Abstract
Combining ability analysis was done for grain yield and its components in a dialleI set involving six inbred lines of maize. Mean squares due to general combining ability and specific corn bin-ins ability were highly significant for kernels per row, 100-grain weight and grain yield per plant. Both OCA and SCA. effects contributed significantly to yield and its components. Specirio ability effects were relatively of greater impor4a.nce than general combining ability effects,
INTRODUCTION
Sprague and Tatum (1942) provided experimtntal evidence on the teIa.tive rote of general and specific combinig ability in maize single crosses and suggested the use of diallel technique to evaluate a set of inbred lines for the two types of combining abilities, Griffins (1950 further elaborated this technique and pre-sented a theoretical discussion on its use for estimating general and specific combining ability. The present study is an attempt to obtain information on the relative importance of general and specific combining ability for grain yield a3 well as for various components for utilization in the selection of inbred lints during generations of inbreeding.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The experimental material comprised six inbred line of maize viz. WF 9_5, Minn Syn, N 84. Q &6, Opapque 2 and W 187 R. The inbred lines were grown in the field during the year 1985 and crossed. Infer se to obtain seed of fifteen possible single crosses and their reciprocals. In the next gr*wirig season the fifteen single crosses and their reciprocal crosses. alongwiLh the six parental lines were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replica.tio.us,
