Four hundred and forty maize inbred lines, developed at Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil, derived from several populations, were evaluated, in field conditions, as to tropical rust resistance caused by Physopella zeae. Twenty two experiments were carried out in randomized complete block designs, with two replications each, during 93/94 summer season, in Ribeirão Preto, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Resistant (Z 8568) and susceptible (P 3069) hybrids were used as controls. The evaluations were performed 30 days after flowering, according to a scale of notes from 1 to 9 (0%; 1%; 2.5%; 5%; 10%; 25%; 50%; 75% and >75% affected leaf area). All populations showed variability as to P. zeae reaction, suggesting that recurrent selection might be effective to achieve tropical rust resistance.
maize; inbred lines; tropical rust