Maize seed selection by East African smallholder farmers and resistance to Maize streak virus

Interviews identified that most small‐scale maize farmers in central Uganda and in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania plant home‐saved seed of landraces or seed derived from various open‐pollinated and hybrid varieties. Some farmers also bought a portion of their seed, either certified seed, locally traded seed or even maize sold for consumption. Selection for home‐saved seed was generally among harvested cobs. Big cobs with many, regularly arranged, large, white, flint kernels were preferred. A maize cob may bear several hundred seeds, so a farmer needs to save