Stability analysis for grain yield and agronomic traits in maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties

Single cross, three-way cross, and double cross hybrids, and open-pollinated varieties were evaluated for their stability parameters in a wide range of environments. Single cross hybrid 8321-18 with high grain yield had regression coefficient near one, indicating stable hybrid under both favorable and unfavorable environments. However, average regression coefficient of each hybrid group showed that single cross and three-way cross hybrids were less stable for grain yield than double cross hybrid, and the open-pollinated group was more stable than hybrid groups but yielded low. Among three hybrid groups, single cross hybrid was unstable and double cross hybrid was stable for days to tasseling. However, open-pollinated group was more stable than three hybrid groups. For root lodging, plant aspect, and ear aspect characters, the single cross group presented the highest and the open-pollinated group presented the lowest regression coefficient, indicating that hybrids were more sensitive to the different environments for these traits.