Enhancing seed
and cob characteristics in reciprocal crosses between purple waxy corn and sweet
corn through plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria application
Ishartati Erny, Ali Md. Arshad, Basyiruddin Mohamad Alif, Setyawan Mohammad Tri
and Hariyady Hariyady
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences and
Veterinary Medicine;
Vol. 12(1); 1-8;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/1201ijasvm0108; (2024)
Abstract
Maize is one of the major cereal crops. Different high yielding as well as hybrid
varieties have been growing for higher maize production. Various fertilizers have
also been used to increase the maize yield. But yield target is not achievable always
and the fertilizers had detrimental effects on soil properties also. For sustainable
maize production, we conducted a combined study of reciprocal cross and application
of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In this study, we examine the traits
of seeds and cobs resulting from reciprocal crossings between Purple Waxy Corn (PWC)
and Sweet Corn (SC) that were subjected to treatment with PGPR. The outcomes of
reciprocal crossings on the traits of seeds and cobs exhibited a distinctiveness
that diverged from that of their respective progenitors. The seeds and cobs from
reciprocal crosses exhibited novel variation in their characteristics.
If the male parent is PWC, the F1 seeds exhibit alterations in both color and type
on a single cob, so modifying the traits of the seeds in a direction aligns with
those of the female parent. If the male parent is SC (♂), then F1 exhibits a phenotypic
alteration in seed color, nugget color and seed type on a single cob which represents
a distinctive trait variation between the two parents. An interaction between the
application of PGPR, both in terms of timing and concentration and the kind of corn,
was seen to affect the seed width, seed thickness and sugar content. The results
of present study will be helpful for sustainable maize production.
