Studies on relationship between gca and sca effects in maize (Zea mays L.)

An investigation was carried out with five lines and three testers of maize genotypes to assess combining ability. The resultant fifteen hybrids were evaluated for nine characters viz., plant height, days to 50 per cent tasseling, days to 50 per cent silking, cob length, cob girth, number of grain rows per cob, number of grains per row, 100 grain weight, and grain yield per plant. The results revealed that the hybrids L1/T3 and L4/T2 were the best for exploitation of heterosis. It also revealed that there is inconsistent relationship between gca and sca effects.