The real subject of this picture is not the yellow ear front and centre, but the orange ones in the background. They represent a high-carotene variety that could add to the arsenal of foods targeted at vitamin A deficiency. This orange maize was bred by a backyard breeder who is looking to share the variety with people who could help to take it further. The variety is “particularly suited to 30-36 degrees of latitude,” so any researchers in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere who might be interested in continued development, leave a comment here. The breeder is being supported by Seed Matters, and they’ll be keeping an eye on this post to follow up directly.
very interested…
Hi Jay – I think you have my email from a fellowship inquiry? You’re at Univ of Hawaii, right? If not send me a message via Seed Matters facebook page and I will make email intros with the corn breeder.
Very interested to try for our partners and development workers in the developing world.