Assessment of hybrids of drought tolerant maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines for grain yield and other traits under stress managed conditions

Introduced maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm can serve as important sources of favorable alleles for enhancing the performance of new maize varieties and hybrids under drought stress conditions. Ninety-six elite maize hybrids alongside four hybrid checks were evaluated for grain yield and other agronomic traits under managed stress conditions over two seasons at Ikenne, Nigeria. Hybrids differed significantly for grain yield and other measured traits under both drought stress and well-watered conditions. Grain yield varied from 444 to 3022 kg ha⁻¹ under drought stress, and from 3827 to 8887 kg ha⁻¹ under full irrigation. Drought stress reduced grain yield by 70%. Each of the top 10 yielders under drought stress produced >2500 kg ha⁻¹ and had a yield advantage of >10% over the best check. Three hybrids namely; ADL47 × EXL15, ADL41 × EXL15 and EXL02 × ADL47, produced competitive yields under both irrigation treatments.