Abstract:
In the maize producing regions of SubSaharan Africa (SSA), compounding effects of genotype-by-environment interaction have necessitated
breeding maize for outstanding performance and
stability across varying environments. This study
was conducted to assess the performance and stability
of late-maturing cultivars and their respective hybrids
evaluated under contrasting environments in the
tropical rainforest region. We evaluated 108 genotypes in field trials under three different growing
conditions in 2018 involving 14 open-pollinated
parents and their hybrids derived from a diallel mating
design. The genotypes were evaluated under field
conditions using 9 9 12 alpha lattice design with three replications in six environments. The genotypes
were divided into three groups, containing either the
parents, hybrids or checks, for estimating the stability
variance and grain yield. The difference between the
lowest and highest yielding environment was
3.9 t ha-1
, while the repeatability of the grain yield
trials ranged from 39 to 80%. The average grain yield
of the hybrids (2.33 t ha-1
) was significantly higher
than that of the parents (2.19 t ha-1
) and the check
varieties (2.03 t ha-1
). The hybrids were more
stable than both the parents and the checks. They also
showed a higher stability against a common group of
the parents and checks. The results of this study
suggest that high yielding and stable population
hybrids can be utilized in breeding programmes
aiming to provide improved varieties for the large
number of rural maize farmers in the SSA zone, who
often lack access or the capacity to purchase commercial hybrids.
