Checking performance of field corn inbreds as donors of favorable alleles to improve early vigor and adaptation of sweet corn hybrids to european conditions

Abstract

Field corn inbreds adapted to the European Atlantic coast are being used to improve early vigor and adaptation of sweet corn. In a previous work, we used the methods of identifying field corn inbred lines for use in improving parents of sweet corn single crosses, and we predicted that EP42 was the best potential donor of favorable alleles for improving early vigor and adaptation of V679 x EP60 and 15125 x EP60, followed by A632, and w64A. Our objective was to compare realized results with predictions of different methods to identify field corn inbreds as potential donors of favorable alleles for improving early vigor and adaptation to the European Atlantic coast. Estimate of favorable dominant alleles present in the donor but not in the hybrid (µG') or predicted three-way cross (PTC) were contrasted with realized results of test-cross populations derived from crosses among field corn donor inbreds and sweet corn recipient inbreds. Early vigor, plant weight, and adult vigor could be improved simultaneously for the sweet corn hybrid V679 x EP60 by producing inbreds from the field corn inbred donor A632 and the sweet corn inbred recipient EP60. Early vigor, plant weight, and plant height of the sweet corn hybrid 15125 x EP60 could be improved by releasing inbreds from the field corn inbred donor EP42 and the sweet corn recipient inbred EP60. This work shows that predictions confirm the results for plant weight and height to some extend, but are completely inaccurate for early and adult vigor. However, it should be possible to improve early vigor and adaptation of these sweet corn hybrids using the field corn inbreds A632 or EP42 as donors.