Breeding for yield stability in a commercial program in the USA
1997
Reeder, L.R.
Moisture stress is probably the greatest yield limiting factor in maize production throughout the world. Although the US Corn Belt contains a lot of highly productive land, significant portions of the region encounter some moisture stress during most growing seasons. Maize producers in the USA demand hybrids with high yield potential, wide adaptation, and stable performance. Improving tolerance to moisture stress while maintaining high yield potential helps satisfy this demand. Several techniques are commonly utilized in commercial maize breeding programs in the USA to select for improved drought tolerance. Most of these involve the evaluation of segregating material for flowering synchrony under artificially high plant densities. In arid regions, it is possible to grow nurseries under moisture limited or non-irrigated conditions to evaluate leaf firing, premature death and ear development. Characterization of yield stability generally involves evaluation of hybrids at a number of locations combined with some type of regression analysis. These methods, combined with recycling of improved germplasm, have served to improve stress tolerance in much of the germplasm currently in use in commercial maize breeding programs in the USA.
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