Characterization of Maize Collections from Nagaland State of North Eastern Himalayan Region

Abstract

Traditional cultivars and primitive landraces of maize ( Zea mays L.) are invaluable treasure for humankind. These need to be collected, evaluated, conserved and utilized for increasing agricultural production and quality enhancement. Based on extensive survey, 58 diverse maize accessions were collected from Nagaland state of the North Eastern Himalayan region during year 2011. These collections were evaluated under two different agro-ecological regions located at New Delhi and Shillong using twelve quantitative variables during kharif 2012 and 2013 and nine qualitative traits. Significant variability was observed for the traits studied. The trait mean performance and variability were compared for both the environments and superior collections were identified. This study clearly demonstrated that despite environment-specific adaptations, several accessions are capable of showing high adaptability at region outside their habitat and could be utilized for diversifying the pools and deriving inbred lines with diverse features.