Results of regional maize trials conducted in Pakistan, years 2014-2015

Maize is Pakistan’s third important cereal following wheat and rice. It is cultivated on about 1.3 million hectares with an average productivity of 4.7 tons ha-1, which is among the highest in the South Asia (ESP, 2019). However, maize sector in Pakistan still imports a huge quantity of hybrid maize seed which made the retail price of seed in Pakistan (currently US $ 6-8 kg) very high compared to prices in other South Asian countries. Apart from prices, the genetic diversity of the maize germplasm in Pakistan is very limited and not well-matched to the county’s heterogeneous agroecology and diverse human and industrial needs.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with 17 public and private partners established maize evaluation and deployment network to enhance availability, affordability and accessibility of improved maize varieties in Pakistan. The trials constitutes of hybrids and OPVs with diverse traits including, high yield, nutritional quality, biotic and abiotic stress resilience, and suitability to various cropping systems. The trials are part of CIMMYT’s regional trials program and the seeds were acquired from Central, Latin America and Southern Africa breeding hubs. This initiative was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan. This data book shares the analysis results of multi-location trials of maize conducted in different (spring & kharif) seasons during 2014-2015 across Pakistan in collaboration with public and private partners