Maize Starch for Industrial Applications - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 174

mapping [ 5 , 6 ]. The functional properties of waxy were not documented until 1922,
when it was found that waxy corn “contains but one kind of carbohydrate” and that
it is “soluble in hot water, the solution or viscous suspension giving the character-
istic red reaction with iodine” [ 7 ].
Tapioca starch (from cassava) was commonly used in foods and glues in the
United States, with approximately 230,000 tons of it being imported in 1937
[ 8 ]. Disruption of shipping lines from the Dutch East Indies during World War II
gave leverage to the US starch industry's desire to increase domestic starch
production and to promote waxy maize as a viable substitute.
The waxy breeding programs of Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, and Purdue Univer-
sity in Lafayette, Indiana, provided breeding resources for early waxy development.
Waxy corn was initially marketed as Tapicorn

and became established as demand
for canned and packaged foods increased in the 1950s and 1960s [ 9 ].
As the value of waxy corn became recognized, and the nature of amylopectin
and amylose starch types better understood, the search was begun for high-amylose
corn. The high-amylose corn type was discovered in 1948 when kernels with a
slight color or “tarnish” were observed to be segregating out of research populations
at the Bear Hybrid Corn seed company [ 10 , 11 ].
The new corn type was named “amylomaize” [ 11 ]. The Bear Hybrid Corn
Company, already in the business of developing and marketed waxy corn, worked
toward the development of commercial high-amylose corn. In 1948 National Starch
teamed with American Maize Products to support the Bear Hybrid Corn breeding
effort to produce hybrids with 55 % amylose starch [ 12 ]. This was done in
cooperation with the USDA regional laboratory in Peoria, Illinois. The 10-year
breeding program culminated with an experimental milling of amylose in 1958 and
the marketing of Amylon

®

® starch in 1959 [ 12 ].

Areas of Production

To reduce transport cost and processing margins, specialty maize has been grown
local to milling facilities whenever possible. Waxy and amylose grains are typically
grown under production contracts. Since the 1970s, there has been sufficient market
demand for growers to produce additionally waxy grain for the speculative market.
Annual production acres for waxy are estimated at 600-700 k acres, depending on
demand, with some years spiking to over 900 k production acres [ 13 ]. Waxy
production areas for the United States are shown in Fig. 9.3 .
The amylose acres grown in the United States is less well documented but is
estimated at 50 k acres annually. Nearly all production is grown under contract.
Because both waxy and amylose are recessive traits, a minimal separation distance
is required to prevent cross-pollination with dent.
Waxy production in Europe is mostly in southwest France, with approximately
30 k hectares grown annually and is significantly less than 1 % of the total French
corn production [ 14 , 15 ].