EVALUATION OF SOME MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.)

The characterisation and evaluation of the available maize germplasm is a necessary first step to facilitate breeding efforts. Eighteen maize accessions (labelled as AGB plus number), each part of the Albanian Gene Bank collection, were characterized by agro morphological descriptors. An estimated 25 morphological traits (15 quantitative and 10 qualitative) were based on the IBPGR Descriptors for maize. Variation of morphological characteristics among accessions ranged from 5.63% for days-to-tasseling to 24.29% for ear height. Accessions with the highest values of morphological traits were identified: AGB 1021 for days-to-tasseling (55), AGB 1035 for days-to-silking (59), AGB 1034 for plant height (265 cm), AGB 1031 for ear height (87 cm), AGB 1032 for number of leaves above the uppermost ear including ear leaf (6.1), ear diameter (3.8 cm), kernel width (0.9 cm), and weight of 1000 kernels (448.9 g), AGB 1038 for the number of kernels per row and kernel length. The analysis correlation coefficients among descriptors showed a positive significant association (0.90) between days-to-silking and days-to-tasseling, and a positive correlation (0.83) was observed between the number of kernels per row and ear length traits. Morphological relationships among 18 genotypes were clarified on a dendrogram by the complete linkage method. Results from the hierarchical cluster analysis show that there is significant variation among the 18 genotypes, suggesting that the maize germplasm collection of the Albanian Gene Bank is a rich source of material with adequate variation for future use in breeding programs.