz et al., 2009).