Evaluation of Popcorn Hybrids for Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Responsiveness
Adriano dos Santos,
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Júnior,
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst,
Gabriel Moreno Bernardo Gonçalves,
Pedro Henrique Araújo Diniz Santos,
Janieli Maganha Silva Vivas,
Gabrielle Sousa Mafra,
Shahid Khan,
Fabio Tomaz de Oliveira,
Kátia Fabiane Medeiros Schmitt,
Divino Rosa dos Santos Junior,
Freddy Mora
Affiliations
Adriano dos Santos
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Júnior
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Gabriel Moreno Bernardo Gonçalves
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Pedro Henrique Araújo Diniz Santos
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Janieli Maganha Silva Vivas
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Gabrielle Sousa Mafra
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Shahid Khan
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Fabio Tomaz de Oliveira
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Kátia Fabiane Medeiros Schmitt
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Divino Rosa dos Santos Junior
Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Science and Technology Center, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Freddy Mora
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Talca, Av. Lircay, s/n, Talca 3460000, Chile
The global boom in agricultural production has been associated with the exponential increase of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. This heavy use of nitrogen in agriculture has caused negative impacts on the environment. Therefore, new alternatives are needed to maintain or increase maize yield but reduce the environmental impact. For this purpose, one possibility is to plant N-use efficient (NUE) cultivars. In this context, the objective of this study was to identify popcorn hybrid cultivars that are highly NUE and N-responsive, bred from crosses between inbred lines with contrasting levels of N-use efficiency. For this purpose, 90 hybrids were evaluated in a 10 × 10 triple lattice design at two sites and two levels of N availability (low and ideal availability). The results indicated that for the environment with low nitrogen availability, the lack of nitrogen reduced the chlorophyll content, extended the interval between male and female flowering, and affected the performance of the tested hybrids. However, we observed the existence of hybrids with greater efficiency than the responsiveness to nitrogen and with high productivity. These can even be used on farms where the level of production inputs is low, thus contributing to ensure food security.
