Breeding for waterlogging tolerance in tropical maize

Climate fluctuations and their effect in food production, its quality and disruption of food availability are well apparent. Temperature and moisture extremes, unseasonal rainfall, droughts, floods, cloud bursts, cyclonic storms, etc. are becoming more frequent and consequently, the impacts of climate volatility on severity and alteration of biotic and abiotic stresses, have emerged as serious challenges for the scientific community. Climate-driven changing rainfall pattern has built up waterlogging (WL) stress as one of the major limiting factors in maize productivity in tropical and subtropical regions. Maize is susceptible to waterlogging stress especially during germination and at the flowering stage when excessive rains lead to pollen wash and hamper seed set. The review looks back at the different breeding strategies coupled with generated molecular markers information to develop WL tolerant cultivars for productivity enhancement in tropical maize.