Proceedings of the Fifth Asian Regional Maize Workshop - Search ...

8 Price infonl8.tioo:
Table 3.
Shows variation in prices of various corn types and fertilizer.
Year
1987 1988 1989 1990
Com
- Field corn 35 45 60 62
(Kips/kg-grain)
- sweet corn (Kips/ear) 15 15 20 30
- Baby corn (Kips/kg) 80 80 95 100
• Fertilizer prices
- 15-15-15 (Kips/bag) 3500 6200 6500 9500
- 16-20-00 (Kips/bag) 3600 6500 7000 9200
- Urea 4~ (Kips/bag) 3000 6000 6500 8800
1991 1992
65 70
50 50
100 100
11000 12000
9800 10000
9200 9500
In 1993; lUS$ = 700 Kips.
9. Research progr_ (5 years):
Maize research will focus on open pollinated varieties for food, for dual purpose (food and
feed), and for animal feed. Hybrid varieties are not suitable for Lao farmers.
Emphasis will be put on more on-farm research in the northern provinces (major maize
producing areas).
Activities will include the following:
A. Varietal improvement (Selection and plant breeding):
The aim is to identify a range of different suitable open pollinated varieties (or populations)
to be grown by farmers in different environments. Selection criteria will depend on the
maize utilization. For food maize, criteria will be grain quality, early to medium maturity, and
yield. For dual purpose maize (food and feed), criteria will be grain quality, yield, and
healthy grain. For feed maize, criteria will be yield, healthy grain, and plant architecture.
Resistance to downy mildew disease is an important criteria for all types to be grown in the
lowlands. Activities will include:
a. Collection, characterization and evaluation of local varieties grown by farmers for
all types of maize.
b. Establishment of a simple gene bank for the germplasm collection in collaboration
with an international institution.
c. Introduction and evaluation of improved material from abroad.
d. Mass selection in HDK 4 and other promising material.
e. 51-52 recurrent selection scheme if enough specialized manpower is available.
1. SCreening of varieties for pest and disease resistance with emphasis on downy mildew
(collaboration with Plant Protection).
g. On-station and on-farm replicated yield trials for the different types of maize.
h. Seed selection and basic seed production inclUding breeder seed and foundation seeds.
i. Preparation of an annual catalog ~ith the different types and varieties of maize
evaluated by the researchers for use by the extension personnel. Food maize, feed
maize, food and feed maize, duration, and all required data for cataloging.
B. Cultural practices (Agronomy and cropping systems):
The objective is to develop appropriate cropping techniques for the farmers according to
different types and varieties, different cropping systems, and different agroecological conditions
of the important regions. Main activities will include:
a. Diagnostic surveys in the major maize producing regions with prioritization of
constraints for maize cultivation in the different cropping systems.
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