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Project Description
Maize weevil (Sitophilus
zeamais) causes extensive damage to stored maize (Zea mays),
particularly to grain stored on-farm without chemical protectants. Breeding of maize varieties with improved weevil resistance,
however, is not practiced to any significant extent, because of uncertain
probability of success and because seed producers generally consider
storability of grain to be outside of their responsibility.
The Rockefeller Foundation-funded Weevil Project, at CIMMYT, has
guided a total of four graduate students through a progression of studies
investigating the genetics of weevil resistance and exploring practical
methods for breeding maize with increased resistance to weevil.
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