Exploiting Grain-Filling Rate and Effective Grain-Filling Duration to Improve Grain Yield of Early-Maturing Maize

Gasura, E and Setimela, P and Edema, R and Gibson, P T and Okori, P and Tarekegne, A (2013) Exploiting Grain-Filling Rate and Effective Grain-Filling Duration to Improve Grain Yield of Early-Maturing Maize. Crop Science, 53. pp. 2295-2303. ISSN 0011-183X

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Abstract

Early-maturing maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes yield 15 to 30% less than late-maturing genotypes. One strategy for improving grain yield in the early-maturing group involves assessment of grain-filling traits as secondary traits for selection for high grain yield. In this study, we investigated the possibility of using grain-filling rate and duration for improving grain yield in early-maturing tropical maize. Forty-four hybrids generated using North Carolina design II were evaluated at CIMMYT-Zimbabwe during the 2011/2012 season under irrigated and nonirrigated environments. Although grain-filling rate and effective grain-filling duration were negatively correlated, several hybrids were distinctly above the trend line. The earliest-maturing hybrid took 127 d to reach physiological maturity and produced grain yields comparable to those of the medium-maturing genotypes (7 t ha−1). It had a high grain-filling rate of 2.40 g per plant d−1 (18% higher than those of the low-yielding hybrids) and a relatively longer effective grain-filling duration. Grain-filling rate and effective grain-filling duration had high coefficients of genetic determination, positive correlations with grain yield, low error terms, and low genotype × environment interactions, making them appropriate selection traits for improved grain yield. The study shows that it is possible to develop high-yielding early- to medium-maturing maize hybrids based on favorable combining ability values for grain-filling rate and duration.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Maize
Depositing User:	Mr Siva Shankar
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2014 09:24
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2018 09:11
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/7421
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2013.01.0032
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), (CIMMYT), International Foundation for Science (IFS)
Acknowledgement:	NOTE: Currently Okori, Patrick is scientist at ICRISAT(Malawi)
Links:	Google Scholar

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