Heritability of Morphophysiological Traits in Popcorn for Drought Tolerance and Their Use as Breeding Indicators of Superior Genotypes
Flávia Nicácio Viana,
Marcelo Moura Chaves,
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst,
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior,
Valter Jário de Lima,
Jhean Torres Leite,
Katia Fabiane Medeiros Schmidt,
Uéliton Alves de Oliveira,
Danielle Leal Lamego,
Jacymara Lopes Pereira,
Guilherme Ferreira Pena,
Henrique Duarte Vieira,
Jurandi Gonçalves de Oliveira,
Rogério Figueiredo Daher,
Eliemar Campostrini,
Ricardo Bressan-Smith
Affiliations
Flávia Nicácio Viana
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Marcelo Moura Chaves
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Valter Jário de Lima
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Jhean Torres Leite
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Katia Fabiane Medeiros Schmidt
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Uéliton Alves de Oliveira
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Danielle Leal Lamego
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Jacymara Lopes Pereira
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Guilherme Ferreira Pena
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Henrique Duarte Vieira
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Jurandi Gonçalves de Oliveira
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Rogério Figueiredo Daher
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Eliemar Campostrini
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Ricardo Bressan-Smith
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
This study aimed to identify the genetic control of morphological, water status, and root traits in four inbred lines and their pre-selected hybrid combinations of popcorn, and to identify the best parents and hybrids. The plants were grown under greenhouse conditions, and with two water conditions—water-stressed (WS) and well-watered (WW). We evaluated shoot biomass (SB), whole plant leaf area (WPLA), chlorophyll content, carbon isotope discrimination, net CO2 assimilation rate, the stomatal conductance, transpiration, cumulative plant transpiration, and root weight density in three sections. The reductions in SB and WPLA are attributed to stomatal causes, given the maintenance of water condition values in water-stressed plants. In fact, the stomata were closed for long periods during plant growth under the water-stressed condition, as indicated by the more negative carbon isotope discrimination values. The root weight density, regardless of soil depth and water conditions, was higher in hybrids. There was a preponderance of non-additive effects in the control of morphological and root traits, especially in the WS condition, and heterosis was shown to be the fundamental strategy for obtaining superior hybrids. For water status traits, it is essential to choose the female parent in the crossing block, given the maternal effect expressed by net CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration.
