Int. J. Agron. Agri. R.
International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research (IJAAR) ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print) 2225-3610 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 9-18, 2018 OPEN ACCESS
RESEARCH PAPER
Gene action for various morphological and yield contributing traits in maize (Zea mays L.) Babar Usman1, Munir Ahmad*1, Mozammil Hussain2, Mohsin Niaz1, Mudassar Abbas1, Umair Khalid1, Gul Nawaz3, 4, Zhao Neng3, 4 1
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan 2
Maize, Sorghum, Millet & Fodder Program, Crop Sciences Institute, NARC, Pakistan
3
College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, P.R. China
4
State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro Bioresources,
Guangxi University, Nanning, P.R. China Article published on March 28, 2018 Key words: Gene action, Dominance, Epistasis, Heritability, Variance
Abstract The present study was carried out to determine the type of gene action to design the efficient breeding program which helps to generate high yielding and adaptive cultivars. The experiment was conducted at National Agricultural Research Centre Islamabad (Pakistan) and experimental mate rial comprised of 30 crosses derived from 10 inbred lines and three testers of maize. The evaluation trial was laid out using Randomized complete block design with three replications. Data were collected on plant height, flag leaf area, ear leaf area, chlorophyll content, kernel rows per ear, 1000 kernel weight and seed depth. Analysis of variance exhibited significant differences for all parameters except seed depth. There were significant mean square differences due to line GCA for all the traits analyzed. Estimation of genetic components showed variance of specific combining ability (SCA) is higher than variance of general combining ability (GCA) indicating the dominant type of gene action. The results indicate that the values of variation due to nonadditive type of gene action (V h ) are greater than variation due to additive type of gene action (V d ).The gene distribution was asymmetrical for all traits. The dominance of non-additive type of gene actions clearly indicated that selection of superior plants should be postponed to later generation. * Corresponding
Usman et al.
Author: MunirAhmad  muneer.ahmad@uaar.edu.pk
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