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Heterosis in Crosses between American and Spanish Populations of Maize
Author(s) -
Ordás A.
Publication year - 1991
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/cropsci1991.0011183x003100040018x
Subject(s) - germplasm , heterosis , diallel cross , biology , temperate climate , zea mays , agronomy , yield (engineering) , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , hybrid , materials science , metallurgy
Most maize ( Zea mays L.) crosses in te mperate zones use the heterotic pattern Reid ✕ Lancaster, but in western Europe the pattern U.S. dent ✕ European flint has also been used. This study was undertaken to determine the heterotic relationships between Spanish and U.S. Corn Belt germplasm to identify a heterotic pattern for a comprehensive system of breeding. Four early U.S. Corn Belt and five Spanish populations were crossed in a diallel series that was tested for three years at two locations. Using heterosis for yield as the measure of dissimilarity, a phenogram showed the existence of three groups of populations: U.S. Corn Belt, northern Spain, and southern Spain. Two composites were formed, one with germplasm from northern Spain (EPS6) and the other with germplasm from southern Spain (EPS7), that were subjected to one cycle of S 1 recurrent selection. The yield gains were 10.4 and 9.4% for EPS6 and EPS7, respectively. The mid‐parent heterosis was 32.7%, much greater than predicted (17.7%). Spanish germplasm can be a useful addition to maize breeding programs of temperate zones, enhancing the genetic base of the material being used.