Combining abilities and genetic resemblance of maize inbred lines

A diallel cross between ten maize inbred lines was carried out to estimate genetic parameters for grain yield and determine the heterosis and combining abilities of the inbreds and their crosses. Highly significant values for both GCA and SCA were found concerning this trait. The genetic distance (GD) of ten inbreds was evaluated using protein and RAPD markers. The GD based on protein markers ranged from 0.094, found between two lines of the same origin, up to 0.359 between two pairs of inbreds originating from different heterotic groups. Similar results were obtained with RAPD, where both extremes were found among the same F1 combinations. The reliability of the application of molecular markers was confirmed by the highly significant values of the correlations between GD/heterosis and GD/SCA, especially based on RAPD.