GENETIC IMPROVEMENT IN POPCORN

Popcorn consumption in Brazil has grown significantly over the years, and genetic improvement is essential to obtain sustainable gains in multiple traits to supply this increasing demand. Thus, the objective of this review was to contribute information concerning the process of popcorn breeding in tropical regions, germplasm availability, popcorn breeding plans, the main characteristics related to popcorn quality and yield, and advances and perspectives in the process of popcorn improvement. The main focus of breeding programs is to obtain hybrids from inbred lines with high popping expansion (40 mL g-1) and yield (4.000 kg ha-1). The genetic improvement performed in Brazil has presented significant advances, mainly due to work developed in public institutions with the development of new hybrids that present more significant popping expansion and yield. However, the number of cultivars is still low, and most of them are controlled by private companies. Therefore, intrapopulation methods are recommended to develop open-pollinated varieties with high popping expansion, and this trait can be used as an early predictor of promising inbred lines to obtain superior hybrids for grain quality. Furthermore, popping expansion can be quickly recovered in backcrosses involving the cross of common maize with an inbred popcorn line.