Performance evaluation of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) parental lines in West Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Hybridization plays a vital role in increasing the production and productivity of maize. Evaluating maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids in a specific environment is a key task for the hybrid maize program. Nine hybrid maize parental lines were evaluated to select a superior hybrid maize parental line. The parental lines were selected based on the agroecology of the area. The field experiment was conducted at Metema and Mirab-Armachiho during the 2021/2022 cropping season. The field experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference in grain yield, hundred kernel weights, number of rows per ear, cob diameter, cob length, plant height, days to silking, and days to tasseling. The highest hundred kernel weights were recorded by CLM395 (32.3 g) and CLM202 (30.2 g), while the smallest value was found in parental line BKL002 (19.0 g). Parental line 142-Le was late in tasseling and maturity compared to the tested materials. The studied hybrid maize parental lines had a varied performance in the tested area, thus grain yield performance ranged from 1643.6 to 2975.0 kg ha-1. The parental lines CML395 (2975.0 kg ha-1) and CML202 (2895.9 kg ha-1) obtained the highest grain yield, and the selected lines should be evaluated in advanced yield trials in different environments to assess their yield potential and stability in further breeding activities for the development of high-yielding parental lines. The stronger genetic advance in the studied characters and the higher heritability suggests that these plant features might be regulated by additive genetic influences, and selection could have resulted in rapid genetic improvement of the maize parental lines. The genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) was lower for all traits than the phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV).