Grain quality parameters of open pollinated maize varieties adapted to semi-arid environments

BONGIANINO NICOLÁS FRANCISCO; STEFFOLANI MARÍA EUGENIA; BIASUTTI CARLOS ALBERTO; LEÓN ALBERTO EDEL

Simposio; 2° Simposio Mejoramiento Genético; 2023

Objective: The objective of this work was to analyse the performance of open-pollinated maize varieties adapted to semi-arid climates on physical and chemical parameters of the grain. Materials and methods: Eight open-pollinated varieties (OPV) adapted to semi-arid climate and three commercial hybrids (H) were used. Trials were conducted at the FCA-UNC experimental field (31° 29´ S; 64° 00´ W) during the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons with two replications. The physical characteristics of the grain were determined. In addition, macronutrient content (protein, lipid and ash) was determined according to AACC methods 46-10.01, 30-25.01, 08-01.01 and 76-13.01, respectively. InfoStat software was used for statistical analysis.Results: Commercial hybrids with C8008 and Blanco M OPV were characterized to have softer kernels (Figure 1). In addition, these OPVs showed a higher 1000 kernel weight. On the other hand, the materials C900, C990, C980, LealesINTA, and C6006 showed an overall higher protein content and hectolitre weight. Considering grain yield, the commercial hybrids obtained the highest expression. In addition, this variable was associated with a higher flotation index, lower test weight, ash, and protein content. Of the crop years, the most unfavourable were 2017-2018 and 2019-2020 with higher maximum temperatures during the critical period of the crop and accumulating a total rainfall for this period below the historical value (489 mm). Significant Pearson correlations were obtained between yield and physical grain parameters such as 1000 kernel weight (r =0.71), as well as with chemical aspects such as oil and ash (r = 0.24 and -0.27). In addition, the flotation index correlated negatively with protein content (r = -0.73).Conclusion: There is a direct association between the physical and chemical parameters of the grain and the yield obtained by the genotypes. In addition, it is of great importance to define the destination of industrial use for this raw material, since the nutritional quality offered by these grains can serve as a starting point in selection and genetic improvement programmes.