MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY FOR YIELD AND CONTRIBUTING CHARACTERS IN MAIZE

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding of Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, during, the period from November, 2018 to April, 2019 with 3 white maize and 12 yellow maize genotypes. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replication and Least Significant Difference (LSD) test was done at 5% level of probability. In this study genotypic and phenotypic variances, genetic advance, genotypic and phenotypic co-efficient of variation, simple correlations and linear regression were investigated for grain yield and other ten morphological characters among the genotypes of maize. The genotypes differed significantly for all traits studied. Genetic coefficient of variation was high for leave length at 30 days after sowing (36.52cm), cob length (22.97cm), pith weight (23.95g), kernel per cob (25.34) and yield per plant (37.74g). Root length at 105 DAS (68.74cm), root length at 120 DAS (68.74cm), leaves per plant at 30 DAS (70.27), leave length at 90 DAS (67cm), leave length at 105DAS (73.50cm), leave length at 120 DAS (73.50cm), cob diameter (69.18cm) showed moderately high yield potential and very high for rest of the characters. Genotypic advance in percentage of mean was low for root length at 105 DAS i.e. RL105 (7.50cm), RL120 (6.95 cm), LL90 (7.34 cm), LL105 (8.77 cm), LL120 (8.77 cm), cob diameter (4.77 cm), 100-kernel weight (5.21g) and high for PH105 (21.09 cm), PH120 (21.09 cm), RL30 (25.18 cm), RL75 (26.93 cm), LPP60 (25.28), LPP75 (30.61), LPP90 (28.28), LPP105 (34.86), LPP120 (34.86), LL30 (74.83), LL45 (26.62), LL60 (22.42), cob length (45.95 cm), cob weight (49.02g), kernel per cob (51.68g), yield per plant (77.34g) and the rest characters were moderate. Final plant height at 120DAS (PH120) exhibited significant negative association with RL45 (-0.39*), RL60 (r=-0.66**), RL75 (r=-0.81**), RL90 (r=-0.57**) and for others were positive. Leaves per plant at 120DAS (LPP120) exhibited positive association with LL30(r=0.04), LL60 (r=0.22), cob diameter (r=0.26) and negative association with LL45 (r=-0.13) and other traits showed significant positive relation to each other. The regression coefficient for independent variable like root length at 45 days after planting i.e. RL45 (R2 = 0.008, p>0.05), is not significant linear regression and the corresponding scatter plot with the dependent variable yield per plant exhibited positive linear regression for rest of the independent variables. In considering morphological traits and yield potential, BARI Bhutta-14 performed outstanding superiority.