Estimating Breeding Value of Agronomic Traits of Maize (Zea mays L.) based on SNP Markers

In a breeding program, knowledge on the effect of genes plays a key role in designing breeding programs and realizing effective selection. In this study, the breeding value for 17 traits in maize was estimated by using SNP markers data via Best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) method. Among the studied genotypes; genotype 25*/89 in terms of date to emergence of male flowers, genotype P13L2 in terms of chlorophyll content had the highest breeding values. Genotype S2/QPM/SUKMA (Indonesia) in terms of plant dry weight, leaf length, plant height and genotype R59 (Paternal) in terms of first cob emergence date and genotype 1264/1 in terms of second cob emergence date had the highest breeding values, respectively. Genotype Kahia P16L4 showed positive and high breeding value in terms of grain weight per plant. P11L7 for cob number, P9L6 for cob length, P10L5 for leaf width, leaf area index, diameter of beginning part of cob, middle diameter of cob, cob weight and plant height had the highest breeding values. Considering the total breeding values of the studied traits, genotypes such as P10L5, P16L6 Kahia, P10L7, P10L9 had the highest rank. The estimated narrow sense heritability for the studied traits was in the range of 0.22 to 0.94. Genotypes with the highest breeding value have the highest ability to transfer their traits to offspring. Therefore, they can be used as a desirable parent to modify these traits in crop breeding programs.