The grain yield ability of early maize hybrids under combined high densities and water stress environments

Breeding early maize hybrids with high genetic potential for grain yield and stability, under different environmental conditions is an important objective for this crop management. Consequently, this study was carried out to evaluate in Transylvania-Romania: 1) the behaviour of ten early maize hybrids developed at the Agricultural Research and Development Station (A.R.D.S.) Turda, in different plant densities and water stress environments; 2) the relationship between grain yield and other agronomic traits and 3) identify the hybrids with the highest yield and the most stable under stress conditions. A split-plot design was used in a completely randomized block arrangement with three replications. The main plots were assigned to plant densities and secondary plots to ten maize hybrids. This study was conducted in three years 2021, 2022, and 2023. The hybrids were evaluated in four plant densities: low (LD = 60,000), medium (MD = 70,000), high (HD1 = 80,000 and HD2 = 90,000) plants/ha, in combination with three climatic regimes, non-irrigated. Among the recently registered maize hybrids, the following stood out for their superior grain yield, tolerance to high-density and water stress: Turda 380, Turda 2020, Turda 335, and the new hybrid SUR 18 /399. The high grain yield as well as the tolerance to high density and water stress of Turda 380, Turda 2020, and Turda 344, demonstrated the genetic value of the common parental line, to simultaneously inherit these traits.