Combining Ability and Acceptability of Temperate Sweet Corn Inbreds Derived from Exotic Germplasm

Abstract

Excellent table quality is an essential characteristic of commercial sweet corn (Zea mays) and commonly held paramount as a selection criterion. As a consequence, breeding for improved agronomic performance in sweet corn has been limited in comparison with United States dent corn breeding efforts. The narrowness of genetic diversity within modern sweet corn germplasm suggests potential exists for yield enhancement through new heterotic combinations and introgression of sources of improved agronomic performance. The objective of this study was to examine the results of incorporating nonsweet germplasm in the development of improved temperate sweet corn cultivars. Five inbreds derived from crosses between nonsweet germplasm and temperate supersweet (shrunken2, sh2) inbreds were crossed with three temperate sh2 testers to make 15 experimental hybrids. The hybrids were evaluated in four environments with three replications per environments. Experimental entry Wh04038V × Tester2 yielded 18.1 Mg·ha−1 in 2009 and 16.6 Mg·ha−1 in 2010, significantly out-yielding the top producing commercial control, ‘Overland’, in both years. An additional six entries derived from exotic-by-temperate crosses yielded significantly more than all commercial checks in 2009. Four specific experimental entries consistently exhibited superior resistance to root lodging, northern corn leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum), and Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) compared with ‘Marvel’ and ‘Supersweet Jubilee Plus’. Ten of the 15 experimental entries exhibited similar quality for flavor relative to ‘Marvel’ and ‘Overland’, however ‘Supersweet Jubilee Plus’ outperformed all entries for both flavor and tenderness, suggesting that while incorporation of nonsweet germplasm in sweet corn breeding programs may provide valuable contributions for yield and agronomic performance, flavor and tenderness must be carefully regarded.