Genetic effects of native maize (Zea mays L.) from Tamaulipas: precocity and asynchrony

Resumen

Objective: To evaluate the genetic effects governing the expression of variation in the earliness of native maize germplasm from Tamaulipas.

Design/methodology/approach: Three inbred lines (S3) and three populations of native Tamaulipas maize, along with their direct and reciprocal crosses, were evaluated during the 2020-2021 fall-winter cycle across three planting dates in Güémez, Tamaulipas. The variables analyzed included male flowering (MF), female flowering (FF), and anthesis-silking interval (ASI). Variance and diallel analyses (Griffing’s Method I) were conducted to estimate general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), reciprocal effects (RE), maternal effects (ME), and non-maternal effects (NME).

Results: Among the crosses, those involving VHA as the female parent were notable due to the negative GCA effects for MF and FF, coupled with significant RE arising from marked and negative ME, thereby enhancing earliness in their hybrids. The L6×VHA and VHA×Morado crosses exhibited significant and negative SCA effects, indicating these combinations as heterotic patterns favoring greater earliness.

Limitations/implications: The genetic effects identified in this study were contingent upon the genetic variability present in the evaluated genotypes.

Findings/conclusions: The expression of variation in MF and FF within this germplasm was influenced by additive, non-additive, and reciprocal effects, with the latter largely attributable to maternal contributions.