Increased productivity of maize (Zea mays L.) through ear-to-row selection

Abstract

Assembling superior maize varieties is one of the strategies to increase maize productivity on suboptimal land on Madura Island, Indonesia. One method of assembling high-yielding maize varieties is ear-to-row selection. The research aimed to determine the genetic advances due to ear-to-row selection on the Tambin, Sukmaraga, and Srikandi Kuning varieties. The research was carried out in two stages of activity. Stage 1, carrying out ear-to-row selection for one cycle from the C0 population to form a C1 population. Ear-to-row selection was done on three varieties: the Tambin, Sukmaraga, and Srikandi Kuning. Stage II, carried out an evaluation of the C0 and C1 populations on the three varieties so that six populations were produced. Population evaluation used a completely randomized block design with three replications, resulting in 18 experimental units. Observational variables include ear length, ear diameter, seeds number per row, weight of 100 seeds, seed weight per ear, and production per hectare. The results showed that ear-to-row selection on maize varieties Tambin, Sukmaraga, and Srikandi Kuning showed significantly different selection progress based on the t-test at 5% on maize production per hectare. Heritability values ​​in a broad sense for all characters observed in the moderate to high categories of the three varieties (Tambin, Sukmaraga, and Srikandi Kuning).