The Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA), with support from the Regional Agricultural Research Consortium Program (CRIA) and the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Cooperation (IICA), conducted a research process that led to the development of a new white corn variety in Guatemala — the first in 30 years. This new seed is specifically designed for the western highlands.
Named ICTA-Altiplano, the variety offers high yields, according to Gabriela Tobar, General Manager of ICTA. She notes that the last white grain corn variety developed by the institute was ICTA White Compound, introduced in the 1990s, according to a press release.
“The need arose to look for varieties with better characteristics and with better performance than the current variety,” explained Tobar, who added that previously different samples of native corn were evaluated, a process that was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), who made the links with farmers who participated in the evaluation and validation process.
After careful consideration, the decision was made to work with the variety from the village of San José Chirijuyú in Tecpán, Chimaltenango. This variety was evaluated alongside other native corns but stood out due to its exceptional performance.
“From there the ICTA corn program introduced it in its improvement program and after 10 years, it was possible to make this new variety available to farmers, which can be grown from 2,000 to 2 thousand 800 meters above sea level,” Tobar said.
The breeding method employed, as the manager outlined, involved three cycles of phenotypic recurrent selection of half-siblings, as well as two cycles of stratified mass selection — repeating a process aimed at enhancing plant performance.
“This means that we isolate the variety, and cross it with itself, selecting the plants with the best characteristics and best performance,” Tobar said.
