Genetic regions & genes associated with increased yield in plants

A method of producing a maize plant having increased yield under drought conditions or increased yield under non-drought conditions, wherein increased yield is increased bushels per acre as compared to a control plant, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) isolating a nucleic acid from the a first maize plant;
• b) detecting in the nucleic acid of a) at least one molecular marker that is associated with increased yield under drought conditions or increased yield under non-drought conditions, wherein said allele is localized within 20 cM, 15 cM, 10 cM, 9 cM, 8 cM, 7 cM, 6 cM, 5 cM, 4 cM, 3 cM, 2 cM, 1 cM or genetically linked to a yield allele corresponding to any one of:
• (i) SM2987 located on maize chromosome 1 corresponding to a G allele at position 272937870;
• (ii) SM2991 located on maize chromosome 2 corresponding to a G allele at position 12023706;
• (iii) SM2995 located on maize chromosome 3 corresponding to a A allele at position 225037602;
• (iv) SM2996 located on maize chromosome 3 corresponding to a A allele at position 225340931;
• (v) SM2973 located on maize chromosome 5 corresponding to a G allele at position 159121201;
• (vi) SM2980 located on maize chromosome 9 corresponding to a C allele at position 12104936;
• (vii) SM2982 located on maize chromosome 9 corresponding to a A allele at position 133887717;
• or
• (viii) SM2984 located on maize chromosome 10 corresponding to a G allele at position 4987333;
• and
• c) selecting a first maize plant based on the presence of the molecular marker detected in b);
• d) crossing the maize plant of c) with a second maize plant not comprising in its genome the molecular marker detected in the first maize plant;
• and
• e) producing a progeny plant from the cross of d) resulting in a maize plant having increased yield under drought conditions or increased yield under non-drought conditions as compared to a control plant.