Role of stress tolerant germplasm in increasing maize productivity in drought-prone areas of Angola

摘要

Maize, together with cassava, are the most important staple foods grown in dry-prone areas of Angola. About 30,000 to 50,000 hectares of arable land constitute the area planted to maize, mostly for human consumption and animal feeding. These areas aremainly located in the coastal and northern agroecological zones and are characterized by sandy soils with low soil pH and erratic rainfall (less then 600 mm). Maize production is limited mainly by the use of local varieties, lack of water at emergence and during flowering and grain filling stage. The latter is due to a frequent pronounced mid-season gap in rainfall. As a result, yields remain very low, 350-750 kg/ha at the small-scale farmers' level and 1500-3500 kg/ha for commercial farmers. As rainfalls are variable, both between years and in their timing within a season, it is desirable to employ additional breeding strategies that improve yield stability under drought. In collaboration with CIMMYT and other SADC NARS, the Angola Maize Program hasdeveloped, evaluated, and selected several open pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrids (Syn01E2 F2, 01SADVE F2, ZM421, ZM521, ZM621,), which have been recommended for seed multiplication and release.