Results of the 2008 regional and on-farm maize trials in West Africa

Abstract

The DTMA project employs multi-location trials as vehicles for identification of drought tolerant varieties and hybrids with broad adaptation to a particular agro-ecological zone. Promising varieties selected based on trial results are included in farmer participatory on-farm trials and demonstrations which serve as important vehicles to showcase the effectiveness of new technology to farmers and thus are instrumental in the identification and release of drought tolerant maize varieties and hybrids in the participating countries. The mother-baby on-farm testing approach has been widely adopted by the DTMA project as the strategy for testing and promoting the release and adoption of maize varieties and hybrids. In 2008, three regional trials consisting of 20 early- (M0827) and 16 late-maturing (M0825) drought tolerant (DT) open-pollinated maize varieties as well as 20 three-way and top-cross DT hybrids (M0826) were dispatched to our DTMA project collaborators in 2008. Most of the DT varieties and hybrids included in these trials originated from IITA. However, Premier Seeds and Crops Research Institute of Ghana each contributed two hybrids while the Institute for Agricultural Research-Nigeria and INERA- Burkina Faso contributed three and two openpollinated varieties, respectively, to these trials. A total of 21, 21, 9, and 92 sets of the three regional trials were dispatched to Benin Republic, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria, respectively, in 2008. The numbers of data field books received for the regional trials evaluated in 2008 were 15 from Benin Republic, 16 from Ghana, 7 from Mali and 71 from Nigeria. Field data recorded from these regional trials received from collaborators was 71% for Benin, 76% for Ghana, 78% for Mali and 77% for Nigeria. Means of the late maturing DT varieties averaged over five sites in Benin Republic are presented in Table 1. Only four DT varieties (Entry #9, 10, 11 and 12) produced 10% to 21% more grain-yields than the local check variety. These DT varieties did not differ significantly from the local check in days to anthesis and silking as well as in plant height. Only one variety (Entry# 11) was high yielding and stable in Benin Republic. Mean of the late maturing DT varieties averaged over five sites in Ghana are presented in Table 2. Nine DT varieties out yielded the local check by 13% to 31%. Days to anthesis and silking as well as plant height of these varieties did not differ significantly from that of the local check. Five varieties (Entry# 3,4,8,9 and 10) were found to be high and stable-yielding across locations in Ghana. Means of the DT varieties tested in Mali were obtained from two sites only (Table 3). All varieties, except Entry#6, produced 15% to 58% more grain yields than the local check in Mali. Days to anthesis and silking as well as plant height of these varieties did not differ significantly from that of the local check. Mean grain yields averaged over 24 sites in Nigeria are presented in Table 4. All the DT varieties, except Entry# 5 and 7, out-yielded the local check by 14% to 36%. These varieties had days to anthesis and silking as well as plant height that did not differ significantly from the local check. Variety and variety x site biplot analysis explained 60% of the variation in grain yield (Figure not presented). Five varieties (Entry 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) were high yielding and stable across locations in Nigeria.