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ARS Home » Plains Area » El Reno, Oklahoma » Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center » Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373731
Research Project: Integrated Agroecosystem Research to Enhance Forage and Food Production in the Southern Great Plains

Location: Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit

Title: Varietal evaluation of promising maize genotypes in mid hills of Nepal

Author
item NEUPANE, BIPIN - Non ARS Employee
item POUDEL, ANKUR - Non ARS Employee
item Wagle, Pradeep

Submitted to: Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/10/2020
Publication Date: 10/30/2020
Citation: Neupane, B., Poudel, A., Wagle, P. 2020. Varietal evaluation of promising maize genotypes in mid hills of Nepal. Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 3(2):127-139. https://doi.org/10.3126/janr.v3i2.32491.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/janr.v3i2.32491

Interpretive Summary: The study evaluated 14 locally released and multinational hybrid maize genotypes under field conditions in mid-hills of Nepal. The major objective was to identify superior genotypes based on genotypic and phenotypic variability, heritability, genetic advance, and correlation between grain yield and yield attributing traits for the region. The maize genotypes were evaluated for 17 quantitative and nine qualitative traits. We observed significant differences for the traits among the tested genotypes. Large variation was observed for grain yield among genotypes, with grain yield ranged from approximately 5 t/ha to 12 t/ha. Stem circumference and number of ears were significantly correlated (positive) with grain yields. Anthesis-silking interval showed a significant negative correlation with grain yield. Based on higher genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variations and heritability, our results indicate that some traits, namely test weight, ear aspect, anthesis-silking interval, number of ears, and tassel branching can be considered to develop high yielding maize varieties.

Technical Abstract: The varietal evaluation of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes with desired performance is one of the main objectives of maize breeding program. Fourteen hybrid maize genotypes were evaluated for 17 quantitative and nine qualitative traits in randomized complete block design with three replications at Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal during May to September, 2019. The major objective was to identify superior genotypes based on genotypic and phenotypic variability, heritability, genetic advance, and correlation between grain yield and yield associated traits. We observed significant differences for 17 quantitative traits among the tested genotypes. Large variation was observed for grain yield among genotypes. Genotype RL-24-0/ RL-111 had the lowest yield (5.53 t/ha) and Pioneer had the highest yield (11.98 t/ha) whereas check variety Rampur Hybrid-10 yielded 8.23 t/ha. Grain yield showed highly significant positive correlations with stem circumference (r=0.67) and number of ears (r=0.6), but a significant negative correlation with anthesis-silking interval (r=-0.55). The dendrogram grouped 14 genotypes into four clusters. Cluster I incorporated the highest number (five) of genotypes, which also had the highest cluster mean (average yield of ~10 t/ha) for grain yield. Traits namely test weight, ear aspect, anthesis-silking interval, number of ears, and tassel branching had high genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variations, and heritability along with high genetic advances, indicating that those traits can be considered for maize breeding program.