Abstract: This article is based on the analysis of facing challenges of maize industry development in the Southwest of China to find the major gap affecting Southwestern maize breeding outcome, and propose appropriate strategies and ways according to the development of domestic and abroad maize hybrid breeding trends and our physical practice. Breeding objectives should be focused on enhancing disease resistance and pest-resistance, drought-tolerance and tolerance to poor soil fertility, and being available to fit complete mechanization of production and cultivate management system reform, as well as promoting the breeding and utilization of new “forage maize” crop with good vegetative superiority. Germplasm enhancement should clearly define heterotic group where it belongs to, simplify heterotic pattern, systematically develop basic germplasm evaluation and analysis, synthesize and improve breeding population, and create new specific breeding materials. Breakthrough inbred line breeding, should be focused on the exploration and utilization of specific new genes, using GCA yield as an important selection criteria, selecting those plant lines with slower inbreeding depression as the primary selection object alternatively, using selfing, sister mating, or mixed pollen mating, increasing frequency of good genes or genotypes, and increasing the power for selection and identification with yield test. Improved breeding methods include increasing plant density, increasing selection pressure, implementation of the North-South shuttle breeding, speeding up the construction of maize seed production base in southern China, at the same time speeding up the application of high and new technology in corn breeding.

Key words: Maize, Southwestern Region of China, Breeding objective, Germplasm, Heterosis pattern, Breakthrough inbred lines, Breeding method