Performance of doubled haploid maize ( Zea mays L. ) testcross hybrids under optimal and drought-stressed environments

03 Jun 20264 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

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by Goshime Muluneh Mekasha, Zerihun Demrew Yigezu, Adefris Teklewold, Manje Gowda, Juan Burgueño, Yoseph Beyene Maize ( Zea mays L.) productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly constrained by recurrent drought linked to climate change. Improving yield stability under contrasting moisture conditions remains challenging, especially when breeding materials are derived from parental lines within the same heterotic group (e.g., Group A × Group A), where genetic divergence is limited.
We hypothesized that doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from biparental populations still harbor sufficient within-population genetic variation to generate exploitable phenotypic diversity and adaptive differentiation. Furthermore, crossing each DH line with a single-cross tester from the opposite heterotic group provides an effective framework to capture this variation through hybrid performance.
In the present work therefore, 855 DH testcross hybrids and six commercial checks were evaluated under optimal and managed drought conditions using an alpha-lattice design. Drought stress was imposed two weeks before flowering until harvest.
The mean grain yield under optimal conditions were between 3.66 to 10.36 t ha -1 , while 0.16 to 6.13 t ha -1 under drought condition.