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Field experiments were conducted to evaluate agronomic traits and response to foliar fungal diseases of five advanced triple hybrids of hard yellow maize (Zea mays L.) and three commercial hybrids. An A × B factorial experiment with eight treatments, four repetitions and the Tukey test was used to compare means of the treatments (P>0.05). The most limiting disease is rust. The agronomic characteristics of breeding lines: h1, h2, h3, h4 and h5 (triple hybrids) were evaluated and compared with h6, h7, and h8 (commercial hybrids). Field trials were conducted in two locations of Central Coast of Ecuador (Quevedo & Balzar). Both locations showed significant differences for agronomic traits; Balzar presented lower yield (6,205.46 kg ha-1) and greater severity of curvularia leaf spot (3.34 CIMMYT scale) compared to Quevedo (7,368.21 kg ha-1 and 2.47 CIMMYT scale). For hybrids, h6 had significantly lower yield (5,306.83 kg ha-1), compared to h5 (6,914.09 kg ha-1), h1 (7,211.80 kg ha-1), h3 (7,266.83 kg ha-1), and h8 (8,036.85 kg ha-1). Significant differences were also detected for the orthogonal comparison (INIAP hybrids) with 5,634.44 kg ha-1 and the promissory lines with 6,997.68 kg ha-1. The highest net profit was achieved with the hybrid h2 with USD 1,405.76 followed by the hybrid h1 with USD 1,385,92, obtaining a Benefit-Cost ratio of 2.32 and 2.30 respectively, which indicates that for each monetary unit invested, an additional USD 1.32 and 1.30 of profit was obtained for the two hybrids, respectively.

Field trials were conducted in two years to evaluate persistence of B. thuringiensis and Bacillus pumilus under field conditions. Strains of B. thuringiensis (3971) and B. pumilus (4185) were isolated from coffee agro-ecosystem in Puerto Rico. Field trials consisted in plots of nine coffee trees arranged in a randomized complete block design, sprayed with Bt-3971 and Bp-4185 at 108, 109, or 1010 colony forming units CFU ml-1 or non-inoculated. In year 1, B. thuringiensis and B. pumilus survived up to six months after inoculation. Monitoring carried out during year 2, re-confirmed the survival of Bt-3971 and Bp-4185 inoculated in coffee trees under field conditions. Overall, Bt-3971 had significantly more recovery rates than Bp-4185. However, the higher bacterial recoveries were 1.24x1013 CFU ml-1 in coffee trees treated with Bt-3971 and 2.48x1013 CFU ml-1 in coffee trees treated with Bp-4185 in year 1 and year 2, respectively, both sprayed with 1010 spores ml-1. B. thuringiensis (3971) and B. pumilus (4185) isolated from coffee fields of Puerto Rico are well adapted to the environmental conditions of the island, and are valuable biological control agents against coffee berry borer.