Maize breeding for sustainable agricultural systems

In the present work, a recurrent selection program was initiated, between and within half-sib families in landrace maize, with the objective of obtaining, at the end of the process, a productive maize variety for agroecological cultivation systems adapted to the northeast region. A base population composed of 10 landrace varieties donated by farmers the region. In the base population, 60 half-sib families were selected. These were grown for selection among families, in Capistrano/CE, at Fazenda Repouso das Águas, in the agricultural year 2017/2018, in randomized blocks with three replications. It was used as a witness for a variety of BRS-Caatingueiro. The selection within the families was carried out in the agricultural year 2018/2019 at the Fazenda Experimental Piroás located in the municipality of Redenção/CE. 15 characteristics were evaluated in the selection among and 10 in the within families. In the selection between, the average production and productivity was 5.033,90 kg.ha-1 and 4.316,04 kg.ha-1, respectively. The superiority in relation to the witness was 8.67%. In the selection within, the average production and productivity was 4.448,413 kg.ha-1 and 3.998,41 kg.ha-1, respectively.