Exploiting Grain-Filling Rate and Effective Grain-Filling Duration to Improve Grain Yield of Early-Maturing Maize
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Date
2013
Authors
Gasura, Edmore
Setimela, Peter
Edema, Richard
Gibson, Paul T.
Okori, Patrick
Tarekegne, Amsal
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Crop Science
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 grainfilling
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 lowyielding
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.
Description
Keywords
Grain-Filling Rate, Grain-Filling Duration, Grain Yield, Early-Maturing Maize
Citation
Gasura, E., Setimela, P., Edema, R., Gibson, P. T., Okori, P., & Tarekegne, A. (2013). Exploiting grain-filling rate and effective grain-filling duration to improve grain yield of early-maturing maize. Crop Science, 53, 2295-2303. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2013.01.0032