A breeding program to obtain sweet corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids adapted to the environmental conditions of Galicia (Northwest of Spain) was established in 1976. The program began with populations and elite inbred lines from North America which showed poor early vigor in the usual cold and wet springs of Northwestern Spain. No inbreds were obtained from the populations. Several crosses were made from the American inbreds and selfed the following years with pedigree selection to produce adapted inbred lines. Five selected hybrids from the new inbreds along with five commercial hybrids and six maturity check hybrids were evaluated in three environments. Hybrids developed in our Institute were better for early vigor and quality ratings, worse for conicalness and ear tip filling and equal to the commercial hybrids for important agronomic traits like silking date, plant and ear height, tillering, and yield characteristics. As a conclusion we suggest that adaptation of sweet corn, specially early vigor, can be improved by pedigree selection for agronomic performance while quality remains constant.

This work was supported by the Committee for Science and Technology of Spain (project 843).

Peer reviewed