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CROP BREEDING, GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

Genetic Relationship of Stalk Strength and Ear Height in Maize

^a Genetics Department, North Carolina State University, Gardner Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695
^b USDA-ARS Plant Genetics Research Unit and Department of Agronomy, University of Missouri-Columbia, Curtis Hall, Columbia, MO 65211

* Corresponding author (DarrahL{at}missouri.edu)

The rind penetrometer is an effective tool for measuring stalk strength in an effort to improve maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm for stalk lodging resistance. However, previous studies have indicated a significant negative correlation between rind penetrometer resistance (RPR) and ear height (EH). The correlation between RPR and EH is of interest in understanding response to selection for RPR. Has selection for high RPR resulted primarily in increased stalk strength per se and coincidentally lower ear heights, or has selection for high RPR resulted in lower ear heights and subsequently higher stalk strength? The objective of this study was to determine the genetic relationship between RPR and the correlated trait EH. To accomplish this goal, three F_2:3 populations were used to characterize and compare quantitative trait loci (QTL) for RPR, EH, and RPR adjusted for EH (RadjE). The original QTL analysis of RPR detected a total of 26 QTL across populations. Adjusting RPR for EH caused 11 of the original RPR QTL to lose their significance. However, the majority, 15 of 26, of the original RPR QTL remained significant as QTL for RadjE. Because EH clearly had an effect on RPR, adjusting RPR for EH likely resulted in more accurate descriptions of QTL for stalk strength per se. We have demonstrated that QTL analysis can be used to separate the effects of correlated traits from the genetic effects of the trait of interest, and recommend determining which correlated traits may influence measurement of the main trait before initiating a QTL experiment.

Abbreviations: ECB, European corn borer • EH, ear height • LOD, log-odds ratio • MoSCSSS-High, MoSCSSS(H24-HRP)C10 • MoSCSSS-Low, MoSCSSS(H25-LRP)C11 • MoSQB-Low, MoSQB(S10)C6 • PH, plant height • QTL, quantitative trait locus • R², percent of phenotypic variation explained • RadjE, rind penetrometer resistance adjusted for ear height • RPR, rind penetrometer resistance • SSR, simple sequence repeat • TL, tunnel length

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. A. Flint-Garcia, C. Jampatong, L. L. Darrah, and M. D. McMullen Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis of Stalk Strength in Four Maize Populations Crop Sci., January 1, 2003; 43(1): 13 - 22. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]