With the advent of modern agriculture, landrace seeds were replaced by hybrid cultivars, which feature high grain yield potential - though more dependent on intensive technologies. The objective of this work was to evaluate maize landraces, in order to identify more productive materials that can lead a sustainable process in which the grains themselves in which can be used as seed. Fifteen maize varieties were evaluated, with commercial cultivars BR 106 and IPR 114 as controls. The experiments were carried out in Arapongas and Imbaú (Paraná State), during the 2004/2005 agricultural year, without external input. The design used was randomized blocks with four replications. The plots were two 4-m rows, spaced 90 cm apart, with 20 plants/row. The landrace varieties P-13, P-15 and P-05 showed high productive potential in low technological level systems, at each location, as well as in the average of both locales. The varieties P-19 and P-10 have their recommendation restricted to Imbaú, while P-16 and P-17 will be indicated for Arapongas.
Zea mays L.; landraces; breeding