ADAPTATION OF MAIZE HYBRIDS FROM DIFFERENT MATURITY GROUPS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF NORTH-WESTERN AND NORTH-EASTERN CROATIA

When tested in variety trials set in various environmental conditions, maize hybrids from different maturity groups can display different patterns of adaptation related to their differential response to dominant environmental factors, which could also be altered by applied agricultural practice. Sampling the data set from an actual breeding program, the aim of the present study was to investigate these patterns of adaptation. The results revealed that expected patterns adaptation were only partially expressed in only one of the trial years, indicating the existence of complex plant-soil-climate interrelationships, raising the demand for full understanding of all their components for succesfull prediction of the hybrid performance.