Identification of Multiple Disease-Resistant Maize (Zea mays) Germplasm Genetic Resources
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Authors
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Surinder K Sandhu
Punjab Agricultural University
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Harleen Kaur
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Ashutosh Kushwah
Keywords:
Banded leaf and sheath blight, Charcoal rot, Maize, Maydis leaf blight, Multi-disease resistance index, ResistanceAbstract
Development of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids with durable resistance to multiple diseases is essential for sustaining productivity under
humid subtropical conditions. The 28 maize inbred lines, along with checks, were evaluated under artificial epiphytotic conditions
over five consecutive Kharifseasons (2021–2025) for resistance to maydis leaf blight (MLB), banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB), and
charcoal rot (CR). Significant genotypic variation was observed for all the diseases. Pooled mean disease scores varied from 2.80–7.24
for MLB, 2.96–7.50 for CR, and 5.00–7.75 for BLSB on a 1–9 disease rating scale. CML 575, PML 920, PML 387, and LM 14 for MLB; PML
1225, CML 451, EML 104, and EML 101 for CR; and PML 387 and LM 14 for BLSB were identified as promising resistant inbred lines. MDRI analysis identified LM 14 and PML 387 as stable broad-spectrum resistant donors for climate-resilient maize breeding. These elite inbred lines can serve as valuable parental resources for breeding maize hybrids with stable, broad-spectrum resistance to multiple diseases under humid subtropical growing conditions.
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