Selection Index and Selection Criteria for Drought Tolerance in Maize (Zea mays L.) over Environments

Selection indices were constructed for drought tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.) utilizing twenty important characters including morpho-physiological, biochemical and yield components in three different environments. Three different selection indices constructed by altering economic weights for characters indicated that inbred lines differed in performance in each environment. Forty one maize inbreds were ranked for drought tolerance based on classical selection index and general selection index. Inbred Ib3010 and CM139 obtained highest and lowest rank based on general selection index value. The behaviour of inbreds was influenced by genotype x environment interaction.