Breeding Potential of Early-Maturing Flint Maize Germplasm Adapted to Temperate Conditions J

Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 2010 8(1), 74-81 Available online at www.inia.es/sjar ISSN: 1695-971-X Breeding potential of early-maturing flint maize germplasm adapted to temperate conditions J. I. Ruiz de Galarreta1 and A. Álvarez2 1 NEIKER. Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario. P.O. Box 46. 01080 Vitoria. Spain 2 Estación Experimental de Aula Dei. CSIC. P.O. Box 202. 50080 Zaragoza. Spain Abstract Early-maturing flint maize germplasm could be an important alternative for the development of new early-maturing commercial hybrids adapted to cooler summer regions. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of flint populations in crosses with four testers from different heterotic groups, as sources of new potential inbred lines. Ten flint maize populations were crossed to four inbred testers representing Reid Yellow Dent, Lancaster Sure Crop and two Spanish flint heterotic groups. Topcrosses were evaluated in four environments in north eastern Spain in 2001 and 2002. The main type of gene action expressed was additive. All populations except Enano Norteño/Vasco and Hembrilla Norteño/Vasco, had a higher specific combining ability in crosses with Reid Yellow Dent or Lancaster Sure Crop testers. Average yields were better when populations were crossed with dent lines rather than with the flint inbred line EP42. These results could be useful in the development of new inbred lines that would increase genetic variability present in commercial European flint maize. Additional key words: general combining ability, heterotic patterns, specific combining ability, testcrosses, Zea mays. Resumen Potencial para la mejora de germoplasma de maíz precoz liso adaptado a condiciones de clima templado La evaluación de germoplasma liso precoz de maíz podría ser importante como una alternativa para el desarrollo de nuevos híbridos comerciales precoces adaptados a regiones templadas y potencialmente útiles para producir grano de al- ta calidad. Nuestros objetivos fueron evaluar el potencial de poblaciones lisas precoces y estimar el rendimiento de este germoplasma en cruzamientos con probadores de diferentes grupos heteróticos para el desarrollo de híbridos precoces de maíz grano. Diez poblaciones de maíz grano se cruzaron con cuatro probadores que representan Reid Yellow Dent, Lancaster Sure Crop y dos grupos heteróticos europeos. Los cruzamientos fueron evaluados en cuatro ambientes en el noreste de España durante 2001 y 2002, siendo la expresión génica expresada aditiva. Todas las poblaciones cruzadas, excepto Enano Norteño/Vasco y Hembrilla Norteño/Vasco, mostraron una mayor aptitud combinatoria específica en cruzamientos con probadores Reid Yellow Dent o Lancaster Surecrop. El mejor rendimiento medio se produjo cuando todas las poblaciones se cruzaron con las líneas dentadas en lugar de con la línea lisa EP42. Estos resultados podrían ser útiles para desarrollar nuevas líneas puras que incrementen la variabilidad presente en el maíz liso comercial europeo. Palabras clave adicionales: aptitud combinatoria específica, aptitud combinatoria general, patrones heteróticos, probadores, Zea mays. Introduction most exploited heterotic pattern is the cross between Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic (ISSS, type Reid) and the The development of successful maize hybrids requires Lancaster Sure Crop heterotic groups (Barata and the establishment of heterotic patterns, defined as the Carena, 2006). The Reid × Lancaster cross is a common cross between known genotypes that express a high scheme used in hybrid production for Spain and other level of heterosis (Carena and Hallauer, 2001). The areas of southern Europe. Reid Yellow Dent and Lan- * Corresponding author: [email protected] Received: 13-05-09; Accepted: 25-01-10. Abbreviations used: GCA (general combining ability), SCA (specific combining ability). Potential of early-maturing fling maize germplasm 75 caster Sure Crop are open-pollinated cultivars that of the flint germplasm had, at least, the European elite provide most of the germplasm used to develop early lines EP1, F2 or F7 in their pedigree (Moreno-González, inbred lines that are used for commercial hybrid seed 1988). Little is known about the genetic variability and production. Crosses among inbred lines that derive genetic relationships in European maize germplasm. from unrelated heterotic groups are known to have Ordás (1991) outlined the heterotic pattern northern better grain yield than those crosses among lines of the Spain × southern Spain. Germplasm from northern same group (Melchinger, 1999). Most varieties of Spain is pure flint while southern Spain germplasm is cultivated maize in southern Europe are single crosses mostly semident. between European flint and United States