Key inbred lines have played a fundamental role in maize genetics and breeding. Research on variation characteristics of key genes from key inbred lines and from derived lines is important for early identification and evaluation of inbred maize lines. The nitrate reductase (NR) gene, which plays a central role in nitrate acquisition, was the target gene for this research. Forty-one inbred maize...

High temperature reduces the pollen viability and silk receptivity of corn resulting in poor seed set and reduced yield. Continuously increasing temperature and less frequency and distribution of rainfall coupled with usual canal–closure particularly in Pakistan have significantly been decreasing the grain yield. This problem could be overcome by developing heat tolerant maize hybrids. For this...

Results We present global planting date patterns for maize, spring wheat and winter wheat (our full, publicly available data set contains planting and harvesting dates for 19 major crops). Maize planting in the northern mid-latitudes generally occurs in April and May. Daily average air temperatures are usually c. 12–17 °C at the time of maize planting in these regions, although soil moisture of...

Inbred maize (Zea mays L.) lines are grown for seed in Puerto Rico. In efforts to increase crop yields, some producers may apply nitrogen (N) fertilizer excess of nutrient requirements. The use cover crops (CC) rotation can serve as an alternative continuous cultivation maize. This experiment was conducted field plots Güamaní (fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, isohype...

Parasitism by Striga hermonthica (Del) Benth is a severe constraint in maizeproduction in sub-Saharan Africa. Varying levels of tolerance to Striga attack havebeen identified and exploited in breeding programs of several crops. However, thelevel and stability of the tolerance is generally unacceptable in field-practice. Onlylimited exploration has been undertaken among the farmers’ landraces to...

Field trials were carried out in the Sudan Savannah of Nigeria to assess the usefulness of CERES-maize crop model as a decision support tool for optimizing maize production through manipulation of plant dates. The calibration experiments comprised of 20 maize varieties planted during the dry and rainy seasons of 2014 and 2015 at Bayero University Kano and Audu Bako College of Agriculture Dambat...

Maize (Zea mays) has traditionally been a major cereal staple in southern Ghana. Through breeding and other crop improvement efforts, the zone of cultivation of maize has now extended to the northern regions of Ghana which, hitherto, were the home to sorghum and millet as the major cereals. Maize yield in the northern Ghana is hampered by three major biophysical constraints, namely, poor soil f...