Inheritance of Relative Phosphorus Accumulation in Corn (Zea mays L.)1

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Abstract
Analysis of corn leaf tissue has revealed significant differences among corn inbreds and corn hybrids for the concentrations of various chemical elements, including phosphorus. An investigation was initiated in an attempt to assess the consistency and nature of the apparent genetic control of phosphorus accumulation in corn.Experiments designed to study the inheritance of differences in phosphorus concentration, measure accumulation differences in seedlings, and assess the effects of variations in soil phosphorus on accumulation differences were conducted in 1962 and 1963. Data from these experiments verify the existence of genetically controlled phosphorus accumulation variations and indicate that at least two genetic factors are involved with the possibility of dominance for the lower phosphorus level in at least one of these factors. There were no apparent relationships of phosphorus accumulation with the accumulation of other elements, including K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, B, Al, Sr, and Zn. No noticeable effects of soil phosphorus level upon the expression of accumulation differences was revealed. This study also failed to indicate any relationship of leaf phosphorus concentration to grain yield.Genotypes which accusnulated highly significant different amounts of phosphorus in mature leaf tissue were little or no different as seedlings when grown in pots.
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