EFFECT OF REMOVING SOME GRAIN OF MAIZE EAR FROM DIFFERENT POSITION ON THE WEIGHT OF OTHER GRAIN

Abstract

A field study with maize hybrid B7 × B4 and its inbred B4 was conducted at Babylon in 2007 to asses the effect of reduction in kernel number per ear on kernel weight The primary ear of each plant was bagged. Treatments were conducted after a week of selfing. The treatments were removing basal , middle, tip and basal + tip kernels, in addition to the control treatment. The ear length was divided into three parts which represented basal, middle, and tip kernels. A method was employed by husks lifting and kernels removing , then husks were bound.The results showed that basal kernels possession of the highest weight was due to rate of kernel dry matter accumulation characters of cob rather than grain filling period .This may have related with taxonomic characters of cob. Removing basal kernels didn’t rise weight of tip kernels, and this may indicate that growth regulators don’t concentrate in kernels. Basal kernels weight were highest in hybrid, whereas tip kernels weight were highest in inbred, despite the fact that means of kernels weight didn’t differ between two genotypes. The hybrid exerted efficient source – sink ratio than did inbred , and this was obvious by minor abundant in hybrid cobs weight for removing treatments compared with inbred . this is indicating of capability of hybrid in transmission additional accumulation to rest kernels. The selection for taxonomic and enzymic cob characters would provide a new foundation for increasing grain yield.