{
  "abstract": "Aspergillus ear rot (ear rot) and aflatoxin contamination, caused mainly by Aspergillus flavus , threaten maize productivity, grain quality, and food safety in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Although significant breeding progress has been made, selection for resistance remains challenging due to environmental conditions, genotype × environment interaction (G×E), low heritability of resistance traits, and the need to simultaneously improve productivity. The objectives of this study were to: assess the effect of genotype, environment and G×E, examine trait relationships, and identify superior maize hybrids with favourable multi-trait performance. Eighty-three maize inbred lines were crossed with two testers using a line × tester mating design. The resultant 166 testcrosses and six checks were evaluated across four environments with two replications in each environment under artificial inoculation using a highly toxigenic A. flavus isolate (La3228). Data were analysed using linear mixed models, with variance components estimated by REML. Environmental effects were significant for aflatoxin accumulation and ear rot ( p ≤ 0.05), while hybrids differed significantly for grain yield and ear rot ( p ≤ 0.01). There was no significant G×E interaction for grain yield, aflatoxin accumulation and ear rot ( p ≥ 0.05). Broad-sense heritability estimate was high for grain yield (H ² = 0.62), moderate for ear rot (H ² = 0.36) and low for aflatoxin (H ² = 0.22), indicating strong environmental influence on the expression of the resistance-related traits. Grain yield was not significantly correlated with aflatoxin accumulation (r = 0.08), suggesting that selection for grain yield may be independent of aflatoxin accumulation. However, grain yield was significantly and negatively correlated with ear rot (r = -0.20*). The first two principal components of the genotype plus genotype × environment (GGE) biplot explained 76.4% of the total variation among the selected hybrids and identified two mega-environments, revealing differential adaptation among hybrids. The sequential application of multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI) and GGE biplot identified five testcrosses, En80, En74, En102, En157, and En65 combining competitive grain yield, favourable stability, and resistance-related traits. These hybrids are promising for further multi-environment evaluation for their potential contribution to the development of maize hybrids with improved productivity and reduced aflatoxin accumulation in tropical and sub-tropical regions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan , ,",
    "International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) , ,"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Victor Adelodun Diekade"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ayodeji Abe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mamadou Mboup"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Silvestro Meseka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wende Mengesha"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Abebe Menkir"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Melaku Gedil"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Alejandro Ortega-Beltran"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "John Derera"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bd3dpfgkhqmzb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1964715",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13662164/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "bd3dpfgkhqmzb",
  "issns": [
    "1664-462X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662164",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Genetics and Plant Breeding"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214994984",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13662164/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13662164",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bd3dpfgkhqmzb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:20Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13662164",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662164"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:25Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1964715",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1964715/full"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Genetics and Plant Breeding",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Multi-trait selection of tropical maize hybrids for combined productivity, agronomic stability, and aflatoxin resistance",
  "title_text": "Multi-trait selection of tropical maize hybrids for combined productivity, agronomic stability, and aflatoxin resistance",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bd3dpfgkhqmzb",
  "venue": "Frontiers in plant science",
  "versions": []
}