CROP SCIENCE, VOL. 56, MAY– JUNE 2016 WWW.CROPS.ORG 1173 RESEARCH W orldwide production of white maize is estimated at around 65 to 70 Tg, representing 12 to 13% of total maize production (Dowswell et al., 1996). Over 90% of the white maize is produced in developing countries, where it accounts for around one-quarter of total maize production and almost two-ffths of the area dedicated to maize cultivation (Dowswell et al., 1996; Ranum et al., 2014). Contrarily, white maize has less impor- tance in developed countries with white maize accounting for <1% of the total maize production in the United States. Evalu- ations involving white maize varieties are scarce, and breeders have made little eforts for improving it. White maize is preferred for making traditional foods such as tortillas in Latin American or bread in Europe and Africa. Therefore, improved varieties of white maize are required for temperate areas where maize is used for traditional manufacturing. Open-pollinated populations of maize have been cultivated in traditional farming systems and have been selected for quality and adaptation to a wide range of environments and consumer pref- erences, giving rise to important genotype ´ environment inter- actions with specifc adaptation to environmental conditions and farmers’ preferences (LeFord and Russell, 1985; Malvar et al., 2008; Revilla et al., 2008). White maize is traditionally used for making bread and other bakery products such as pies in the north of Spain and Portugal but also in many other countries and is the base food in many Latin American and African countries (Badu-Apraku et al., 2013). Quality requirements of kernels are important for human Evaluation of White Maize Populations for Quality and Agronomic Performance Luis Fernando Samayoa, Rosa Ana Malvar, Jesús Moreno-González, Amando Ordás, and Pedro Revilla* ABSTRACT Maize ( Zea mays L.) used for food is mostly white, but studies involving white maize variet- ies are scarce. Furthermore, limited efforts have been devoted to improve white maize. We evalu- ated a wide collection of open-pollinated white maize populations to identify the most suitable populations as base germplasm for a breeding program for bakery aptitude. There was large variability for growth cycle and other agronomic traits but not for grain moisture. Differences for quality traits were not signifcant except for grain hardness. Genotype ´ environment inter- action was signifcant for days to anthesis and silking, and for other agronomic performance- related traits, but not for grain moisture, interac- tions were due to magnitude rather than to rank changes. Flowering time and grain moisture were clearly associated to population origin, whereby populations from northern Spain were earlier than those from the south. Yield was mod- erate for these populations, and there were four northwestern Spanish and one American popu- lation with the best agronomic performances, medium growth cycle, and intermediate grain hardness. The maize population Rebordanes had the most promising value for yield and had high grain hardness. These white maize popu- lations are potential valuable sources of base germplasm for breeding for traditional products. L.F. Samayoa, R.A. Malvar, A. Ordás, and P. Revilla, Misión Biológica de Galicia (CSIC), Apartado 28, 36080 Pontevedra, Spain; and J. Moreno-González, Centro de Investigaciones Agrarias de Mabegondo, (CIAM), Xunta de Galicia, Apartado 10, 15080 A Coruña, Spain. Received 15 Aug. 2015. Accepted 11 Dec. 2015. *Corresponding author (previlla@mbg.csic.es). Published in Crop Sci. 56:1173–1178 (2016). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2015.08.0497 © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. Published online February 26, 2016