Estimation of Genetic Components in Popcorn Based on the Nested Design

The quantification of genetic components in a base population is essential for the definition of the best breeding strategy to maximize the genetic gains. To evaluate several agronomic traits such as grain yield (GY) and popping expansion (PE) in half-sib and full-sib families derived from an open pollinated popcorn population, this study used a nested design, in two contrasting environments in the Northern Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Results showed: a) high significance of male and female within male sources of variation for most traits studied; b) absence of genotype by environmental interaction for PE; c) overdominance for GY and additivity for PE; d) low narrow sense of heritability for GY as opposed to PE; e) intermediate family heritability mean for GY and high for PE; and f) high genetic gain estimates for both GY and PE provided by the full-sib recurrent selection. These results indicate the perspective of success for intrapopulation breeding methods in popcorn for popping expansion allowing the prediction of satisfactory genetic gain for the Northern Fluminense.