Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress

Drought and high temperature are two major factors limiting maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. An increase in temperature above 30 °C reduces yield by 1% under optimal rain-fed condition and by 1.7% under drought stress (DS) and up to 40% under combined drought and heat stress (DSHTS). Approa...

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Main Authors: Meseka, S., Menkir, A., Bossey, B., Mengesha Abera, W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98428
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author Meseka, S.
Menkir, A.
Bossey, B.
Mengesha Abera, W.
author_browse Bossey, B.
Mengesha Abera, W.
Menkir, A.
Meseka, S.
author_facet Meseka, S.
Menkir, A.
Bossey, B.
Mengesha Abera, W.
author_sort Meseka, S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Drought and high temperature are two major factors limiting maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. An increase in temperature above 30 °C reduces yield by 1% under optimal rain-fed condition and by 1.7% under drought stress (DS) and up to 40% under combined drought and heat stress (DSHTS). Approaches that improve performance under the two stresses are essential to sustain productivity. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the extent of variation in tolerance to DSHTS from among the existing best drought tolerant (DT) hybrids; (ii) examine the response patterns of the hybrids to DSHTS; (iii) identify traits that contributed to better performance under DSHTS; and (iv) select the best hybrids with tolerance to DSHTS stress. We evaluated 40 DT hybrids under DSHTS, DS, and well-watered (WW) conditions for three years. Highly significant (p < 0.001) differences were found among hybrids for grain yield and other traits. Moderately to low repeatability values were detected for grain yield under DS (0.63) and under DSHTS (0.48). Grain yield under DS was not correlated with grain yield under DSHTS (r = 0.29; p = 0.06), but it was correlated with grain yield under WW (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). Grain yield was strongly correlated with ears per plant, ear and pant aspects, days to anthesis and silking under both DS and DSHTS. Tassel blast accounted for 28% of the yield reduction under DSHTS. The top five DT hybrids produced 9 to 26% more grain yields than the best commercial hybrid. Three hybrids produced high grain yields under DTHTS and DS as well as under WW. These hybrids will be tested further in collaboration with partners for possible release.
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spelling CGSpace984282025-11-11T10:00:10Z Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress Meseka, S. Menkir, A. Bossey, B. Mengesha Abera, W. drought heat stress drought tolerance yields nigeria west africa Drought and high temperature are two major factors limiting maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. An increase in temperature above 30 °C reduces yield by 1% under optimal rain-fed condition and by 1.7% under drought stress (DS) and up to 40% under combined drought and heat stress (DSHTS). Approaches that improve performance under the two stresses are essential to sustain productivity. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the extent of variation in tolerance to DSHTS from among the existing best drought tolerant (DT) hybrids; (ii) examine the response patterns of the hybrids to DSHTS; (iii) identify traits that contributed to better performance under DSHTS; and (iv) select the best hybrids with tolerance to DSHTS stress. We evaluated 40 DT hybrids under DSHTS, DS, and well-watered (WW) conditions for three years. Highly significant (p < 0.001) differences were found among hybrids for grain yield and other traits. Moderately to low repeatability values were detected for grain yield under DS (0.63) and under DSHTS (0.48). Grain yield under DS was not correlated with grain yield under DSHTS (r = 0.29; p = 0.06), but it was correlated with grain yield under WW (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). Grain yield was strongly correlated with ears per plant, ear and pant aspects, days to anthesis and silking under both DS and DSHTS. Tassel blast accounted for 28% of the yield reduction under DSHTS. The top five DT hybrids produced 9 to 26% more grain yields than the best commercial hybrid. Three hybrids produced high grain yields under DTHTS and DS as well as under WW. These hybrids will be tested further in collaboration with partners for possible release. 2018 2018-12-04T11:41:09Z 2018-12-04T11:41:09Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98428 en Open Access application/pdf MDPI Meseka, S., Menkir, A., Bossey, B. & Mengesha, W. (2018). Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress. Agronomy, 8(12), 274.
spellingShingle drought
heat stress
drought tolerance
yields
nigeria
west africa
Meseka, S.
Menkir, A.
Bossey, B.
Mengesha Abera, W.
Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title_full Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title_fullStr Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title_full_unstemmed Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title_short Performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
title_sort performance assessment of drought tolerant maize hybrids under combined drought and heat stress
topic drought
heat stress
drought tolerance
yields
nigeria
west africa
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98428
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AT menkira performanceassessmentofdroughttolerantmaizehybridsundercombineddroughtandheatstress
AT bosseyb performanceassessmentofdroughttolerantmaizehybridsundercombineddroughtandheatstress
AT mengeshaaberaw performanceassessmentofdroughttolerantmaizehybridsundercombineddroughtandheatstress