Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas   volume 9  number 6   August 14 - September 27, 2018

Description of cultivar

Gacela H72: early maize hybrid to rainfed and irrigated areas
of Central Highlands of Mexico

José Luis Arellano Vázquez1§

Juan Virgen Vargas1

Israel Rojas Martínez2 

1Experimental Field Valle de México-INIFAP. Highway Los reyes-Texcoco km 13.5, Coatlinchán, Texcoco, State of Mexico, Mexico. CP. 56250. Tel. 01(595) 9212738, ext. 198. 2Experimental Site Tlaxcala-INIFAP. Highway Tlaxcala-Chiautempan km 2.5, Chiautempan, Tlaxcala, Mexico. CP. 90800.

§Corresponding author: arellano.jose@inifap.gob.mx.

Abstract

Due to the climate change that is manifested in the irregular distribution of rainfall less than its incidence in temporary and higher temperatures, the problem of lack of early corn hybrids arises, especially for regions of low and medium productive potential of the central table of Mexico, which cover 1 200 000 ha of cultivated area. The hybrid of early corn Gacela H72, was generated to respond to the conditions of climate change, since it is a double hybrid of early cycle and great hardiness, presents growth and vigorous development in the initial vegetative stage, so it exceeds the size of plant to other maize hybrids during the 30 days after emergence, is tolerant to drought in the vegetative and reproductive stages and yields well in conditions of low chemical fertilization. Its yield has a range of 3 to 11 t ha-1 which surpasses the 50% and creole varieties and 20% private commercial hybrids. It has a period of steepness between 95 and 100 days at altitudes of 2 600 m where other hybrids and varieties reach it between 110 and 115 days. It is resistant to the charcoal of the spike (Sphaceloteca reiliana) and to the putrescence of the cob (Fusarium spp.) And has the quality of nixtamalera-tortillera. Gacela H72, being a double hybrid, has progenitors with higher productivity in the seed than other hybrids, its female parent renders 7.5 t ha-1 in the High Valleys, which gives it 25% more profitability in the production of the registered and certified seed with respect to other maize hybrids. Plant size facilitates intensive sowing with 70 000 plants ha-1 and with double-row planting to 100 000 plants ha-1 yields of 10 to 11 t ha-1 have been achieved. The harvest can be done at 150 days with a moisture content in grain 25%, so the cob must undergo a drying process to reduce the moisture content of the grain 14%. In areas of irrigation and good weather has potential for the production of forage. The main economic impact of the Gacela H72 is the difference of 3 to 4 t ha-1 over the yield of the creole variety, which represents 12 000.00 to 16 000.00 pesos per hectare, which makes corn production profitable.

Keywords: Zea mays L., semicrystalline white grain, double hybrid, early maturity.

Reception date: August 2018

Acceptance date: September 2018

In the Central Plateau of Mexico, 1 689 572 ha are planted with corn and are distributed in three production strata: 1) irrigation with high yield; 2) temporary with high performance; and 3) temporary with low performance, covering areas of 12.6, 48.3 and 39% of the total (Arellano, 1984). The effects of climate change in the High Valleys are manifested in temporary and limited adverse environmental conditions that affect the month of May and the presence of moderate intensity frosts or frosts or frosts during the month of September, which determine that the growing season be shortened to 140 days to obtain good quality corn harvests.

It has been proposed to achieve the highest performance through multiple environmental conditions, requiring genotypes that maintain a greater productive response to the environment with a consistent or stable behavior and high yield (Kang, 1998; Lu’quez et al., 2002), this it is feasible based on the capacity of the generic potential of the hybrid to buffer adverse agroclimatic conditions and the application of technological components such as the use of mycorrhizae, population densities and an effective integral fertilization program. Early corn hybrids with high yield and grain quality, are an alternative to maintain profitable production in boundary conditions and rain temperatures and higher temperature during the growing season in the High Valleys of Central Tableu of México.

Generation of the Gacela H72 hybrid. The GACELA H-72 corn hybrid was generated from the inbred lines ich. 21 Comp.1-7-2-14-1-3 with S5 inbreeding level, identified in its registry as M-54 and Tlax. 151 SFC1-11-2-2-2 with inbreeding level S4, registered as M-55, both lines were generated by the pedigree method with selection. The origin of the M-54 line is found in the creole variety called Michoacan 21, while in the M-55 line in the creole variety Tlaxcala-151.