dent germ- At present, few commercial hybrids have been pro- plasm, which combine early vigour, earliness, resistance duced exclusively from European flint inbreds (Soengas to stem lodging and resistance to drought stress of et al., 2003b). It would be interesting to find unique European inbreds with the high grain yield of American flint heterotic patterns exclusively because its endosperm inbreds (Ordás, 1991). European germplasm presents makes it useful to produce early maize hybrids with an important amount of variability, principally for key high quality flour. Cartea et al. (1999) found that a traits for maize adaptation to European conditions, second cycle of inbred lines preserve the European which are cold tolerance, early vigour and early maturity. flint heterotic group and the flint lines showed some Spain has maize germplasm with most variability differences on the basis of their combining ability in among European countries (Rebourg et al., 2003; crosses with United States inbreds from different Revilla et al., 2006). Reif et al. (2005) stated that genetic heterotic groups. Soengas et al. (2003a) produced a variation within and among maize varieties in central diallel cross with Spanish populations from wet and Europe has decreased significantly over the last fifty dry areas and detected good heterosis among some of years. Flint kernels have a better ability than other kind them. Soengas et al. (2003b) also found better yields of maize kernels for the development of high-quality in crosses between flint germplasm, with seven dent flour. These combinations permitted the expansion of Spanish races (Sánchez-Monge, 1962), than with Euro- hybrid maize into central Europe. pean flint germplasm. Several studies have demonstrated a good level of The objective of this work was to evaluate the per- heterosis between Yugoslavian and Corn Belt germplasm formance of a group of 10 flint maize populations in (Misevic, 1990; Radovic and Jelovac, 1995). Messmer crosses with four testers belonging to different heterotic et al. (1992) found high genetic diversity in early Euro- groups, as sources of new potential inbred lines. pean maize inbreds. Ordás (1991), Álvarez et al. (1993) and Sinobas and Monteagudo (1996) found high heterosis in crosses between Spanish and Corn Belt germ- Material and methods plasm for grain yield. However, most of the flint maize germplasm used came from a few flint maize lines of Ten populations of flint maize were chosen for this limited diversity (Messmer et al., 1993). The majority study (Table 1). Five of them, Alegia, Azkoitia, Berrobi, Table 1. Geographical origin of Spanish flint maize populations crossed to four inbred lines Maize population Geographic origin Origin Alegia Guipúzcoa (North east Spain) Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spain Azkoitia Guipúzcoa (North east Spain) Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spain Berrobi Guipúzcoa (North east Spain) Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spain Enano Norteño/ Vasco Asturias and País Vasco (North of Spain) Misión Biológica de Galicia, Spain EZS20 Cantabria coast (North of Spain) Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spain EZS22 León and Asturias (North west Spain) Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spain Getaria Guipúzcoa (North east Spain) NEIKER-Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desa- rrollo Agrario, Spain Hembrilla Norteño/Vasco Cantabria coast (North of Spain) Misión Biológica de Galicia, Spain Lazkano Guipúzcoa (North east Spain) NEIKER-Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desa- rrollo Agrario, Spain Vasco Cantabria coast (North of Spain) Misión Biológica de Galicia, Spain 76 J. I. Ruiz de Galarreta and A. Álvarez / Span J Agric Res (2010) 8(1), 74-81 –1 Getaria and Lazkano, are cultivars from Guipuzcoa, harvest (g H2O kg ), lodging, estimated as the percentage Basque Country (Ruiz de Galarreta and Álvarez, 2001); of plants showing either root or stalk lodging (%) and three of them, Enano Norteño × Vasco, Hembrilla yield (weight of grain in Mg ha–1), adjusted to a kernel × –1 Norteño Vasco, and Vasco, are Spanish races that moisture of 140 g H2O kg . represent germplasm formerly grown in the North of A combined analysis of variance over locations and Spain (Sánchez-Monge, 1962). Populations EZS20 and years was performed. Each year-location combination EZS22 are two synthetics created from several adapted was considered as a random environment. Entries were varieties from northern Spain and obtained at the assumed to be fixed effects and the sums of squares due Experimental Station of Aula Dei. Population EZS20 to testcrosses were orthogonally partitioned into popu- was formed from 52 mid-maturing varieties with short lations, testers and the populations × tester interaction.

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