Influence of T-, C- and S- cytoplasms on male sterility and their utilisation in baby corn hybrid breeding

Abstract

Baby corn has become a popular dietary choice worldwide. Here, we evaluated the potential of different male sterility systems as a tool to save cost for manual detasseling in baby corn. 24 hybrids having fertile (N-) and different sterile (T-, C- and S-) cytoplasms were analyzed for pollen sterility and various baby corn traits under three dates of sowing. ANOVA revealed significant genetic variation for number of baby corn ears, baby corn yield, length and width of baby corn ears, fodder weight and silking time. Cytoplasm and date of sowing caused significant variation for majority of baby corn characters. All the T-cytoplasm based hybrids showed no exertion of anthers and complete sterility except in one combination. C-cytoplasm based hybrids showed no to partial anther exertion and complete sterility to partial fertility of pollen. The S-type cytoplasm was quite unstable and showed partial to complete anther exertion and pollen fertility. Across hybrids and sowing time, T-cytoplasm had the highest number of baby corn ears per plot (61.83) and baby corn weight (2659.61 kg/ha) than C-cytoplasm (58.61, 2460.17 kg/ha), N-cytoplasm (57.39, 2323.08 kg/ha) and S-cytoplasm (56.83, 2301.89 kg/ha). The highest baby corn ear -length (8.82 cm), -diameter (1.48 cm), and fodder weight (35.07 t/ha) were recorded in T-cytoplasm. Late sowing had positive effects on baby corn over early planting. This information provides great significance for the utilization of male sterility in baby corn breeding. This is the first report on effects of different male sterility systems as a potential genetic emasculation mechanism in baby corn cultivation.