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Effect of Recurrent Selection for Crushing Strength on Several Stalk Components in Maize¹

The objective of this 2-year study was to determine the relative contributions of the rind and pith components to total stalk crushing strength in Zea mays L. Experimental material consisted of the original population and the first, third, and fifth cycles of recurrent selection for high and low crushing strength in two maize synthetics (MoSQA and MoSQB). Six replications in randomized complete block design experiment were used where one row of each two-row plot provided intact stalk-sections, and the second row provided rind-only (pith removed) crushing samples. Crushing strength the intact section and rind-only followed a linear response to selection in both the high and low directions. Selection for high crushing strength resulted in average increases of 51.8 load-kg per cycle for intact sections and 33.3 load-kg for rind only sections. Low crushing strength selection decreased crushing strength by 35.3 load-kg per cycle for intact sections and 26.6 load-kg for rind-only sections. Intact section and rind-only weights had similar responses. Rind thickness was altered due to recurrent selection for crushing strength, but the magnitude of change was small and inconsistent. The pith component contributed proportionally more to stalk crushing strength in the high selections than in the low selections. Pith contribution to total stalk strength was from 20 to 50% and is greater than previously realized. The magnitude of change in rind thickness did not account for the increase in rind strength in the high selections, suggesting that rind composition may be as important as rind thickness in improving total stalk strength.

Key Words: Stalk strength • Rind • Pith • Zea mays L.

² Professor of agronomy, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211; formerly research specialist, Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Missouri, now associate research scientist, Funk Seeds International, Union City, TN 38261; research geneticist, Crop Production Unit, USDA-SEA-AR and associate professor of agronomy, Univ. of MO, Columbia, MO 65211, respectively.

Received for publication February 22, 1980.