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576 ThallI Lwill 00, Jahn Ba Maw and Toe AungSuwan I and Shwe War 7, a derivative from population 22 are outstanding varieties in the subtropicareas. These varieties now cover more than 40% of the total maize area of the country.B. Hybrid releaseHybrid corn research program was initiated in 1974-75 as a complimentary and parellelprogram with the population improvement program. The program was successful in developingYezin Hybrid No 1 and No 2 in 1990, Yezin Hybrid No 3 in 1993 and Yezin Hybrid No.4 in 1996.Yezin Hybrid No 1,2 and 4 are medium early varieties with lowland tropic adaptation. Yezin HybridNo.3 is a medium variety with subtropical adaptation. Yezin Hybrid No.4 is a three way cross(TWC) whereas all other hybrids are single crosses (SX). The released hybrids have a yieldadvantage of 35-40% over the existing OPVs. The area under hybrids is gradually increasing yearlyfrom 200 acres in 1990 to 7500 acres in 1997-98. It covers approximately 2.5% of the total maizearea. There is a good prospect for hybrid area expansion in future provided that there is a soundinfrastructure for hybrid seed production.Collaborative Trials with CIMMYTFor many years, CARl has been an active partIcIpant in CIMMYT' s International TestingProgram. CIMMYT trials, EVT 16 A; EVT 16 B, Subtropical Intermediate Yellow Trial; CHTIY,Tropical Yellow and CHTSY subtropical yellow Hybrid Trials are being tested at 4 to 5 locationsevery year. Among the experimental OPVs tested, during recent years, few varieties performedsuperior to local checks, Shwe War 1 in the tropics and Akari in the subtropics. However, there is agood prospect for identifying superior hybrids from the hybrid trials.Seed Production SituationPresently, there is no seed company or cooperative involved in maize seed production business.Quality maize seed production is jointly carried out by three sister organizations under MyanmarAgriculture Service (MAS). The Agriculture Research Division (Central Agric Res Inst:) producesbreeder and foundation seeds for OPVs and inbreds for hybrid. Farms, under the Seed Division andExtension Education Division produces commercial seeds for the farmers. However, due to lack oftrained persons and adequate processing and storage facility among other things, annual supply ofquality seed is less than 10 % of the total maize seed requirement. Starting from 1996, CARl ­initiated a pilot project on 50 acres to produce hybrid maize seed With the contracted growers onfarmers' fields in Tatkon and Pyinmana townships. The program has been successful and will begradually expanded in future.Constraints in Maize Production and ResearchProblems associated with maize production and research are as follows:A. Production Constraint1. Inbreeding depression of local as well as released OPVs due to low frequency of qualityseed replacement.2. Inadequate seed production and distribution system.3. Lack of knowledge by the farmers on the use of quality seeds.4. Lack of seed treatment resulting is poor germination and plant establishment.5. High costs of inputs mainly chemical fertilizers.6. Postharvest operations (drying, shelling, cleaning and storage) is still traditional,resulting in production loss and poor quality of grain.7. Isolation problems in hybrid seed production with contracted growers.B. Research ConstraintsI. Lack of adequate trained persons in the area of research and seed production.