DIALLEL CROSSES AMONG MAIZE INBRED LINES DERIVED FROM THE TUXPEÑO RACE

Abstract

The genetic parameters of the Tuxpeño maize (Zea mays L.) race, as well as the general (g_i) and specific (s_ij) combining ability effects of
ten S₁ lines from three varietal composites of this race were estimated in this study. The 45 diallel crosses were carried out among the ten
inbred lines according to Griffing’s method 4. Initially, the ten parental lines were considered as a random sample of S₁ lines for estimating
the populations parameters: genetic mean, the additive and the dominance genetic variances. Thereafter, the ten lines were considered as
a select group where the general (g_i) and specific (s_ij) combining ability effects of their crosses were estimated. The evaluation was based
on ear yield per plant, in five environments. The additive genetic variance was five times the value of the dominance variance. Lines 9 and 10 had the highest GCA (4.26 and 7.32, respectively), and their crosses had the highest yield. Lines 3 and 5 had the smallest GCA effects (-9.60 and -3.19, respectively) and produced the lowest yielding crosses.