Effect of Anthracnose Leaf Blight on Stalk Rind Strength and Yield in F1Single Crosses in Maize

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Abstract
Fifteen F1 crosses among 6 maize (Z. mays) inbred lines were planted in a replicated split-plot design. Plants in 1 row of the split plot were inoculated with conidia of Colletotrichum graminicola at the 6-8-leaf stage of development. Control plants in the 2nd row of the split plot were not inoculated. The 15 inoculated F1 crosses yielded significantly less grain and had more stalk lodging, lower rind puncture values, higher leaf blight ratings and less grain moisture. Some inbred lines, as parents of hybrids, contributed high levels of resistance. When inoculated and uninoculated treatments were compared, hybrids from these lines had smaller differences in grain yield than did other hybrids. Several F1 crosses were highly resistant to the leaf blight phase but had large yield reductions and high percentages of stalk lodging. Resistance to leaf blight is apparently affected by a different genetic mechanism from that affecting stalk quality. Rind puncture was a useful technique for identifying genotypes with resistance to the stalk rot phase of the disease, as reflected by differences in rind strength.

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