Improvement of the maize population "Elite Synthetic NT" for soils with low nitrogen content.

The maize population 'Elite Synthetic NT' has been selected with the objective of improvement its yield potential in soils with low nitrogen (N) availability. During the 1994/95 season, 144 half-sib families showing good male-female flowering synchrony were evaluated with and without N fertilizer at Sete Lagoas, MG. The experimental design utilized was a 12 x 12 lattice, with 5 m plots. The open-pollinated variety 'BR 106', selected in soils with high fertility, was used as a between block check. Mean ear weight for the selected families in N+ and N-environmental averaged 4,511 kg/ha and 3,327 kg/ha, respectively. Yield reduction between environmental averaged 27.14% for the selected families and 65.8% for BR 106. The results indicate that selection inN-environments is an efficient approach for developing genotypes with better performance in soils with low nitrogen content