Genetic gains in popcorn by full-sib recurrent selection
Silvério de Paiva Freitas Júnior, Antonio Teixeira do Amaral Júnior, Ramon Macedo Rangel and Alexandre Pio Viana
ABSTRACT – The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic progress in the fourth selection cycle of full-sib popcorn families. Two hundred families were evaluated for six agronomic traits, including grain yield (GY) and popping expansion (PE), in a random block design with two replications, in sets in two different environments: Campos dos Goytacazes and Itaocara, in the State of Rio de Janeiro. There were significant differences among families within sets in al traits, indicating the presence of genetic variability to be exploited in the future cycles. The family by environment in the sets for GY and PE was significant but simple, indicating the possibility of conducting a single breeding program for both locations. The release of the improved variety for producers of the Northern and Northwestern regions of the State of Rio de Janeiro is expected after the fifth cycle.