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Vivek QPM-9 maize hybrid Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Vivek QPM-9 maize hybrid

Vivek QPM-9 is a single-cross quality protein maize hybrid developed at ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora, and released through AICRP-Maize in 2008. It was the first early-maturing QPM hybrid notified for the hill agro-ecologies of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, the north-eastern states and parts of Bihar — landscapes where standard medium-duration single-cross hybrids do not finish before the cool autumn shutdown.

Why it matters

Hill cultivators historically grew open-pollinated normal maize (composite varieties like Vivek Sankul) for both grain and makki ki roti; the protein quality of that grain is poor by FAO standards. Vivek QPM-9 brought opaque-2-based lysine and tryptophan enrichment to short-season hill maize without yield penalty against the prevailing composites. It is one of the earliest examples of marker-assisted-selection QPM breeding in Indian public sector.

Key facts

  • Released: 2008 by AICRP-Maize for hill and Bihar zones
  • Breeder: ICAR-VPKAS, Almora (Uttarakhand)
  • Type: single-cross hybrid, opaque-2 allele
  • Recommended zone: Uttarakhand, HP, J&K, NEH region, hills of West Bengal, lowland Bihar
  • Duration: 80-85 days (kharif, mid-hills); ~95 days in plains
  • Yield potential: 5.5-6.5 t/ha; on-farm 4.0-4.5 t/ha
  • Grain: yellow flint, ~270 g per 1000 kernels
  • Lysine in protein: ~4.0%; tryptophan: ~0.9%

Agronomy

Designed for rainfed hill conditions at 800-1800 m altitude. Seed rate 20 kg/ha at 60 × 20 cm; on slopes, contour planting is recommended. Fertiliser: 120:60:40 NPK kg/ha with the full dose of P, K and one-third N at sowing and the remaining N at knee-high. Hill soils respond strongly to FYM @ 10 t/ha and to ZnSO4 @ 25 kg/ha. The short duration allows a vegetable, pulse or wheat rabi crop on the same field — a key advantage over 120-day composites.

Pests and diseases

Vivek QPM-9 carries moderate resistance to turcicum leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum), the dominant foliar disease of hill maize, and to common rust (Puccinia sorghi). It is susceptible to maydis leaf blight in warm-humid plains. Fall armyworm has become a serious threat after 2018; see Fall Armyworm Maize and Maize Faw Spodoptera Frugiperda National. Storage pests reduce grain quality in farm-level traditional grain bins (katham).

Adoption and use

The variety is procured for seed multiplication by Uttarakhand State Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation, Pantnagar, and is supplied through KVK demonstrations under the National Food Security Mission. Grain is consumed predominantly on-farm as flour for chapati, seera and porridge. Its short duration is the primary reason for continued popularity in hill belts, even after newer hybrids like Pusa Vivek QPM-9 Improved (Pusa Qpm 5 Hybrid Maize) added provitamin-A.

See also: Pusa Qpm 5 Hybrid Maize, Hqpm 1 Iari Quality Protein Maize, Hqpm 5 Quality Protein Maize, Hqpm 7 Quality Protein Maize, Maize Crop Overview, Fall Armyworm Maize, Dhm 117 Iimr Maize.

Sources

  1. Vivek QPM-9 — variety profile. ICAR-VPKAS, Almora. https://vpkas.icar.gov.in/varieties.php
  2. Notified maize hybrids catalogue. ICAR-IIMR, Ludhiana. https://iimr.icar.gov.in/?page_id=2247