PJB-2020-373
GENETIC ANALYSIS OF EARLY GENERATION MAIZE INBRED LINES TO CLASSIFY THEM INTO HETEROTIC GROUPS
Getachew, Gemechu
Abstract
Currently, maize is one of the grain crops used for food and fodder in Ethiopia. Also, it is used as a source of raw material for industries to produce oil, beverage, beer and food complex. Bako National Maize Research has been releasing different maize hybrids that have high yield and better qualities that adapts in different agroecology of Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to classify the inbred lines into the heterotic groups and evaluate the performance of their hybrids. Thirteen inbred lines were crossed in 2017 with two inbred line testers using line by tester mating design. Twenty-six crosses were generated and evaluated in a randomized incomplete block design (RCBD) with two standard checks and 3 replications during the long rainy seasons of 2018 at Bako, Ethiopia. Also, adjacent to the hybrid trial, thirteen parental lines with the two tester lines were evaluated using CRD with three replications. Data on grain yield and related traits were recorded. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for all data for both test crosses and parental trials was done using the PROC GLM procedure in SAS® computer program. Mean separation was done using the least significant differences (LSD). ANOVA showed that mean squares due to crosses were highly significant (P < 0.01) for most of the traits studied, except ear aspect. The overall mean grain yields (GY) of the genotypes (crosses) were 6.32 t/ha ranging from 5.21 t/ha to 8.19 t/ha. Six inbred lines were grouped into heterotic group A and the other inbred lines were grouped into heterotic group B. Inbred lines that are assigned into the same heterotic group are useful as a source of germplasm to develop inbred and synthetic lines for eastern Africa.
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