Maize (Zea mays L.) is the second most important staple food crop after rice and a major food crop of the resource poor people in the hills of Nepal. Prevailing normal maize (non-QPM) is deficient in two essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan. The majority of hill farm families are suffering from protein malnutrition as their major diet is maize and cannot afford animal protein. QPM contains opaque-2, a single gene mutation that alters the protein composition of the endosperm portion and nearly double the essential amino acids concentrations than the normal maize grain. ) respectively. However, most of the tested QPM genotypes were at par with improved check for grain yield production and significantly highest grain yielder than the farmres' variety (local check). Concluding results revealed that the genotype S99 TLWQ-HG-AB performed very well across the mid hills. Findings of the present study will help to reduce protein malnutrition problem in the hills of Nepal.

Fostering a culture of continuous improvement through regular monitoring of genetic trends in breeding pipelines is essential to improve efficiency and increase accountability. This is the first global study to estimate genetic trends across the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) tropical maize breeding pipelines in eastern and southern Africa (ESA), South Asia, and Latin America over the past decade. Data from a total of 4152 advanced breeding trials and 34,813 entries, conducted at 1331 locations in 28 countries globally, were used for this study. Genetic trends for grain yield reached up to 138 kg ha−1 yr−1 in ESA, 118 kg ha−1 yr−1 South Asia and 143 kg ha−1 yr−1 in Latin America. Genetic trend was, in part, related to the extent of deployment of new breeding tools in each pipeline, strength of an extensive phenotyping network, and funding stability. Over the past decade, CIMMYT’s breeding pipelines have significantly evolved, incorporating new tools/technologies to increase selection accuracy and intensity, while reducing cycle time. The first pipeline, Eastern Africa Product Profile 1a (EA-PP1a), to implement marker-assisted forward-breeding for resistance to key diseases, coupled with rapid-cycle genomic selection for drought, recorded a genetic trend of 2.46% per year highlighting the potential for deploying new tools/technologies to increase genetic gain.

With progressive climate change and the associated increase in mean temperature, heat stress tolerance has emerged as one of the key traits in the product profile of the maize breeding pipeline for lowland tropics. The present study aims to identify the genomic regions associated with heat stress tolerance in tropical maize. An association mapping panel, called the heat tolerant association mapping (HTAM) panel, was constituted by involving a total of 543 tropical maize inbred lines from diverse genetic backgrounds, test-crossed and phenotyped across nine locations in South Asia under natural heat stress. The panel was genotyped using a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) platform. Considering the large variations in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) at high temperature (Tmax) across different phenotyping locations, genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted separately for each location. The individual location GWAS identified a total of 269 novel significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for grain yield under heat stress at a p value of < 10–5. A total of 175 SNPs were found in 140 unique gene models implicated in various biological pathway responses to different abiotic stresses. Haplotype trend regression (HTR) analysis of the significant SNPs identified 26 haplotype blocks and 96 single SNP variants significant across one to five locations. The genomic regions identified based on GWAS and HTR analysis considering genomic region x environment interactions are useful for breeding efforts aimed at developing heat stress resilient maize cultivars for current and future climatic conditions through marker-assisted introgression into elite genetic backgrounds and/or genome-wide selection.

Spring maize area has emerged as a niche market in South Asia. Production of maize during this post-rainy season is often challenged due to heat stress. Therefore, incorporating heat stress resilience is an important trait for incorporation in maize hybrids selected for deployment in this season. However, due to the significant genotype × environment interaction (GEI) effects under heat stress, the major challenge lies in identifying maize genotypes with improved stable performance across locations and years. In the present study, we attempted to identify the key weather variables responsible for significant GEI effects, and identify maize hybrids with stable performance under heat stress across locations/years. The study details the evaluation of a set of prereleased advanced maize hybrids across heat stress vulnerable locations in South Asia during the spring seasons of 2015, 2016 and 2017. Using factorial regression, we identified that relative humidity (RH) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as the two most important environmental covariates contributing to the large GEI observed on grain yield under heat stress. The study also identified reproductive stage, starting from tassel emergence to early grain-filling stage, as the most critical crop stage highly susceptible to heat stress. Across-site/year evaluation resulted in identification of six high yielding heat stress resilient hybrids.

Hybrid is the most economical option to boost up the grain yield of maize, and slowly it is gaining popularity among the farmers of Nepal. In order to identify the potential hybrids suitable for Terai and Inner Terai regions, a set of experiment was conducted on hybrid maize developed by National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Rampur in Coordinated Variety Trials (CVTs) during the winter season of 2014/15 and 2015/16. The experiments were done by using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Each treatment was replicated thrice for each site at Rampur, Belachapi, Tarahara, and Parwanipur. Over the years, genotypes RML-83/RL-197 and RML-4/RL-111 yielded higher than other tested genotypes in Tarahara. Similarly, RL-180/RL-105, RML-87/RL-105, Dekalb double and Rampur Hybrid-6 produced higher grain yield at Belachapi during 2014/15. Genotype RML-4/RML-111 followed by RML-98/RL-105, and Rampur Hybrid-6 yielded higher at Parwanipur during 2015/16. In the case of Rampur, genotypes RML-98/RML-105 had produced higher yield in both the years whereas RML-5/RL-105 during 2014/15, and Rampur Hybrid-2 followed by RML-55/RL-105 were the superior genotypes in terms of grain yield during 2015/16. Those hybrids with higher grain yield in CVTs will be upgraded to Coordinated Farmers Field Trial on Hybrid (CFFTH) and these hybrids might be the potential future hybrids for Terai and Inner Terai of Nepal.

