SR52 single-cross hybrid maize
Maíz híbrido simple SR52
- Date
- 1960 · confidence high
- Place
- Salisbury (Harare), Zimbabwe
- Credited to
- Southern Rhodesia Agricultural Research Service (Harry Rattray and colleagues)
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
The world's first single-cross maize hybrid released commercially, with yields far higher than local varieties. It transformed maize production in southern Africa.
In the United States, double-cross hybrids dominated at the time; single crosses became widespread there only later.
What it led to
- the spread of hybrid maize across southern Africa
- the hybrid seed market on the continent
- the worldwide adoption of single-cross hybrids