Genotype, environmental temperature, and agronomic management of parents influence seed yield in three-way cross hybrid maize seed production. The objective of this research was to generate information on the seed production of six three-way cross hybrids and their progenitors, adapted to tropical lowlands. Data on days to—and duration of—flowering, distance to spike and stigmas, and seed yield of five female single crosses and five male inbred lines were recorded for different combinations of four planting densities and four sowing dates in Mexico. The effect of planting density was not significant. The male inbred line T10 was the earliest and highest seed yield and T31 the latest, occupying second place in yield. The single crosses T32/T10 and T13/T14 were the earliest and had the highest effective seed yield. At the earliest sowing date, the females were later in their flowering, accumulated fewer growing degree days (GDD), and obtained higher yields since the grain-filling period coincided with hot days and cool nights. To achieve greater floral synchronization and therefore greater production of hybrid seed, differential planting dates for parents are recommended based on information from the accumulated GDD of each parent. The three-way cross hybrids were classified according to the expected seed yield of the females and the complexity in the synchronization of flowering of their parents.

CIMMYT maize lines (CMLs), which represent the tropical maize germplasm, are freely available worldwide. All currently released 615 CMLs and fourteen temperate maize inbred lines were genotyped with 180 kompetitive allele-specific PCR single nucleotide polymorphisms to develop a reference fingerprinting SNP dataset that can be used to perform quality control (QC) and genetic diversity analyses. The QC analysis identified 25 CMLs with purity, identity, or mislabeling issues. Further field observation, purification, and re-genotyping of these CMLs are required. The reference fingerprinting SNP dataset was developed for all of the currently released CMLs with 152 high-quality SNPs. The results of principal component analysis and average genetic distances between subgroups showed a clear genetic divergence between temperate and tropical maize, whereas the three tropical subgroups partially overlapped with one another. More than 99% of the pairs of CMLs had genetic distances greater than 0.30, showing their high genetic diversity, and most CMLs are distantly related. The heterotic patterns, estimated with the molecular markers, are consistent with those estimated using pedigree information in two major maize breeding programs at CIMMYT. These research findings are helpful for ensuring the regeneration and distribution of the true CMLs, via QC analysis, and for facilitating the effective utilization of the CMLs, globally.

Medium and small seed companies require information on maize parental seed production to make rational choices on what germplasm to introduce into their seed and breeding pipelines. The objective of this study was to generate public data on the appropriate hybrid seed production information of five female lines (T21, T26, T28, T33 and T38) and one line (T10) as a male hybrid parent. The effect of female and male sowing date and sowing density on hybrid seed production characteristics including flowering time, flowering duration, distance between tassel and stigmas and effective seed yield was determined. Recommendations to stagger male and female sowing to achieve flowering synchrony for the hybrid parents were complemented with data of seedling growth stages. The results were similar for T21, T26, T28, and T38; sowing the female and T10 on a row proportion of 4 females:1 male, and on a second date, when the coleoptiles of the female plants are halfway to emerge, sowing the missing male row to complete the 4:2 ratio. T33 is a late flowering line, therefore it is desirable to sow T33 first and T10 five days later, or when the T33 coleoptile begins to emerge. Plant densities did not cause differences in most plant characteristics. Line T21 showed good female parental traits. While this study provides a knowledge framework for seed production technology for these single cross hybrids, data specific to seed production regions need to be generated by seed companies to define the best regimes for hybrid production.

Maize (Zea mays L.) landraces are rich sources of genetic and nutritional diversity, yet their compositional traits remain undercharacterized compared to modern hybrids. This study compiled and analyzed data from 1554 maize samples—995 landraces and 559 hybrids—evaluated at the CIMMYT Maize Quality Laboratory over more than a decade. Traits assessed included kernel structure, macronutrients, iron, zinc, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. Landraces showed greater variability and higher average concentrations of protein (10.88 vs. 9.92%), iron (17.63 vs. 13.91 mg kg⁻¹), zinc (22.70 vs. 18.98 mg kg⁻¹), and anthocyanins, whereas hybrids, particularly those developed through provitamin A biofortification programs, exhibited higher average provitamin A (3.33 vs. 1.84 µg g⁻¹) and total carotenoid concentrations. Correlations between kernel structural components and nutrient composition highlighted the structural basis of grain quality variation. These findings demonstrate that landraces and hybrids provide complementary nutritional profiles that can jointly support breeding, food innovation, and sustainable food systems.