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Volume 16
Issue 7
10.3390/genes16070754
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Selecting Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Factor Analytic Models and Environmental Covariates as Drought Stress Indicators

by
Domagoj Stepinac
1,
Ivan Pejić
2,
Krešo Pandžić
3,
Tanja Likso
3,
Hrvoje Šarčević
2,
Domagoj Šimić
4,
Miroslav Bukan
2,
Ivica Buhiniček
1,
Antun Jambrović
4,
Bojan Marković
5,
Mirko Jukić
1 and
Jerko Gunjača
2,*
1
Bc Institute for Breeding and Production of Field Crops, Dugoselska 7, 10370 Dugo Selo, Croatia
2
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
3
Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Ravnice 48, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
4
Agricultural Institute Osijek, Južno Predgrađe 17, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
5
Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food, Centre for Seed and Seedlings, Usorska 19, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Genes 2025, 16(7), 754; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16070754 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 27 May 2025 / Revised: 24 June 2025 / Accepted: 26 June 2025 / Published: 27 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Breeding and Genetics of Plant Drought Resistance)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Background/Objectives: A critical part of the maize life cycle takes place during the summer, and due to climate change, its growth and development are increasingly exposed to the irregular and unpredictable effects of drought stress. Developing and using new cultivars with increased drought tolerance for farmers is the easiest and cheapest solution. One of the concepts to screen for drought tolerance is to expose germplasm to various growth scenarios (environments), expecting that random drought will occur in some of them. Methods: In the present study, thirty-two maize hybrids belonging to four FAO maturity groups were tested for grain yield at six locations over two consecutive years. In parallel, data of the basic meteorological elements such as air temperature, relative humidity and precipitation were collected and used to compute two indices, scPDSI (Self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index) and VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit), that were assessed as indicators of drought (water deficit) severity during the vegetation period. Practical implementation of these indices was carried out indirectly by first analyzing yield data using a factor analytic model to detect latent environmental variables affecting yield and then correlating those latent variables with drought indices. Results: The first latent variable, which explained 47.97% of the total variability, was correlated with VPD (r = −0.58); the second latent variable explained 9.57% of the total variability and was correlated with scPDSI (r = −0.74). Furthermore, latent regression coefficients (i.e., genotypic sensitivities to latent environmental variables) were correlated with genotypic drought tolerance. Conclusions: This could be considered an indication that there were two different acting mechanisms in which drought affected yield.
Keywords: maize; drought tolerance; scPDSI (Self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index); VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit); abiotic stress; grain yield stability maize; drought tolerance; scPDSI (Self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index); VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit); abiotic stress; grain yield stability

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MDPI and ACS Style

Stepinac, D.; Pejić, I.; Pandžić, K.; Likso, T.; Šarčević, H.; Šimić, D.; Bukan, M.; Buhiniček, I.; Jambrović, A.; Marković, B.; et al. Selecting Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Factor Analytic Models and Environmental Covariates as Drought Stress Indicators. Genes 2025, 16, 754. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16070754

AMA Style

Stepinac D, Pejić I, Pandžić K, Likso T, Šarčević H, Šimić D, Bukan M, Buhiniček I, Jambrović A, Marković B, et al. Selecting Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Factor Analytic Models and Environmental Covariates as Drought Stress Indicators. Genes. 2025; 16(7):754. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16070754

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stepinac, Domagoj, Ivan Pejić, Krešo Pandžić, Tanja Likso, Hrvoje Šarčević, Domagoj Šimić, Miroslav Bukan, Ivica Buhiniček, Antun Jambrović, Bojan Marković, and et al. 2025. "Selecting Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Factor Analytic Models and Environmental Covariates as Drought Stress Indicators" Genes 16, no. 7: 754. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16070754

APA Style

Stepinac, D., Pejić, I., Pandžić, K., Likso, T., Šarčević, H., Šimić, D., Bukan, M., Buhiniček, I., Jambrović, A., Marković, B., Jukić, M., & Gunjača, J. (2025). Selecting Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Factor Analytic Models and Environmental Covariates as Drought Stress Indicators. Genes, 16(7), 754. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16070754

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