Cultivar Heterosis between Sweet and Spanish Field Corn

Abstract

Field corn (Zea mays L. var. mays) cultivar heterosis could improve sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. rugosa Bonaf) heterotic patterns. Two Spanish field corn (Su) and two sweet corn (su) heterotic patterns have been reported previously. The objective of this study was to determine which sweet × field corn crosses could be used to improve sweet corn heterotic groups. A diallel among three sweet corn cultivars (`Country Gentleman', `Golden Bantam', and `Stowell's Evergreen') that are representative of the variability among modern sweet corn cultivars, and three field corn synthetic cultivars [`EPS6(S)C3', `EPS7(S)C3', and `EPS10'] representing the heterotic patterns involving Spanish field corn, was evaluated for 2 years at two locations in northwestern Spain. Differences in heterosis effects (hjj') and average heterosis (h) were significant for all traits except grain moisture. Differences for cultivar heterosis (hj) and specific heterosis (sjj') were significant for grain yield, plant height, and kernel row number. `EPS6(S)C3' had lower sjj' for yield in crosses to `Golden Bantam' than to `Stowell's Evergreen', while `EPS7(S)C3' had higher sjj' in crosses to `Golden Bantam' than to `Stowell's Evergreen'. The best crosses to establish enhanced sweet corn heterotic patterns involving Spanish maize would be `Golden Bantam' × `EPS6(S)C3' and `Stowell's Evergreen' × `EPS7(S)C3'. New sugary 1 cultivars would require preliminary cycles of intrapopulational recurrent selection for agronomic performance and flavor prior initiating an interpopulational recurrent selection program to enhance heterosis.