Elucidating the Heterosis for Yield and Quality Parameters in Maize (Zea mays L.)

A set of thirty-nine hybrids of maize were developed to estimate heterosis. These hybrids were evaluated along with their respective parents and three standard checks namely, Pratap Hybrid Maize-3(PHM-3), PMH-3 and PM-9, were evaluated during Kharif 2017 for 14 characters at instructional farm Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan. The mean sum of squares for hybrids, inbred lines and testers, was significant for all the traits except for days to 75 per cent brown husk of inbred lines. A perusal of estimates of economic heterosis for grain yield per plant revealed that five hybrids L7 x T2 (14.47%), L3 x T3 (11.19%), L6 x T2 (10.44%), L6 x T1 (9.93%), and L9 x T3 (9.88%) depicted positive significant economic heterosis for grain yield per plant over the best check Pratap Hybrid Maize-3. Hybrid (L6 x T2) also exhibited significant positive economic heterosis for oil content. These crosses will be considered for finding transgressive segregants in segregating generation to develop a maize variety with quality improvement.