Vivek QPM 9- an early maturing QPM maize hybrid for the Himalayan states and peninsular India

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food and feed crop of the world. It ranks fifth in acreage and third in production. It is one of the major sources of calorie and protein. However, it is deficient in essential amino acids viz., lysine and tryptophan. Quality protein maize (QPM) with opaque-2 gene along with associated modifiers contains twice as much lysine and tryptophan and 30% less leucine than the normal maize. The reduced level of zein further improves the nutritional quality of the QPM.

Vivek Hybrid 9 is one of the best maize hybrids developed by VPKAS and was released for commercial cultivation in the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra in the year 2000. At VPKAS, we undertook conversion of the parents of Vivek Hybrid 9 viz., CM 212 and CM 145 into QPM versions using ‘Molecular Marker Assisted Selection’. The QPM version of CM 212 (VQL 1) and CM145 (VQL 2) showed 9-12% superiority in grain yield over the normal inbred versions. The reconstituted QPM hybrid (Vivek QPM 9, Fig 1) was obtained by combining VQL 1 and VQL 2. Vivek QPM 9 yielded at par with Vivek Maize Hybrid 9 in the Himalayan states (58 q/ha) as well as in peninsular India (54 q/ha) under the All India Coordinated Maize Improvement Project (AICRP on Maize) during 2005 and 2007. Based on its performance, the hybrid has recently been released for commercial cultivation in the Himalayan states as well as peninsular India. The new hybrid, Vivek QPM 9 possesses all the good quality of Vivek Hybrid 9 with added advantages of 30% higher lysine and 44% more tryptophan. Better quality of protein in QPM is expected to help in reducing protein malnutrition among rural masses.

Licensing of Vivek QPM 9 to private seed producers: The seed production and commercialization of Vivek QPM 9 have been licensed to many private seed producers for its spread among the farming community. This technology is also available for other interested private and public sector seed producers for commercialization.

Vivek Maize Hybrid 9 and Vivek QPM 9