Abstract

A line x tester mating design involving sixteen white maize inbred lines as females and two testers as males generated thirty-two single crosses. These hybrids plus three checks were evaluated using a 5 x 7 alpha lattice design replicated twice at the University of Ghana, WACCI research farm during 2015/16 offseason using drip irrigation. The objective of the study was to: assign the tropical inbred lines into heterotic groups. Based on the SCA effect for grain yield, the lines were separated into two heterotic groups. The lines L1, L3, L4, L8, L11 and L14 belonged to tester group 1368, while L2, L5, L6, L7, L9, L10, L12, L13, L15 and L16 belonged to heterotic group of CML 444. This is useful for the development of hybrids and synthetic varieties. Thus, the information generated in the present study will be useful for breeders who want to improve yield and yield-contributing traits of maize. Key words: Hybrids, heterotic group, line x tester (LxT), maize, yield.

Highlights

  • Knowledge on the genetic heterogeneity and progeny performance, are significant for deciding breeding schemes, assigning the parental lines, defining heterotic groups, and predicting future hybrid performance

  • Information on genetic diversity among genetic materials has an utmost importance for hybrid maize breeding programmes for development of lines, the assigning of lines into different heterotic groups and the preference of testers for hybrid combinations (Xia et al, 2004)

  • Assigning of maize lines into different heterotic group is very vital for hybrid breeding programmes in giving information about the germplasms (Hallauer et al, 2010)

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Summary

Introduction

Knowledge on the genetic heterogeneity and progeny performance, are significant for deciding breeding schemes, assigning the parental lines, defining heterotic groups, and predicting future hybrid performance. Information on genetic diversity among genetic materials has an utmost importance for hybrid maize breeding programmes for development of lines, the assigning of lines into different heterotic groups and the preference of testers for hybrid combinations (Xia et al, 2004). Assigning of maize lines into different heterotic group is very vital for hybrid breeding programmes in giving information about the germplasms (Hallauer et al, 2010). Melchinger (1999) proposed that, when a large number of inbred lines is available and proven testers exist, the relative performance of the lines in testcrosses with proven testers can be used as a main criterion for grouping of the lines. Vasal et al (1992a, b) used this approach to evaluate the performance of testcrosses of 92 tropical and 88 subtropical maize inbred lines with two dent and two flint tester lines. Use of available genetic materials and application of available crop improvement methods to improve yield

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