INVESTIGATING YIELD AND AGRONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MAIZE HYBRIDS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Centre for Agricultural Research, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology of Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, to evaluate the performance of maize genotypes for yield and other agronomic attributes. The study took place between July and November 2016 and included twenty-eight genotypes, consisting of seven parents and twenty-one crosses derived from a partial diallel cross. The genotypes were grown in three row plots and were tested for eighteen characters to assess their performance. Results showed highly significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) among the genotypes for various agronomic traits including days to 50% emergence, days to 50% tasseling, leaf area, days to maturity, plant at harvest, days to 50% silking, plant height, ear height, cob length, number of rows/cob, grain weight/cob, field weight, number of grains/cob, and grain yield. However, no significant difference was observed in the parents. The significant differences observed indicate substantial variability among the genotypes. The crosses flowered and matured earlier than the parents, with the earliest crosses involving DTMA-4, POOL 66/ACR-91, and BENDE-WHITE. These crosses may be exploited for developing early maturing maize varieties. The highest grain yield was recorded by OKA BENDE-WHITE (2.86 t/ha) and the cross between DTMA-4 and OKA BENDE-WHITE (3.63 t/ha), suggesting that the high yield may be attributed to OKA BENDE-WHITE as the higher yielding parent. The lowest grain yield was observed in the cross between DTMA-4 and DMR-ESRY (2.36 t/ha). Based on these findings, OKA BENDE-WHITE is recommended for use in hybridization programs to generate new, improved maize varieties.