Premium
Ten Cycles of Progress from Modified Ear‐to‐Row Selection in Corn 1
Author(s) -
Compton W. A.,
Bahadur Khan
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1977.0011183x001700030009x
Subject(s) - selection (genetic algorithm) , biology , yield (engineering) , cultivar , agronomy , zea mays , grain yield , mathematics , statistics , computer science , materials science , artificial intelligence , metallurgy
A modified ear‐to‐row selection program in corn Zea maya L.) was initiated in Nebraska by Dr. J. H. Lonnquist in 1961. This paper describes results through the 10th cycle. Grain yields have continued to increase through the 10th cycle, but there is some evidence of curvilinearity. Part of this might be the result of a change in the selection criterion after the seventh cycle. At that time we began using a selection index that included lodging and dropped ears in addition to yield. The authors feel that it is unlikely that the selection study is plateaulng and therefore feel that linear regression estimates of gain are still appropriate. Gains in yield reported here from such an estimate are at the rate of 5.26% per cycle. Correlated responses in lodging, moisture at harvest, ear height, and number of ears per plant are discussed. Yield gains, though not very large, are still larger than those from mass selection in the same cultivar.