Genetic characterization of multi-parental population to sorghum downy mildew in maize

Abstract

Sorghum downy mildew (SDM) is considered as one of the important diseases of maize in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Though effective chemical measures are available for SDM management, developing resistant hybrids and their cultivation is a widely accepted option. The present study was aimed at the utility of multi-parental population in generating the variability for SDM resistance. A total of 288 F3 progenies derived from eight founder parents were phenotyped for SDM during summer and rainy season of 2020. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation was observed among the F3 progenies. Narrow sense heritability and genetic advance as per cent mean (GAM) for SDM resistance was found to be high, Among the 288 F3 progenies four progenies were found to be resistant and 17 were moderately resistant to SDM. The distribution of F3 progenies was platykurtic and positively skewed during summer season and negatively skewed during rainy season indicating that the trait was under the control of large number of genes with complimentary and duplicate gene action, respectively.