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Maize Genomics and Genetics 2014, Vol.5, No.1, 1-6
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on the criterion used for yield assessment in baby corn
cultivars can be different. Marketable husked ear
weight is considered the most important trait for baby
corn production. Besides, according to the evaluation
criteria adopted for baby corn yield determination,
cultivars may respond differently (Almeida et al.,
2005). Tiwari and Verma (1999) evaluated that baby
corn yield was positively correlated with the traits like
cob yield with husk, ear diameter and fodder yield.
The inbred CML161showed the largest mean ear
length for both husked and unhusked baby corn ears
while the inbred BQPM-2 showed the largest mean
diameter for both husked and unhusked baby corn ears
(Table 3). The moisture content for baby corn ears
varied from 85% (inbred HKI 193-1) to 90% (inbred
BQPM-4). However other researchers obtained a
mean value of 89% (Yodpet, 1979) or variation of
90% to 95% (Carvalho, 2002).
Table 3 Means performance of parents for diameter and length of unhusked and husked marketable ears
Unhusked ears
Husked ears
Parents
Length (cm)
Diameter (cm)
Length (cm)
Diameter (cm)
BAUIM-3
6.00
1.12
11.45
2.53
CM111
5.98
1.18
11.47
2.20
CM151
6.13
1.20
10.40
2.23
CM152
5.60
1.13
11.40
2.35
BAU1M-1
5.95
1.32
12.33
2.32
BAU1M-4
6.45
1.17
12.43
2.45
V341
6.03
1.30
11.47
2.12
1025
5.98
1.20
11.40
2.13
BQPM-2
5.90
1.32
11.28
2.62
BQPM-4
6.08
1.28
11.78
2.35
CML161
6.82
1.27
13.62
2.33
V351
5.92
1.17
12.27
2.30
CM-150
6.17
1.22
11.58
2.32
BAU1M-2
6.20
1.22
12.78
2.22
K1105
6.73
1.28
12.80
2.33
HKI 193-1
5.88
1.12
12.77
2.42
HKI-163
6.05
1.28
11.70
2.15
Mean
5.11
1.22
11.94
2.32
Sem+
0.05
0.03
0.08
0.04
CD at 5%
0.14
0.08
0.21
0.10
Note: Maximum and minimum values in Bold figure
2.2 Experiment 2: Green ear yield, grain yield and
other traits
The green ears were harvested from 65 to 78 days
after planting date, in three harvesting operations. The
inbred BAU1M-4 recorded the maximum number and
weight of green ears per plant followed by BQPM-2
(Table 4). Differences between cultivars with regard to
traits for green corn yield evaluation were also
observed by other authors (Silva et al., 1997 and Silva
et al., 1998).
The inbred V341 showed the smallest plant height
while the inbred CM152 showed the smallest ear
height. The maximum number of kernels per ear was
shown by BQPM-2 followed by BAUIM-4. However,
the greatest mass of 1000 grains as well as grain yield
per plant at 15% moisture was shown by BAU1M-4
followed by BQPM-2. The fact that cultivars differed
with respect to green ear yield but showed the same
grain yield could be due to several factors like at the
time when green ears are harvested, grain filling is
obviously not complete and cultivars may differ with
regard to their grain filling rate and duration of the
grain filling period (Poneleit and Egli, 1979).
The inbreds BQPM-4 and BAU1M-4 were found to
be the most productive with respect to the weight of
husked and unhusked baby corn ears. The inbreds