Identification of early-flowering white maize inbred lines through line × tester analysis | ||||
| Archives of Agriculture Sciences Journal | ||||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 01 August 2025 PDF (1.22 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Research article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/aasj.2025.450715 | ||||
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| Authors | ||||
M. G. Shaker  ; S. H. M. Abdel-Haleem; B. H. Ahmed; S. Sh. Hemada
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| Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University (Assiut Branch), Assiut, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Eighty S₁ white maize inbred lines were developed from four populations (20 per population) and top-crossed with two testers: Giza-2 (T1) and SC-10 (T2), producing 160 top-cross hybrids. These hybrids, the original inbred lines, the testers, and the commercial check Giza-2 were evaluated in 2023 at Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt for days to 50% anthesis and silking. Highly significant differences were observed among genotypes, including parents, crosses, and their interactions. Significant variation was also found among lines, testers, and line × tester interactions for both earliness traits. Several inbred lines exhibited significant and desirable negative general combining ability (GCA) effects for earliness. These included IL-7 and IL-17 from population-1; IL-2, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, IL-15, IL-17, IL-18, and IL-19 from population-2; IL-1, IL-4, IL-8, IL-11, and IL-20 from population-3; and IL-2, IL-3, IL-7, IL-18, and IL-19 from population-4. Giza-2 (T1) was earlier flowering than SC-10 (T2). Significant and negative specific combining ability (SCA) effects were detected for both testers, suggesting a predominance of non-additive gene action (σ²A/σ² D < 1). Several top-cross hybrids showed significantly negative SCA effects and heterosis for both traits, including IL-5 × Giza-2 and IL-17 × Giza-2 (population-1); IL-10 × Giza-2 and IL-4 × SC-10 (population-2); IL-13, IL-15, and IL-19 × SC-10 (population-3); and IL-14 and IL-18 × Giza-2 (population-4). These hybrids flowered earlier than their parents and the commercial check. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| breeding for earliness; maize; combining ability; heterosis | ||||
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