Knowledge Center Catalog

The Kitale breeding program, achievements in the last three and a half decades and futures strategies to increase and sustain maize yields in Kenya

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) CIMMYT|EARO : 1999Description: p. 53-55ISBN:
  • 92-9146-065-6
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 633.15 EAS No. 6
Summary: During the last three and a half decades of maize (Zea mays L.) breeding work at Kitale, a consistently steady progress has been observed in the development of high yielding and stable varieties suitable for the moist transitional and tropical highlands maize growing zones of Kenya. The first release of an improved maize variety, a synthetic, was in 1961 which was followed by the introduction of hybrids. Since then grain yields under research-managed level have more than doubled from a meager 3.0 metric tonnes per hectare to more than 7.0 metric tonnes per hectare. Ear height of the original breeding stocks has been reduced from 2.8 meters in Kitale Station Maize (KSM) and 3.3 meters in Ecuador 573 (Ec573) to less than 2.0 meters in the latest generation cycles of both stocks. Plant lodging incidence has been reduced from 60-70% in the original stocks down to 20- 30% in the current commercial hybrids. Gains in selection were evident from evaluating nine cycles of half-sib reciprocal recurrent selection and S1 progeny selection.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Conference proceedings CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library CIMMYT Publications Collection 633.15 EAS No. 6 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available K649283
Total holds: 0

During the last three and a half decades of maize (Zea mays L.) breeding work at Kitale, a consistently steady progress has been observed in the development of high yielding and stable varieties suitable for the moist transitional and tropical highlands maize growing zones of Kenya. The first release of an improved maize variety, a synthetic, was in 1961 which was followed by the introduction of hybrids. Since then grain yields under research-managed level have more than doubled from a meager 3.0 metric tonnes per hectare to more than 7.0 metric tonnes per hectare. Ear height of the original breeding stocks has been reduced from 2.8 meters in Kitale Station Maize (KSM) and 3.3 meters in Ecuador 573 (Ec573) to less than 2.0 meters in the latest generation cycles of both stocks. Plant lodging incidence has been reduced from 60-70% in the original stocks down to 20- 30% in the current commercial hybrids. Gains in selection were evident from evaluating nine cycles of half-sib reciprocal recurrent selection and S1 progeny selection.

English

0103|AL-Maize Program|AGRIS 0102|AJ

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