In recent years, National Maize Research Program (NMRP) aimed a paradigm shift from open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) towards hybrid maize to achieve self-sufficiency in maize for food, feed, and hybrid seed within the country. In this mission, it is necessary to identify and deploy high-yielding stress-resilient maize hybrids that can cope with climate change effects, including heat stress. Under the project “Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA)”, NMRP introduced the hybrids that performed better in previous years in different environments from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Hyderabad for multilocation on-farm testing. Fifteen genotypes were evaluated at two locations, two sites in Madi, Chitwan, and one in Ghorahi, Dang, along with Rampur Hybrid-8 as a heat-tolerant check, and RML-86/RML-96 and RML-95/RML-96 as normal checks. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with three replicates during the spring of 2016/17. Likewise, another 20 and 18 promising hybrids were demonstrated during the winter of 2016/17 and 2017/18, respectively, in different hybrid growing pockets considering a site – a replication. Grain yield and yield attributing traits at all locations were recorded. From the across-site data analysis, selected heat-tolerant hybrids from the experiment were CAH1432, ZH15405, ZH141592, and CAH1715 which were statistically at par with promising normal hybrid RML-86/RML-96 and superior to already released heat-tolerant Rampur Hybrid-8. In 2016/17, ZH138098, ZH1620, and VH121062 were farmers’ preferred heat-tolerant hybrids. In 2017/18, Rampur Hybrid-10, ZH141592, CAH1715, and ZH15440 were preferred by farmers. The selected bestbet are taken forward for official release/registration followed by commercialization through a public-private partnership with Nepali seed companies/cooperatives. SAARC J. Agric., 19(1): 27-43 (2021)

Participatory varietal selection (PVS) led to the identification of Population-22 and its later release as Manakamana-3. Subsequently further mother-baby trials tested five unreleased open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), ZM-621, Shitala, Population-45, Hill Pool White, and Hill Pool Yellow to compare them with Manakamana-3. Farmers again preferred Manakamana-3 as well as ZM-621 for their stable, higher grain yield, and for other traits such as stay-green, non-lodging, large white grains, and tolerance to foliar diseases. However, Manakamana-3 and ZM-621 both had late maturity, open husks and dented grain. Both were tested with farmers on-farm coordinated farmers field trials (CFFTs) and had not been identified as this was more contractual type of participatory research. Individual traits were measured but overall farmers' preferences were not elicited. In the more collaborative participation of the mother-baby trials the overall preference was determined and farmers traded-off the late maturity and dented grains of Manakamana-3 and ZM-621 against other favorable traits. Depending on location, these genotypes yielded 15-45% more grain than the local varieties in the mother-baby trials. These results led to the release of ZM-621 as Deuti in 2006. Farmers had adopted Manakamana-3 (released in 2002) and ZM-621 (Deuti) as a direct result of PVS trials and increased area under them year after year. Farmers awareness of the varieties has increased and seeds of these varieties are under community-based seed production (CBSP). Involving farmers through a collaborative mode of participation in varietal selection overcame bottlenecks to finding new varieties that had occurred with more contractual on-farm research.

To verify and up scale promising cold tolerant rice genotypes in the western hills, participatory variety selection (PVS) activities viz; coordinated farmer's field trials (CFFTs), FFTs prepared from Lumle , farmers' acceptance tests (FATs), larger plot demonstrations, and upscaling activities were conducted during 2008 to 2009. Yield and yield related parameters considering farmers' preferences were also recorded and analyzed for PVSs under FATs. In 2008, genotypes NR10481-B-11-1-1-1, NR10479-B-33-2-1-1 and NR10482-B-10-3-2-2 had been preferred by farmers because of high grain yield and desired parameters. In 2008, grain yield of Machapuchhre-3, Chhomrong Dhan, and Lumle 5-2 over yielded Farmers' Local (2.2 mt/ha) by 83, 89 and 81%, respectively whereas in 2009, grain yield increment of Machapuchhre-3, Chhomrong Dhan, Lumle-2, and Chandannath-3 over Farmers' Local (2.1 t/ha ) was 98 %, 97%, 1078% and 49 %, respectively. Farmers of upper high hills (>2000-m) and high hills (1500-2000-m) preferred Chandannath-3, Machapuchhre-3, and Chhomrong Dhan while Lumle-2 was liked by farmers of mid hills (1000-1500-m )