Research of combining ability of mid-early maize lines

Abstract

In 2016–2018, the promising maize lines (FAO 290–399) of the Golden West Seed Bulgaria Ltd. breeding company, containing more than 50 % of the plasm of the Iodent heterotic group and 6 testers, mainly of the Lancaster group, were evaluated. It was established that the lines GW59024 and GWC06021 (Iodent heterotic group) are the most suitable as recurrent parents in new breeding programs for intensive and drought tolerant hybrids. Among the testers of the Lancaster heterotic group, the most interesting were GW59008, which showed the highest general combining ability in favorable years for maize development, and GW57010, which had a very high general combining ability in all three years of research. Keywords: maize; lines and hybrids; combining ability on grain yield