Morphology and yield components of single hybrids white and yellow maize in the Yaqui Valley

Abstract

Maize breeding has evolved increasingly with the emergence of new scientific technologies, mainly hybridization. This technique allows new genetic combinations to be obtained in specific areas where some genotypes have desirable characteristics. By crossing them, hybrids with better morphological, physiological and agronomic performance are obtained. Based on the above, the objective of this research was to evaluate the morphological and reproductive variables, final plant height (FPH), ear height (EH), number of leaves above (NLAE) and below (NLBE) the ear, grain depth (GD), number of rows per ear (NRE), number of grains per row (NGE), volumetric weight (VW), and grain yield (Y), in four simple maize hybrids, two white-grain hybrids (WG1 and WG2), and two yellow-grain hybrids (YG1 and YG2). The crop was established in the period December-May 2023. These hybrids come from a dialelic of homozygous lines, carried out at the Tecnológico Nacional de México, campus Valle del Yaqui. Significant differences were found in all the variables evaluated. The GBI hybrid showed the highest FPH (264 cm), EF (159 cm) and NLAE (9.8). Similarly, this hybrid had the highest GD (2.1 mm) and NRE (16). The YG1 hybrid showed a higher number of grains per row (32) and volumetric weight (389 g), without differences from WG1. These two hybrids (WG1 and YG1) had the highest grain yield (11.8 t ha^-1). There was a positive and significant correlation between several variables, with the highest correlation between FPH and NLAE and between the variables NGE and Y.