Multi-trait selection of tropical maize hybrids for combined productivity, agronomic stability, and aflatoxin resistance
- 1Department of Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan , ,
- 2International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) , ,
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.
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BibTeX
@article{diekade2026multitrait,
title = {{Multi-trait selection of tropical maize hybrids for combined productivity, agronomic stability, and aflatoxin resistance}},
author = {Victor Adelodun Diekade and Ayodeji Abe and Mamadou Mboup and Silvestro Meseka and Wende Mengesha and Abebe Menkir and Melaku Gedil and Alejandro Ortega-Beltran and John Derera},
journal = {Frontiers in plant science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1964715},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662164},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Multi-trait selection of tropical maize hybrids for combined productivity, agronomic stability, and aflatoxin resistance
AU - Victor Adelodun Diekade
AU - Ayodeji Abe
AU - Mamadou Mboup
AU - Silvestro Meseka
AU - Wende Mengesha
AU - Abebe Menkir
AU - Melaku Gedil
AU - Alejandro Ortega-Beltran
AU - John Derera
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Frontiers in plant science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1964715
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662164
AB - 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.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -