Relationships between Primary and Secondary Yield Components of a Maize Population after 13 Stratified Mass Selection Cycles

摘要

This research aimed to identify the relationships between the primary and secondary components of the maize yield using the techniques of canonical correlation and factors analysis. The base population was composed of nine randomized crossing hybridsin an isolated field, in the years 2006-2012. Canonical correlations were estimated between the variable group consisting of primary (Gl) and secondary (Gil) yield components. To Factor Analysis (FA), we chose a number of common factors equal to the number of eigen values higher than the existing unit in the phenotypic correlations matrix of variables and the orthogonal factor model was opted. Primary and secondary yield components of maize grains are not independent. Inter-group associations are established by plants with higher height, stem diameter, dry weight and lower ear height, which positively influence primary yield components (dry ear weight, ear length and hundred-grain weight). Factor analysis allowed to reduce a large number of original variables observed to a small number of abstract variables and can be used to complement the canonical variables technique.