Not AvailableFostering a culture of continuous improvement through regular monitoring of genetic trends in
breeding pipelines is essential to improve efficiency and increase accountability. This is the first global
study to estimate genetic trends across the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) tropical maize breeding pipelines in eastern and southern Africa (ESA), South Asia, and
Latin America over the past decade. Data from a total of 4152 advanced breeding trials and 34,813
entries, conducted at 1331 locations in 28 countries globally, were used for this study. Genetic trends
for grain yield reached up to 138 kg ha−
1 yr−
1 in ESA, 118 kg ha−
1 yr−
1 South Asia and 143 kg ha−
1 yr−
1 in
Latin America. Genetic trend was, in part, related to the extent of deployment of new breeding tools
in each pipeline, strength of an extensive phenotyping network, and funding stability. Over the past
decade, CIMMYT’s breeding pipelines have significantly evolved, incorporating new tools/technologies
to increase selection accuracy and intensity, while reducing cycle time. The first pipeline, Eastern
Africa Product Profile 1a (EA-PP1a), to implement marker-assisted forward-breeding for resistance
to key diseases, coupled with rapid-cycle genomic selection for drought, recorded a genetic trend of
2.46% per year highlighting the potential for deploying new tools/technologies to increase genetic gainCIMMYT, Hyderabad and ICA
