PJB-2020-290
CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE THROUGH THE USE OF HEAT STRESS TOLERANT MAIZE HYBRIDS: FIELD EXPERIENCES FROM PAKISTAN
AbduRahman Beshir
Abstract
Day temperature may rise above 45oC in the major maize growing areas of Pakistan. Such extreme temperatures coupled with a low relative humidity causes irreversible damage to maize plants. Therefore, deployment of heat stress tolerant maize varieties is among the coping strategies to mitigate the increasing challenge of maize farming, particularly during the spring season in Pakistan. CIMMYT under the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan evaluated the performance of 16 heat stress tolerant hybrids across six heat prone locations in Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Multan divisions in Punjab in collaboration with public and private partners during spring 2016. Data were collected for various yield contributing traits and results were presented in this article. Box-plot graph revealed wide range of variability in grain yield (t/h) across the locations where, it ranges from 0.00 to 9.00 t/h. Size of boxes, whiskers and positioning of the boxes on plots indicated the differential responses of the genotypes across different locations. Mean comparison for individual locations showed that genotype ZH15381 (9.0t/h), VH12333 (6.4t/h), ZH138088 (4.6t/h), CAH153 (2.4t/h), CAH151 & ZH169 (4.2t/h) were among the high yielding genotypes in the various locations. GGE biplot for location comparison showed that ICI-Farm was most discriminating and representative location followed by Tara Crop Sciences, Farm and UAF-Farm for the evaluation of heat stress hybrids. HiSell Seeds Plc, Farm and MNSUAM-Farm were found to be least discriminating and representative locations because temperature at these locations was too high to express genotypic yield potential. GGE biplot for genotypic comparison showed that ZH15381, VH12333 and ZH169 were among the high yielding and stable genotypes for most discriminating locations. These high yielding genotypes are recommended for commercialization in the heat prone maize growing areas of Punjab, Pakistan. This study corroborates that heat stress tolerant varieties are part of mitigation strategy and farmers’ resilience for maize production in harsh climates in the tropics where normal maize genotypes will have a dysfunctional plant organs like leaf firing and tassel blasting due to extreme heat shocks. Key words: Heat stress tolerant maize, climate change, GGE biplot, Punjab, Pakistan
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