Abstract:
Objective A new sweet corn variety with high quality, yield, adaptability, and resistance to lodging and diseases was bred.
Method The heterosis mode of “temperate germplasm × tropical germplasm” for crossing was applied to breed a super-sweet corn variety that would acquire the highly desirable traits of the parents. In 2013, the yellow super-sweet tropical corn, Mintianxi G73, bred by the Crop Research Institute of Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences was crossed with the temperate inbred line of white super-sweet variety, Mintianxi AS67, to result in Minshuangse No. 4. The new variety was submitted to the National Southeast Regional Trials on Fresh Corn by Science and Enterprise Consortium in the autumn session from 2016 to 2017. The combining abilities of Mintianxi G73 and Mintianxi AS67 were appraised in 2017, and the resulting yellow and white super-sweet corn hybrid was subsequently certified by the National Crop Variety Approval Committee in September 2018.
Result On ear weight, Mintianxi AS67 exhibited the greatest general combining ability (GCA) and Mintianxi G73 moderate, while Mintianxi AS67 × Mintianxi G73 high on special combining ability (SCA). It indicated that the heterosis mode for hybridization was applicable for the intended purpose. In the 2-year national regional test, Mishuangse No. 4 displayed a 11 691.0 kg·hm−2 average yield on fresh ears, which was 4.3% higher than reference Yuetian No. 16, with 77.5% sampling points showing a yield increase. In the field tests, the hybrid displayed resistance to stem rot, moderate resistance to sheath blight, and strong resistance to lodging. It also scored 90.2 on comprehensive appearance and quality evaluaion, which exceeded the national high-grade standard for sweet corns and was significantly better than 85.0 did by Yuetian No. 16. The physiochemical analysis conducted on Minshuangse No. 4 by the College of Agriculture at Yangzhou University showed the 2-year averages on kernel residue at 10.2%, total soluble sugars at 20.2%, and reducing sugars at 8.3%. They were all superior to Yuetian No. 16.
Conclusion Following the heterosis mode of “temperate germplasm × tropical germplasm” the resulting hybrid Minshuangse No. 4 upgraded the quality, yield, and resistance of the sweet corn. The variety was considered suitable for cultivation in southeast China.