Draft

Several maize lines selected by CIMMYT can maintain growth of reproductive organs under water limited conditions, a key mechanism for grain production under drought. The objective of this work was to test whether these lines also maintain leaf growth under water deficit. Leaf elongation rate of six tropical maize lines, parents of segregating populations contrasting for silk growth maintenance under drought stress, were analysed via response curves to temperature, evaporative demand and soil water deficit controlled in growth chamber and greenhouse experiments. Large differences were observed in the responses of studied lines, with a tendency that lines with a maintained anthesis-silking interval under water deficit also maintained leaf elongation. Relationships between adaptation traits within this material suggest that evaluation of derived recombinant inbred lines might allow testing co-segregation of key adaptive mechanisms to water-limited environments.

Generation Challenge Program

Text in English

0502|AL-ABC Program

INT1991