Assessing performance of white endosperm testers with varying resistance reactions to Striga (Striga hermonthica) for evaluating resistant maize (Zea mays) inbred lines

Identification of testers is crucial for hybrid maize breeding programme. However, limited information is available about ideal testers for characterising the combining ability of Striga resistant maize inbreds. This study was conducted to assess the relative value of three inbred testers with varyi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant breeding 2021-10, Vol.140 (5), p.786-800
Main Authors: Afolabi, Samson, Menkir, Abebe, Oyekunle, Muhyideen, Abdullahi, Ubale, Gedil, Melaku, Meseka, Silvestro, Mengesha, Wende
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Combining ability
Commercialization
Corn
Endosperm
Genetic diversity
Genetic variance
Hybrids
inbreds
Inbreeding
maize
Performance assessment
Plant breeding
Ranking
S. hermonthica
Striga
testcrosses
testers
Zea mays
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Identification of testers is crucial for hybrid maize breeding programme. However, limited information is available about ideal testers for characterising the combining ability of Striga resistant maize inbreds. This study was conducted to assess the relative value of three inbred testers with varying resistance reactions to Striga for determining the combining ability of Striga resistant inbreds. Ninety testcrosses involving 30 Striga resistant inbreds and three testers were evaluated under artificial and natural Striga infestation and non‐infested conditions at two locations for 2 years. Lines x tester interaction was significant (p ≤ .05) for most traits, indicating differential ranking of lines by the testers. The GCA effects of testers for most traits were high, highlighting the predominance of additive gene action in controlling the overall performance of testcrosses. The resistant and tolerant testers exhibited desirable GCA effects, broader testcross performance, greater genetic variances and consistent ranking of testcrosses under both growing conditions than the susceptible tester. These testers can be successfully used for identifying superior Striga resistant inbreds to develop high yielding and resistant hybrids for commercialization.
ISSN:0179-9541
1439-0523
DOI:10.1111/pbr.12951