Understanding the interactions of genotype with environment and management (G×E×M) to enhance maize productivity in Conservation Agriculture systems of Malawi.

Climatic variability and soil fertility decline present a fundamental challenge for smallholder farmers to determine the optimum management practices in the production of maize. Optimizing genotype (G) and management (M) of maize under different environmental conditions (E) and their interactions are essential for enhancing maize productivity in the smallholder sector of Malawi where maize is the main staple food. Here, we evaluated over seven seasons, the performance of four commercial maize genotypes [including hybrids and one open pollinated variety (OPV)] managed under different Conservation Agriculture (CA) and conventional practices (CP) across on-farm communities of central and southern Malawi.