Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids

Maize is a strategic food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, where vitamin A deficiency affects millions. Significant investments have thus focused on developing maize varieties that provide 50% of the daily vitamin A requirement for vulnerable populations. Despite the release of many provitamin A enriched...

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Autores principales: Menkir, A., Dieng, I., Meseka, S.K., Maziya-Dixon, B., Bossey, B., Muhyideen, O., Ewool, M., Coulibaly, M., Mengesha Abera, W.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Frontiers Media 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176283
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author Menkir, A.
Dieng, I.
Meseka, S.K.
Maziya-Dixon, B.
Bossey, B.
Muhyideen, O.
Ewool, M.
Coulibaly, M.
Mengesha Abera, W.
author_browse Bossey, B.
Coulibaly, M.
Dieng, I.
Ewool, M.
Maziya-Dixon, B.
Mengesha Abera, W.
Menkir, A.
Meseka, S.K.
Muhyideen, O.
author_facet Menkir, A.
Dieng, I.
Meseka, S.K.
Maziya-Dixon, B.
Bossey, B.
Muhyideen, O.
Ewool, M.
Coulibaly, M.
Mengesha Abera, W.
author_sort Menkir, A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Maize is a strategic food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, where vitamin A deficiency affects millions. Significant investments have thus focused on developing maize varieties that provide 50% of the daily vitamin A requirement for vulnerable populations. Despite the release of many provitamin A enriched maize varieties across Africa, estimates of genetic gains in provitamin A content and grain yield from long-term breeding programs are undocumented. This study analyzed data from 124 provitamin A-enriched hybrids and eight commercial checks recorded over 12 years across diverse environments to estimate genetic gains. Results showed a significant annual increase of 2.05% in provitamin A and 3.54% in β-carotene, alongside a 1.09% reduction in β-cryptoxanthin. Additionally, our breeding program achieved an annual genetic gain of 1.88% in grain yield while simultaneously decreasing silking days by 0.09% and plant aspect score by 0.35%, alongside a 0.31% increase in plant height. We identified 23 hybrids that accumulated 54% to 95% more provitamin A and produced 10% to 30% higher grain yields compared to the best commercial hybrid (COMYH129). These findings demonstrate concurrent genetic gains in both provitamin A content and grain yield, highlighting the potential for further productivity increase and accumulation of beneficial carotenoid to improve human health.
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spelling CGSpace1762832025-12-08T10:29:22Z Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids Menkir, A. Dieng, I. Meseka, S.K. Maziya-Dixon, B. Bossey, B. Muhyideen, O. Ewool, M. Coulibaly, M. Mengesha Abera, W. genetic gain carotenoids provitamins maize zea mays breeding hybrids Maize is a strategic food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, where vitamin A deficiency affects millions. Significant investments have thus focused on developing maize varieties that provide 50% of the daily vitamin A requirement for vulnerable populations. Despite the release of many provitamin A enriched maize varieties across Africa, estimates of genetic gains in provitamin A content and grain yield from long-term breeding programs are undocumented. This study analyzed data from 124 provitamin A-enriched hybrids and eight commercial checks recorded over 12 years across diverse environments to estimate genetic gains. Results showed a significant annual increase of 2.05% in provitamin A and 3.54% in β-carotene, alongside a 1.09% reduction in β-cryptoxanthin. Additionally, our breeding program achieved an annual genetic gain of 1.88% in grain yield while simultaneously decreasing silking days by 0.09% and plant aspect score by 0.35%, alongside a 0.31% increase in plant height. We identified 23 hybrids that accumulated 54% to 95% more provitamin A and produced 10% to 30% higher grain yields compared to the best commercial hybrid (COMYH129). These findings demonstrate concurrent genetic gains in both provitamin A content and grain yield, highlighting the potential for further productivity increase and accumulation of beneficial carotenoid to improve human health. 2025 2025-09-01T10:39:35Z 2025-09-01T10:39:35Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176283 en Open Access application/pdf Frontiers Media Menkir, A., Dieng, I., Meseka, S.K., Maziya-Dixon, B., Bossey, B., Muhyideen, O., ... & Mengesha Abera, W. (2025). Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16: 1611495, 1-13.
spellingShingle genetic gain
carotenoids
provitamins
maize
zea mays
breeding
hybrids
Menkir, A.
Dieng, I.
Meseka, S.K.
Maziya-Dixon, B.
Bossey, B.
Muhyideen, O.
Ewool, M.
Coulibaly, M.
Mengesha Abera, W.
Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title_full Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title_fullStr Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title_full_unstemmed Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title_short Concurrent enhancement of provitamin A and yield in tropical maize hybrids
title_sort concurrent enhancement of provitamin a and yield in tropical maize hybrids
topic genetic gain
carotenoids
provitamins
maize
zea mays
breeding
hybrids
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176283
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AT maziyadixonb concurrentenhancementofprovitaminaandyieldintropicalmaizehybrids
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AT muhyideeno concurrentenhancementofprovitaminaandyieldintropicalmaizehybrids
AT ewoolm concurrentenhancementofprovitaminaandyieldintropicalmaizehybrids
AT coulibalym concurrentenhancementofprovitaminaandyieldintropicalmaizehybrids
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