Abstract
The study focus on the evaluation of popcorn lines for their yield and agronomic potentials. Genetic materials were evaluated under irrigation in a three-replicate in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a commercial variety as check. Two seeds were planted per hole using two- row plots of 5 m long with inter and intra-row spacing of 0.75 m x 0.5 m, respectively in two locations viz: Ibadan and Ikenne representing the forest and savannah agro-ecologies of Nigeria respectively. Genotypes (G) differed significantly (ρ ≤ 0.01) for almost all the characters measured except for ear aspect. Location (L) as well as G x L interaction effects were also well pronounced on all agronomic characters measured except for days to silking and ears per plant. Popcorn 33-1-Y, large pearl shaped, Popcorn 40-Y and Popcorn 34-Y were high yielding with a potential of above 2.0 t ha−1. These materials were found to be fairly resistant to major foliar diseases of the tropical humid ecologies. They are recommended for further evaluation across different agro-environments for possible propagation by popcorn farmers in Nigeria to boost production.
Highlights
Popcorn (Zea mays L. everta) is a special type of flint maize that has the ability to pop into consumable flakes when heated due to the thickness of the endosperm
The results of the mean squares from the combined analyses of variance (ANOVA) for agronomic characters in the 19 popcorn lines showed that expression of almost all the characters differed significantly (ρ ≤ 0.01) from one location (L) to the other except days to silking and ears/plant while the genotype (G) differed significantly (ρ ≤ 0.01) for all the characters except ear aspect and cob length (Table 2)
Genotype x Location (GL) interaction on the other hand had a pronounced effect (ρ ≤ 0.01) on all the morphological characters measured except cob length, with location showing a greater magnitude of variability in terms of larger mean squares for most of the characters
Summary
Popcorn (Zea mays L. everta) is a special type of flint maize that has the ability to pop into consumable flakes when heated due to the thickness of the endosperm. The kernel pops upon heating as a result of the unique quality of the endosperm that makes it resist the steam pressure generated until it reaches explosive proportion (Acquaah, 2007). It is one of the most widely used groups of maize all over the world including in Nigeria (Mani and Dadari, 2003). Genotype x Environment (G x E) interaction was observed to be significant for the two main traits (yield and expansion volume) while the relationship between grain yield and expansion volume was negative. A strong and positive association was observed between expansion volume and kernel thickness, suggesting that this trait can be taken as a morphological variable which influence the expansion volume
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