Abstract: The major maize diseases of economic importance in China at present are Helminthosporium turcicum, H, rnaydis, Sphacelotheca reiliana,Fusarium graminearium and MDMV,Results showed that the resistance of maize to these diseases was mostly of the horizontal type, Among maize inbred lines and their hybrids, there existed significant differences in the levels of disease resistance, "hhe disease resistance of F, progeny was either similar to that of its resistant parents or better than the average of its parents,Recurrent sel- ection and use of multicytoplasm hybrids practicaly proved to be an efficient approach to increase disease resistance.

Key words: Maizey, Disease-resistance breeding