TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF HYBRID MAIZE RESEARCH IN NIGERIA: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Sustained maize (Zea mays L) improvement activities started in earnest at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife in 1977. Ile-lfe (7" 28' N, 4" 33' E, altitude 244 m asl) is located in the marginal areas of the rainforest of the southwest of Nigeria. From the inception of the Program. emphasis was on inbred-line development and production of hybrid varieties. The Ife Maize Improvement Program conducted basic research on heterosis in Nigeria maize populations, inbreeding and inbred-line development. combining ability of inbred lines, population parameters and recurrent selection, and genotype x environment interaction. We worked in collaboration with national and international scientists, the Nationally Coordinated Maire Research Program (NCMRP), the National Seed Service (NSS), the Maize Association of Nigeria and the commercial seed companies, particularly Premier Seeds Limited and (JAC Seeds. Improved research methodologies were developed in the Program and several maize varieties and hybrids from the Program were submitted into the Nationally Coordinated Maize Variety Trials over the years. Similarly, the Program provided research support for the thesis projects of many undergraduate and graduate students who are now occupying positions of responsibility in national and international organizations. The current emphasis (If the Program is on breeding for tolerance of abiotic stresses. drought and low nitrogen in particular. This is being done in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and the West and Central Africa Maize Research Network (WECAMAN) with the coordinating office in Ce d'Ivoire.