Performance of popcorn introductions for agronomic characters, grain yield and popping qualities in the forest and derived savannah agro-ecologies of Nigeria

Abstract

The study focus on the evaluation of popcorn lines for their yield and agronomic potentials. Genetic materials were evaluated under irrigation in a three-replicate in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a commercial variety as check. Two seeds were planted per hole using tworow plots of 5 m long with inter and intra-row spacing of 0.75 m x 0.5 m, respectively in two locations viz: Ibadan and Ikenne representing the forest and savannah agro-ecologies of Nigeria respectively. Genotypes (G) differed significantly (ρ ≤ 0.01) for almost all the characters measured except for ear aspect. Location (L) as well as G x L interaction effects were also well pronounced on all agronomic characters measured except for days to silking and ears per plant. Popcorn 33-1-Y, large pearl shaped, Popcorn 40-Y and Popcorn 34-Y were high yielding with a potential of above 2.0 t ha-1. These materials were found to be fairly resistant to major foliar diseases of the tropical humid ecologies. They are recommended for further evaluation across different agro-environments for possible propagation by popcorn farmers in Nigeria to boost production.