Evidence of Improving Yield and Morphological Attributes via Half-Sib Family Recurrent Selection in Maize

Grain yield is a complex phenomenon which results from the interaction of various contributing factors highly influenced by different selection procedures. Recurrent selection is vital selection method for improving morphological and yield related attributes in maize crop. Half-sib families (HS) were generated from the most adapted maize variety “Pahari” at Cereal Crop Research Institute, CCRI Pakistan with the objective to improve its yield in 2009 and 2010, respectively. All the HS families were detassled well before pollen shedding to avoid any kind of selfing. At maturity, each family was harvested and shelled separately for evaluation in the respective years. 12 x 12 and 11 x 11, Partial balanced lattice square design were used during summer crop seasons 2009 and 2010, respectively at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar Pakistan. Results revealed significant differences in both cycle among families for all traits. High heritability (0.74) was observed for grain yield in C0, while moderate heritability (0.45) was recorded for kernel rows ear_1 in C1. Selection differential was quite reasonable and varied according to the traits of interest. Observed response (815.74) was greater for grain yield in C0 than the expected response (681.76). Negative value of gain cycle-1 for plant height and ear height showed a declining trend, while positive value for grain yield validated selection for high yield. Regression of all the morphological and yield related traits were calculated based on the selected individuals in each cycle. Highly significant positive correlation was observed among grain yield with all the traits under investigation