Evaluation of small waxy corn lines selected from a local cultivar

Abstract

Local cultivars of small waxy corn in Thailand are diverse and valuable for conservation. The evaluation of these genetic resources is a significant research. Thus, this experiment was aimed to compare agronomic traits and to evaluate broad-sense heritability of S₁ lines of small waxy corn selected from the based population of local cultivar “Baan Koa Loy” (1,000 plants). Visual selection was conducted for 100 elite plants. They were selfed and collected seeds separately for each plant. The 36 best ears (S₁-lines) were selected for yield trial in augmented randomized complete block design with 6 blocks, compared with 3 commercial cultivars. The results revealed that the selected lines and commercial cultivars were ranged and determined for statistical significance. The unhusked ear yield of S₁-lines was ranged from 532 – 1,791 kg/rai (average 1,190 kg/rai) and that of commercial cultivar was 613 – 1,914 kg/rai (average 1,351 kg/rai). Shelling percentage of S₁-lines was average as 68.28 % and that of commercial cultivar was average as 67.49 %. Broad-sense heritability values for ear characters were defined as low ranging from 8.88 – 33.59 %. It signified that environmental variance had high effect on their performance. Thus, selection from S₁ progeny test in the next generation was the appropriate method used for the population improvement of this small waxy corn local cultivar.