The crossing of these lines gave rise to the female progenitor M-54 X M-55. Also, involved in the generation of this hybrid SMCs-242 lines and CML-354 line have levels of inbreeding S7, both derived from the population 85 early white semidented obtained in the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, for its acronym in Spanish) whose genealogies are: Batan 8785 MH 10-1-1-2TL-1-3TL-3-1TL-b for CML-242 and Pob. 85C4 13-4-10-4Tl-3-1Tl-B # # for CML-354. The crossing of these lines gave rise to the male parent.

The process of derivation and selection of lines of the simple female cross of the Gacela H72 hybrid, was carried out from 1946 to 1984, during the period from 1985 to 2009, simple experimental crosses of the female were obtained, evaluated and selected, while the simple cross male was generated in 2008 and its yield potential was evaluated in 2009. The double hybrid Gacela H72 was generated in 2009 and from 2010 to 2016, experimental evaluations were carried out and its semi-commercial validation was carried out in localities of the High Valleys.

In 2017, the required documents for its official registration were submitted to SNICS. Figure 1 shows the classical hybridization scheme for obtaining the Gacela H72 hybrid, from cobs representative of the parents and the hybrid. It can be observed that the progenitor M-54 is of small cob of conical type with round grain of semi-hardened texture and creamy color, while the line M-55 is of long cob with irregular rows and thin pointed grain and semicrystalline of color white. The crossing of both parents generates the female M-55 X M-54 progenitor that exhibits considerable heterosis in size and weight of the cob that is of conical type with grain of creamy white texture.

While the progenitor lines CML-242 and CML-354 are of small cob of cylindrical shape with semicrystalline type grain of white color. The crossing of these lines generates the male progenitor CML-242 x CML-354 that shows significant heterosis in size and weight of cob with cylindrical shape and grain of semicrystalline type of white color. The female parent, when crossing with the male parent, generates the combination that gave rise to the new double-gazelle hybrid Gacela H72 of large cone-cylindrical type of regular rows with white semicrystalline type grain (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Scheme for obtaining the hybrid of early maize Gacela H72 and phenotypic characteristics of the cobs representative of the progenitors and the hybrid.

Registration of the hybrid of Gacela H72 maize in the national catalog of plant varieties. Based on the Production, Certification and Seed Trade Act in force in Mexico and after having met the requirements for registration, the Gacela H72 maize hybrid was registered in June 2018 in the National Catalog of Varieties of Vegetables (CNVV) with the registration number: MAZ-1856-090318.

Description of the morphological characteristics of hybrid Gacela H72 and its progenitors. In Table 1, the main morphological characteristics of the Gazelle H72, of the simple female cross (M-54 x M-55) and of the male cross (CML-242 x CML-354) are presented based on the technical guide for the varietal description (SNICS, 2014).

Table 1. Morphological characteristics of the maize hybrid Gacela H72, the simple female cross M-54 x M-55 and the male simple cross CML-242 x CML-354.

Agronomic behavior of the Gacela H72 hybrid in localities of Valles Altos

The agronomic behavior of the hybrid Gacela H72 was evaluated experimentally and in lots of commercial production from 2009 to 2016 in 25 representative localities of environments of deficient, intermediate and favorable weather or with irrigation of aid, with the purpose of studying better the performance of the global performance and that of the interaction genotype x environment of performance. At a global level, the yields varied from 4.3 to 11.2 t ha-1 and represent values of 85 to 126% with respect to the joint yield of commercial controls H-48, H-70, AS-722 and the creole variety.

The number of days at male flowering ranged between 75 and 109, corresponding to sites located at altitudes of 2 250 and 2 650 m respectively; that is to say, at higher altitude, the emergence, development of the spike and dispersion of the pollen is slower due to lower temperatures of the place. Regarding plant height, Gacela H72 showed a plant size that varied from 170 to 230 cm the highest plant height is usually associated with higher altitude and very humid environments. The planting that showed Gacela H72 ranged between 3 and 9%, which represents values of minimum to moderate lodging. The stockings; through, localities for yield, male flowering, plant height and planting were 7.9 t ha-1, 96 days, 210 cm and 6%, respectively. Through the test environments, Gacela H72 was 14% higher in performance than the average of commercial controls (Table 2).

