Crop Development Division, Ministry of Agriculture, P.O. Box 9071, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
*Work carried out in Tanzania while the author was on deputation from Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Tanzania. Present address: Divison of plant physiology, I. A. R. I., N. Delhi, 110 012.
Fourteen maize hybrids and composites submitted for 1970/71, Eastern African Maize Variety Trials have been screened for protein content and yield performance in Tanzania. Stability performance of these varieties was tested with three parameters namely, phenotypic index, regression coefficient, and deviation from linearity for altitude and environmental index. The protein content ranged from 5 ⋅ 78 to 11 ⋅ 65 percent in the material studied.
The mean response of all varieties per km of altitude was 512 kg/ha. It was found, taking protein content and grain yield into consideration, that UCAC3 was suitable for higher elevations and ICA for lower elevations only. It was suggested that high altitude material which is responsive to higher elevations and improved environments for grain yield and protein content should be included in future maize breeding programmes.
