Morphological Characterization and Diversity Analysis of Maize Inbred Lines (Zea mays L.)

To characterize Maize inbred lines in respect to morphological and physiological traits for its diversity and final utilization in the breeding programs, a study was conducted with twenty-five inbred lines at Tirhut college of Agriculture, Dholi Muzaffarpur Bihar. Genetic diversity among inbred lines may be used for promising hybrid combinations development in maize breeding programme. In the present investigation, these twenty-five inbred lines were sown in randomized block design with standard agronomical practices during Kharif, 2022. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the parameters viz., Days to 50 percent Tasseling and Silking, 75% Brown husk, Plant Height (cn), Ear height (cm), Ear length (cm), Ear girth (cm), No. of Kernels per row, No. of kernel rows per ear, Iron and Zinc content (ppm), 100 grain weight (g), Harvest index and Grain yield (kg/ha.) showed presence of considerable variability among all the genotypes. Narrow deviation from genotypic and phenotypic variance evidenced that very less environmental influence on expression of almost all studied characters. According to the D2 analysis, the 25 maize inbred lines were divided into eight clusters, with cluster I having the largest number of inbred lines, while clusters II, V, VI, VII, and VIII have only one inbred line. Cluster VI (21-213-CML-401) and cluster VIII (HKI-1105) was the most distant cluster among inbred lines within the clusters, indicating the greatest genetic diversity.