Department of Plant Breeding, Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, (Samastipur)-848125, Bihar, (India).
Inheritance study was carried out on a collection of advanced inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.) developed from different indigenous and exotic populations for reaction to the stem borer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe). Five susceptible inbread lines were crossed in all pouible combinations excluding reciprocals. The crosses, I3 × I7 and I7 × I10 were adjudged to be stable for high grain yield and tolerant to the stem borer infestation on the basis of estimates of various stability parameters. The inbred lines, viz., I3 and I7 were good general combiners for tolerance to the stem borer infestation. Considering different parameters, the crosses I3 × I7, I4 × I7, and I7 × I10 were identified for tolerance to the stem borer infestation and higher grain yield.
