SKUAST Journal of Research

Abiotic stresses in crops in current climatic scenario are proving to be detrimental in limiting the productivity potential of cereal crops and maize in no case is an exception. Drought tolerance is a complex phenomenon that will require application of all the available technologies in combination. Drought in parti establishment, plant weakening or loss, susceptibility to pest or disease attack and changes in physiological, biochemical responses and ultimately reduction of yield levels. Maize is most important crop in global agriculture and ranks third next to wheat and rice in terms of production. Maize is physiologically more efficient, has higher grain yield potential and wider adaptation over a range of environmental conditions. To enhance resilience to drought it is imperative to harness the germplasm base of maize available in any research programme. High throughput phonemics facilitates in cataloguing the diversified responses of genotypes in relation to drought stress. Root and other related physiological studies assist in isolating the promising genotypes and culling the junk at much faster rates. Marker assisted breeding (MAB) has the potential to significantly accelerate that rate of improvement. Novel and useful genes in existing germplasm are largely masked by the overall adaptation response of the whole genotype. Molecular breeding techniques, including MAB now make it possible to assess the genotypic value of thousands of genomic regions of maize germplasm under drought conditions. The benefits of breeding can be significantly enhanced through biotechnology, which allows the use of a broader source of genes than the maize genome alone and provides a greater level of precision to introduce specific genes. In this review the major emphasis will be laid on physiological and molecular aspects of breeding for drought tolerance in Maize.