Evaluation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids for Economic Heterosis under Different Soil Moisture Regimes at North Eastern Plain Zone of India

The present experiment was conducted to understand the effect of soil moisture status on the economic or standard heterosis in fifty maize hybrids for grain yield and flowering traits. The trials were planted at Agricultural Research Farm, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in alpha-lattice design with two replications. The analysis of variance revealed the significant differences for grain yield and flowering related traits such as days to 50% anthesis, days to 50% silking and anthesis-silking interval under all the moisture conditions including optimal, managed drought and managed waterlogging conditions. Significant amount of heterosis was observed over the selected check P3502 for all the traits under study; however, the magnitude and direction varied with traits and with soil moisture level. For days to 50% anthesis, hybrids ZH17192, VH112926, VH123021, ZH114250, ZH16929 and ZH16930 were showed significant negative heterosis under all the moisture conditions that explained earliness under both moisture-stress and normal conditions. Among the tested hybrids, VH123021 and ZH16929 were recorded significant negative standard heterosis for flowering traits; and significant positive heterosis for grain yield under all the three moisture conditions. Six hybrids under drought, seven hybrids under optimal and two hybrids under waterlogged condition showed positive standard heterosis for grain yield. Further evaluation of these hybrids at multi-locations and multi-year is advisable to confirm the promising findings observed in our study. This study could be valuable for development of climate-resilient maize hybrids.