Estabilidad del rendimiento y potencial agronómico de híbridos de maíz de alta calidad de proteína (QPM) en Venezuela

high quality protein maize (qpm) flour could contribute to reduce nutritional deficiency of venezuelan population. in order to determine san vicente et al. - maíz de alta calidad de proteína 408 vol. 55-2005 agronomía tropical no. 3 yield stability and agronomic potential of qpm hybrids in venezuela, seven qpm hybrids and five normal checks were evaluated in 18 locations during 2001. the experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four reps and the experimental plot consisted of two five m long rows spaced 70 cm apart. data were collected on a plot basis for days to silk, plant and ear height, stalk lodging, grain yield, ear aspect as well as grain texture and moisture. for grain yield, the ammi model analysis of variance, indicated that the genotype x environment interaction was highly significant. the principal component 1 (pc-1) explained 35,0% of the genotype x environment interaction sum of squares. six hybrids (inia qpm-6, inia qpm-2, inia qpm-4, inia qpm-22, inia qpm-20 y inia qpm-18) outyielded the best commercial check (himeca-2000). hybrids inia qpm-6 (g3), inia qpm-2 (g1) and inia qpm-4 (g2) stand out and form a very homogeneous group. the hybrids with lower scores for the pc-1, and therefore more stable, were inia qpm-14, inia -4, cargill-114 and inia qpm-22. these four hybrids yielded less than the general mean, except for inia qpm-22. the hybrid inia-qpm-2 had superior agronomic performance, especially ear position and grain texture. results indicate the potential of three qpm hybrids for commercial production in venezuela.