CIMMYT is pleased to announce the release of a set of 13 new CIMMYT maize lines (CMLs). These CMLs were developed at various breeding locations of the CIMMYT Global Maize Program by multi-disciplinary team of scientists in sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. The lines are adapted to the tropical maize production environments targeted by CIMMYT and partner institutions. CMLs are freely available to both public and private sector breeders worldwide under the standard material transfer agreement (SMTA).
CIMMYT seeks to develop improved maize inbred lines in different product profiles, with superior performance and multiple stress tolerance to improve maize productivity for resource-constrained smallholder farmers. CMLs are released after intensive evaluation in hybrid combinations under various abiotic and biotic stresses, besides optimum conditions. Suitability as either seed or pollen parent is also thoroughly evaluated.
To increase the utilization of the CMLs in the maize breeding programs of the partner institutions, all the new CMLs have been tested for their heterotic behavior and have been assigned to specific heterotic groups of CIMMYT – A and B. The heterotic group assignment is included in the name of each CML, after the CML number (e.g., CML648B or CML660B).
Release of a CML does not guarantee high combining ability or per se performance in all environments; rather, it indicates that the line is promising or useful as a parent for pedigree breeding or as a potential parent of hybrid combinations for specific mega-environments. The description of the lines include heterotic group classification, along with information on their specific strengths, and their combining ability with some of the widely used CMLs or CIMMYT lines.
More information
A summary of the 13 new CMLs is presented in this document. Further details on these CMLs, including the pedigree information, are available here.
A limited quantity of seed of the CMLs can be obtained by sending a request to the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank here.
or contact: a.chassaigne@cgiar.org
For any further details regarding the released CMLs, please contact: Dr Ashish Saxena, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT; a.saxena@cgiar.org
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