Type: Chapter
Iowa State University
ARS-USDA
CIMMYT
1 Introduction 2 Global maize cultivation and yield trends 3 Domestication and global spread of maize 4 Genetic diversity in Zea: maize and its wild relatives 5 The importance of genetic diversity in improving maize productivity 6 Case studies of the use of maize genetic diversity in breeding 7 In situ diversity and conservation of maize genetic diversity 8 Ex situ conservation of maize diversity in genebanks 9 Critical issues facing maize genebank curators today and in the immediate future 10 Conclusions 11 References