Maize is one of the most important crops around the world. Global players in seed production offer more than hundreds of different varieties. All of them are hybrids whereas open pollinated varieties (OPVs) are rare or extinct. In Germany (and many other European countries) no new OPVs are registered; efforts to do so failed in the past. The main advantage of OPVs is their phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity and thus their ability to adapt to different environmental conditions. This could be of utmost
interest facing the complex challenge of climate change. Populations based on new breeding material were developed and tested in comparison to actual hybrids and
landraces. While the new populations achieved about 80 % of the hybrid yield, landraces failed with only 65 %. The efficiency of selection methods needs to be improved
