The pearl millet hybrid ABH 219 (1 111A x PT 1890) was developed at Millet Breeding Station, School of Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore. This hybrid recorded. an overall mean grain yield of 2513 kg/ha (12.4% over X6) under rainfed conditions and 3295 kg/ha (12.8% over X6) under irrigated conditions. It is resistant to downy mildew (3%), and posses 4-7 possess productive tillers, high protein content (13.8%), synchronised flowering and medium grain. size. The cytoplasmic background of the new hybrid is different from that of the already existing hybrid X6. Hence it was released as X7 for general cultivation in Tamil Nadu.

BC 2, is a baby corn composite suitable for irrigated and rainfed situations. Each plant can yield 2 to 3 cobs and the tender cobs can be harvested between 50 and 65 days after sowing before fertilization. It has an yield potential of 8316 kg baby corn and 32.2 tonnes of green fodder per hectare. It is moderately resistant to sorghum downy mildew diseases and tolerant to major pest of maize. It possess high starch (7.1 per cent) and delightful sweet flavour (total sugars 1.3 per cent) than the local baby corn. It serve as a valuable nutritious energy source with the attractive standard size cob (9 to 10 cm) suited for export market and released as CoBc 1 (1988).

UMH 10 is a medium duration (95-100 days) double cross maize hybrid suited for cultivation both under rainfed (Sep-Oct) and irrigated (June-July and Jan-Feb) situations: It has an yield potential of 8875 kg of grains and 19 tonnes of fodder per hectare. It is highly resistant to sorghum downy mildew disease and maize stem borer. It possess desirable attributes such as high starch (64.8%) and high protein (11.03%). Grains are bold, orange: yellow in colour and flint in texture. It was released as CoH 3 maize hybrid during 1996 to replace CoH 2 hybrid.

The pearlmillet hybrid TNBH 5635 (732 A x PT 4450) was released as COHCu 8 during January 2001 for general cultivation in Tamil Nadu. It recorded a mean grain yield of 2819 kg ha-1 (21.7% over X7) under rainfed conditions and 3682 kg ha-1 (15.0% over X7) under irrigated conditions. It is resistant to downy mildew and possess 5-8 productive tillers with nonlodging and spindle type ear heads. The protein content is about 13.8 per cent with acceptable cooking quality. It can be grown in June" - July, September October and January February throughout Tamil Nadu and is the best alternative to X7 hybrid.

In 10 x 10 diallel analysis in maize, additive (D) and dominance (H1 and H2) components were found significant for plant height, number of grain rows per cob, number of grains per row, cob weight, hundred grain weight and grain yield. Dominance components (H1 and H2) were greater in magnitude than additive components for the above characters while additive (D) was found to be greater than dominant (H1 and H2) components for days to 50% silking.