Emergence of several seed companies in the West Africa sub-region during the last decade has necessitated
intensified efforts towards hybrid development and extensive testing. The objectives of the present study were
to evaluate selected
Striga-resistant maize (
Zea mays
L.) hybrids for grain yield and stability of performance
based on multiple traits. Thirty
Striga-resistant single–cross maize hybrids plus two checks were evaluated
under artificial
Striga infestation and
Striga-free conditions at 2 locations in Nigeria in 2008 and 2009. The two
test locations possessed high discriminating ability. More promising genotypes were identified under
Striga
infestation based on multiple traits than based on yield
per se, suggesting that grain yield alone is not a precise
predictor of
Striga resistance. Based on both biplot analyses, TZEI12 x TZEI25 was identified as the most
outstanding in performance under both research conditions. Furthermore, TZEI11 x TZEI127 and TZEI80 x
TZEI2B were identified as the most outstanding under
Striga-infested conditions and TZEI60 x TZEI87 under
Striga-free conditions by the two biplot methods. The hybrids with outstanding performance should undergo
extensive multilocational testing and promotion for adoption for commercial production.