HETEROSIS AND GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN SINGLE CROSS HYBRIDS OFSWEET CORN (Zea mays L. var. saccharata)

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted during Kharif, 2024 at the Maize Research Unit, Agricultural Research
Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, to evaluate the performance, heterosis and genetic diversity of sweet
corn hybrids for yield and quality traits. Eighteen experimental sweet corn hybrids along with the commercial check Sugar
75 were evaluated in a Randomized Block Design with two replications. Observations were recorded on days to 50 per
cent tasselling, days to 50 per cent silking, green cob yield and total soluble solids (TSS). Analysis of variance revealed
highly significant differences among genotypes for green cob yield, indicating substantial genetic variability. For Days to
tasselling and silking ranged from 54–60 and 56–62 days, respectively. Green cob yield varied from 6,813 to 15,917 kg
ha{ ¹ with a mean of 11,428 kg ha{ ¹, while TSS ranged from 15.2 to 16.8% with a mean of 16.08 %. Standard heterosis
over Sugar 75 identified BSCH 422317 as the most promising hybrid, recording the highest green cob yield (15,917 kg
ha{ ¹) with maximum positive heterosis (27.77%), followed by BSCH 422314 (19.91%) and BSCH 422316 (10.88%).
For sweetness, BSCH 422308 recorded the highest TSS (16.8 %), followed by BSCH 422312 (16.5 %). Cluster
analysis grouped the nineteen hybrids into three distinct clusters, indicating considerable genetic divergence among the
genotypes. The study identified BSCH 422317, BSCH 422314 and BSCH 422316 as superior hybrids for green cob
yield and heterosis