Vol. 8, Issue 12, Part H (2024)

This research evaluates the yield and related characteristics of maize hybrids under drought and normal conditions at the Maize Improvement Project in Kasba Bawda, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Seventeen maize genotypes were assessed for different characters, including days to 50 percent tasselling, days to 50 percent silking, plant height, cob height, days to 75 percent dry husk, cob length, cob width, number of cobs per plot, number of kernel rows per cob, number of kernel per row, cob weight, 100 kernel weight and yield per plant, in addition with two biochemical traits: proline and protein. Under drought conditions, DKC 9164 and IMH-221 performed best with yields of 124.41 g and 100.25 g per plant while, DMRH-1305 had the lowest yield of 87.73 g. In optimal conditions, DKC 9164 and 11023 X LM15 yielded 144.67 g and 135.22 g, respectively. Significant variations in traits were observed between two conditions, with better performance in optimal conditions. DMRH-1305 and 11260 X LM16 were more vulnerable to drought, highlighting the need for targeted breeding strategies. This study underscores the importance of selecting suitable maize hybrids to tackle environmental challenges and informs future breeding efforts for improved drought resistance and yield consistency.