General and specific combining ability studies for leaf area in some maize inbreds in agroecological conditions of Kosovo

Abstract

In maize breeding one of the most important roles belongs to selection of parents with good combining abilities. The data associated with combining ability and heritability of particular characters can be obtained from diallels. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the leaf area (LA) of 10 inbred lines and their F1 hybrids. Based on a diallel (without reciprocals) GCA and SCA were calculated. The components of the genetic variance were calculated using Griffing's (1956) method 2. The maximum LA value was determined for the combination L6×L10 (788.6 cm2), whereas the minimum for the combination L4×L5 (558.9 cm2). The average value of F1 generation was 678.8 cm2 and the variation range was from +109.8 cm2 to -119.9 cm2. Both, the GCA and SCA for LA were significant at p=0.01. The highest value of GCA was obtained for L2 (+31.33), whereas the lowest for L4 (-38.07). The highest value of SCA was determined for L6×L10 (+156.73).