COMBINING ABILITY FOR YIELD, PHENOLOGICAL AND EAR CHARACTERS IN WHITE SEEDED MAIZE

Seventy eight single cross hybrids involving thirteen diverse inbred lines and three checks of maize (Zea mays L.) were evaluated in a simple lattice design (9 x 9 structure) with two replications in two environments viz, normal and stress. Combining ability analysis revealed significant GCA variance for days to silking, ear length, ear girth, number of rows/ear, number of kernels/row, shelling percent and grain yield/plant in both the environments and SCA variance for ear length and shelling percent in normal and grain yield/plant in stress environment. Preponderance of additive gene effects was observed in the expression of all the characters studied. Inbreds P1, P2, P3 and P4 identified as good general combiners for early silking in the present study can be used as the potential components for improving/developing heterotic pool/population aimed at earliness. Under high plant density and rainfed conditions the inbreds P5, P6, P5, P12 and P13 can be used to develop high yielding white-seeded maize hybrids. Hybrid P1 x P5 is suggested for further extensive testing at different. locations under irrigated and rainfed conditions for critical evaluation of its yield potential.