Genetic potential of maize full-sib progenies subjected to a reciprocal recurrent selection

– The objective of this work was to quantify the genetic potential of full-sib maize progenies subjected to a reciprocal recurrent selection, in order to obtain high-yielding hybrids. The experiment was carried out in the alpha lattice design, with three replicates and 24 blocks. One hundred and two full-sib maize progenies, from the crossing of two populations and two checks, were evaluated for the following traits: grain yield, seed mass, number of ears per plant, days to maturity, days to anthesis, days to silking, anthesis-silking interval, ear height, plant height, ear position, and stem lodging. Genetic parameters were estimated through REML/BLUP and multivariate analyses (correlation and similarity network, cluster heat map, and genetic gains). There are genetic variability and divergent clusters among the studied full-sib maize progenies. Seed mass, number of ears per plant, and anthesis-silking interval are the traits that most contribute to the improvement of grain yield and divergence among the full-sib maize progenies. Genetic potential should be exploited through the selection and recombination in reciprocal recurrent selection to obtain high-yielding hybrids.