Table 2. Performance (%) of the yield with respect to the controls and plant characters of the Gacela H72 corn hybrid by location and year in the Central Highlands of Mexico.

Rend= performance; FM= male flowering; AP= plant height; *=altitude (m). Cultivars included in the average control: H-70, AS-722 and creole variety.

The agronomic management technology for the commercial production of the Gacela H72 hybrid is the same as that indicated in Technical Booklet No. 13 for the production of H-70 (Arellano et al., 2011).

Seed productivity of the progenitors of the Gacela H72 corn hybrid in localities of High Valleys.

In the Valley of México Experimental Field located in the town of Coatlinchan, Texcoco, State of Mexico at 2 240 meters above sea level, experimental grain yields were recorded for progenitor lines M-54, M-55 and CML-242 of 2.6, 2.5 and 2 t ha-1, respectively. In terms of yield and seed vigor characters, the lines indicated above were classified as stable when evaluated in three locations of High Valley and Bajío (Hernández, 2018). Regarding the performance of the female progenitor M-55 x M-54 established in irrigated field at sowing date of May 20 in the town of Coatlinchan (2 230 meters above sea level), State of Mexico, a production of 10 t ha-1 (Virgen et al., 2009).

On the other hand, it was found that in plantings with producers from Espiritu Santo-Ixtacuixtla and Francisco Villa, both of Tlaxcala, located at altitudes of 2 430 and 2 530 m respectively, the simple female crossing yielded 6.5 and 6.2 t ha-1, respectively, with the population density of 83 thousand plants ha-1 and sowing date of april 19, these yields exceeded 1.5 and 3 t ha-1 of the female crosses of the commercial hybrids H-40 and H -50, respectively (Virgen et al., 2009; Virgen et al., 2010). In the towns of Texoloc, Benito Juárez and San Nicolas Panotla in the state of Tlaxcala at altitudes of 2 225, 2 530 and 2 200 m respectively, the female parent (M-54 x M-55) yielded 8.6, 6.9 and 6.4 t ha-1 respectively, while the male progenitor (CML-242 x CML-354) yielded 7, 3.5 and 3.9 t ha-1, respectively (Virgen et al., 2013).

On the other hand, in the town of San Miguel The Presa, Tlax. (2 600 meters above sea level) the male parent surrendered 11.9 t ha-1 with a high population density of 68 thousand plants per hectare and with a low density of 42 thousand plants, 7.89 t ha-1, in Tlaxco, Tlax. (2 580 meters above sea level) produced 8 t ha-1 with high density and 6.83 with low density. In the town of Panotla, Tlax. (2 200 meters above sea level) the yields with the high and low densities were of 7.5 and 7.2 t ha-1, respectively, while in Francisco Villa (2 530 meters above sea level), the male progenitor produced 7.4 t ha-1 with high density and 6.2 t ha-1 with low density. Based on the previous results, it is possible that the male parent CML-242 x CML-354 can act as a female parent in localities where its yield is higher than 6 t ha-1 since it has a plant type of less height than M-55 x M-54, which would facilitate the desespigue work and achieve greater genetic purity of the certified seed.

The previous results indicate the possibility of obtaining very favorable seed yields of the parents and the Gacela H72 hybrid in localities located between 2 200 and 2 600 masl, which makes the multiplication of certified seed of this new hybrid of corn in a reliable and profitable way. Localities of the High Valleys.

The recommended sowing period for the production of certified seed in the Central Highlands of Mexico is established in april, while the female-male sowing ratio is 6:2, where the male parent should be planted a week before than the female, both under the population density of 65 000 plants ha-1. The beginning of the detasseling period marks the emergence of the spikes, it is recommended to carry out this activity in six days and to consider in the last, the elimination of the spike (Arellano et al., 2010).

Conclusions

In terms of the productive potential of the regions of the central Highlands of Mexico and the adaptability of Gacela H72, it is established that there are at least 75 000 ha in the state of Tlaxcala, 150 000 in Puebla, 200 000 in the State of Mexico and 90 000 in Hidalgo, where the new maize hybrid can participate successfully to increase yields under rainfed or irrigated crops.

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