Author(s):

KA Archana, PH Kuchanur, PH Zaidi, SS Mandal, B Arunkumar, Ayyanagouda Patil, MT Vinayan and K Seetharam

Abstract: Maize cultivars tolerant to heat stress could play a pivotal role in adapting to the intermittent high temperature at critical growth stages and cope-up with climate-change induced high temperature spells. Field experiments were conducted to analyze combining ability and heterotic effects in maize under heat stress and optimal conditions during summer and early spring, 2016. Analysis of variance for combining ability revealed that all the traits except cob height (at Hyderabad) under heat stress and days to 50 per cent silking (at Sabour, Bhagalpur) under optimal conditions, were predominantly governed by non-additive gene action. The study revealed that inbred lines VL1011 and VL1032 were good general combiners for days to 50 per cent anthesis and days to 50 per cent silking, respectively. VL107 was the good general combiner among females for the traits viz., plant height and cob height while, ZL11953 was a good general combiner among females for grain yield (t ha^-1). VL128 was a good general combiner among males for the traits viz., cob height and grain yield (t ha^-1) under heat stress and optimal conditions. VL107 × VL128 was the best hybrid combination among the hybrids having the highest specific combining ability effects for days to 50 per cent anthesis, days to 50 per cent silking and grain yield under heat stress and optimal conditions in desirable direction. The hybrid, VL107 × VL128 (55.77) showed high desirable heterosis for grain yield at Hyderabad under heat stress.

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