content in maize alone can add an estimated annual gross value of $360 million per year and can go up to Development and adoption of quality protein maize (Zea mays $480 million per year if protein also is increased (John-L.) (QPM) would increase the nutritional value of food and feed son et al., 2001). maize products. Breeding programs at the International Center for The CIMMYT has developed QPM that has im-Maize and Wheat Improvement, Mexico (CIMMYT); Texas A&M University (TAMU); and University of Natal, South Africa (SA) have proved kernel quality characteristics over o 2 /o 2 soft gedeveloped high-lysine inbreds. Information about how elite QPM notypes, by introducing modifier genes and selecting for inbreds of different origins combine and perform in hybrids will facilia hard, vitreous endosperm in o 2 /o 2 germplasm (Vasal, tate the selection of parents and breeding strategies for hybrid devel-2001). The CIMMYT QPM populations, pools, inbreds, opment. Our objectives were to estimate the general (GCA) and and hybrids adapted to subtropical and tropical environspecific combining abilities (SCA) for grain yield and secondary traits ments are widely used in the development of high-lysine among high-lysine inbreds from different sources and to identify pomaize in Brazil, China, Ghana, India, and several Latin tential heterotic relationships among them. Seven white (CML176, American countries (Vasal, 2001). The maize breeding CML181, CML184, Bo59W, Tx807, Tx811, and TxX124) and nineprogram at SA has developed high-lysine white (e.g., yellow QPM inbreds (CML190, CML193, Tx802, Tx814, Tx818, Bo46W and Bo59W) and yellow inbreds (e.g., Do940yMaize Breeding and Genetics Program, Soil and Crop Sciences Dep., Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX 77843-2474. Received 12 Nov.