Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005.
* Present address: Ph.D. Scholar, Division of Genetics, IARI, New Delhi 110012.
The unexploited ear characters, viz., husk number and shank length were subjected to study along with other quantitative characters in all possible 100 crosses of 10 elite inbred lines. A strong negative association of these traits with yield and yield components emphasized the importance of these traits in the maize ideotype. The desirable combiners, the superior combinations and their contributions to heterosis were analysed and their implications are discussed.
Zea mays L, diallel, combining ability, heterosis, shank length, husk number
