Evaluating the collection of maize inbred lines originating from Primorsky Krai

Abstract

Background. The modern breeding of maize hybrids for high heterosis pays considerable attention to the creation of new starting material, i. e. inbred lines. Their genetic potential depends primarily on the quality of forms used in self-pollination, on the selection and evaluation of progeny aimed at achieving the homozygosity of economically important traits.

Methods. The study on maize inbred lines was carried out by the Laboratory of the Breeding and Breeder Seed Production of Maize in an experimental field plot at FSBSI «FSC of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaika». A standard method was employed, which included the self-pollination and selection of lines for a complex of economically important traits over several years to achieve homozygosity.

Results. The research resulted in the selection of genotypes that combined high yield with a low moisture content in grain at harvest maturity PK 160, PK 139, PK 65, and PK 155. We identified sources of such economically important traits as the height of plants and cobs (PK 26, PK 36, PK 39, PK 42, PK 55, PK 78, and PK 181), cob length (PK 55, PK 57, PK 58, PK 65, PK 69, PK 153, PK 155, PK 160, PK 164, and PK 175), cob weight (PK 160, PK 65, PK 155, PK 139, and PK 52), the number of grains per cob (PK 42, PK 52, and PK 65), grain weight per cob (PK 65, PK 155, and PK 160), the 1000 kernel weight (PK 160, PK 175, PK 181, PK 139, and PK 65), and a high general combining ability (PK 58, PK 124, PK 176, PK 1/3, and PK 3). The selected accessions will be involved in a breeding program to create highly heterotic maize hybrids.