Dissecting heat stress tolerance in tropical maize (Zea mays L.)

The negative effects of heat stress on maize growth and reproduction is often expressed in terms of significant yield penalty. Germplasm selection based on yield potential along with heat stress adaptive secondary traits, and establishing their interaction under stress helps in identifying suitable heat tolerant genotypes. To dissect intricate nature of heat stress tolerance, two field trials were conducted during spring 2014 and 2015 under natural heat stress conditions. Planting was adjusted to expose reproductive and grain filling period to high temperature regimes during May month in Hyderabad, India. Correlation analysis between grain yield under stress and secondary traits observed in two year experiments indicated that the traits such as - leaf firing (LF) (r=−0.34** and 0.06), tassel blast (TB)…