Relationship between heterosis and morphological distance for yield in Waxy Corn

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluation 1) diversity for morphological traits within ten waxy corn varieties; and 2) correlation between heterosis and morphological distance. Ten single-cross hybrid waxy corn cultivars were crossed in a complete diallel. The 10 parental cultivars and their 90 crosses were evaluated in the rainy season 2007 at the Experimental Farm of Khon Kaen University. The dendrogram revealed four distinctive groups of waxy corn using eight morphological traits; 1) Kxsx46, GR4849WL, WX366 and Super champ 2) SW25, CN80, 49GC216 and 1116 3) BW852 and 4) 2904. Negative correlation was found between morphological distance (diversity by all traits, yields and husked yield) and high-parent heterosis (HPH) (-0.42**, -0.42** and -0.51**, respectively). This classification could be useful for define heterotic groups and determine breeding strategies. Keywords: cluster analysis, breeding, morphological trait, correlation