EVALUATION OF WHITE, PURPLE, BLACK SUPER SWEET CORN GENETIC RESOURCES FOR SPECIALTY CORN BREEDING PROGRAM

Abstract

The study evaluated the phenotypic traits and breeding potential of 109 super sweet corn lines divided into 4 groups in the Winter crop season 2022 in Ha Noi city based on 20 agronomic traits to select elite super sweet corn lines  for specialty corn breeding program. The results showed that the super sweet corn lines grow and develop well with an average growth duaration of about 81.5 - 85.2 days, average individual yield fluctuated from 21.8 - 27.8 g/plant, the average total soluble solids ranged from 17.4 - 19.6 ^oBrix and the average pericarp thickness ranged from 44.3 - 63.9 µm. Selection based on phenotype using the multitrait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) had selected 30 elite super sweet corn lines (10 white super sweet lines, 10 purple super sweet lines and 10 black super sweet lines). This research provided an excellent white, purple, and black super sweet corn genetic materials as a basis for breeding new super sweet corn varieties, diverse in color and type in Vietnam.