Emergence and Seedling Characteristics of Native American Maize From the Southwestern US

Native American maize landraces are traditionally planted deeply and grown for direct consumption. Therefore the emergence capabilities of eleven Native American maize landraces were evaluated at various planting depths and compared to one Corn Belt dent check population. Emergence from various depths between 5 and 45 cm was evaluated in a growth chamber study. Seedling dry matter partitioning and morphological characteristics were also examined. A field study was then performed to check those landraces that successfully emerged (≥75% success) from the 25 cm depth in the growth chamber. Results indicate that some of the Native American landraces evaluated have a greater capacity to emerge from depth than the check population. Emergence capacity was not related to initial seed weight. Mesocotyl elongation largely accounted for emergence success from the greater planting depths. The landraces partitioned relatively more dry matter to roots than shoots compared to the check population. These results suggest that several of these Native American landraces may be useful for the development of maize varieties tolerant to deep planting and resistant to drought stress.