Exploitation of rank summation index for the selection of 21 maize hybrids for green maize production in South-eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Green (fresh) maize (Zea mays L.) provides food security and income to farmers especially when other crops are still in the field. However, research on green maize varieties is scarcely reported in the literature or information on suitable genetic material (germplasm) for green maize production. Two local maize landraces collected from south-eastern Nigeria and five improved varieties sourced from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) were used for this experiment. These seven genotypes were crossed in a half diallel mating system in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and those found significant (p = 0.05) were further subjected to diallel analysis using Griffing’s method II and model I for fixed effects. Rank summation index was used for all the traits studied to identify and select the best performer amongst the genotypes. The rank summation index identified and selected the crosses between DTMA-4 X OKA BENDE-WHITE, OKA MBAISE X OKA BENDE-WHITE, PVA SYM 8 F2 X OKA BENDE-WHITE, POOL 66/ACR-91 X OKA BENDE-WHITE and DMR-ESRY X OKA BENDE-WHITE for the production of green maize in south-eastern Nigeria