Identification and Evaluation of Particular Corn Hybrids with Resistance against Corn Northern Leaf Blight

[ Objective] The paper was to evaluate the resistance of particular corn hybrids against northern leaf blight. [ Method ] Using artificial inoculation meth- od, the resistance of 238 copies of particular corn hybrids including silage corn, high oil corn, waxy corn and sweet corn against northern leaf blight was evaluated. [ Result] The corn samples with high resistance, resistance, moderate resistance, susceptibility and high susceptibility to northern leaf blight among 238 copies of materials in identification accounted for 0.8%, 20.6%, 44. 1%, 24.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Different types of varieties had significant difference in resist- ance. Among cern varieties with moderate resistance or higher level, silage corn accounted for 87.8% ; high oil corn and waxy corn accounted for 73.3% and 61.3 %, respectively; sweet corn was less, accounting for 44.2%. Sixteen of 30 approved particular corn varieties showed resistance, accounting for 53.3 % of total approved varieties. [Condusion] The paper provided theoretical basis for breeding and planting of particular corn hybrids with resistance against northern leaf blight.

Microbiota and Mycotoxins in Trilinear Hybrid Maize Produced in Natural Environments at Central Region in Mexico

Mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in 3 inbred lines (hybrids resistant to corn ear rot) were identified in twenty samples. The maize (Zea mays) accessions were collected in five plots of two municipalities in High Valley, state of Hidalgo. The fungal population was determined with a microbiological dilution method used two culture media (PDA and ELA), for the detection of mycotoxins with thin layer chromatography with visual inspection in UV light and a direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA). The results showed high moisture content in all hybrids evaluated on an average of 38.3% and a 1.8 × 103 UFC/g fungus, values within the permitted limits by the Mexican legislation;however the most prevalent fungi were Fusarium sp. (76%), Alternaria sp. (14%), Penicillium sp. (4%) and Aspergillus sp. (5%), and the species Aspergillus nidulas, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium poae, and Penicillium ochraceum. The aflatoxin concentration was observed in a range from 2 to 13 ng/g and 370 to 660 ng/g to fumonisins. It is concluded that trilinear corn hybrids have a variety of pathogenic potential fungi. The two genetic hybrids showed levels of aflatoxins and fumonisin safe for human consumption, contrary to one hybrid, with a content not suitable for human consumption. A better understanding of genetic hybrids corn will improve predictive mycotoxin contamination.

Yield performance estimation of corn hybrids using machine learning algorithms

Estimation of yield performance for crop products is a topic of interest in agriculture.In breeding programs,we cannot test all possible hybrids created by crossing two parents(inbred and tester)since it would be too time consuming and costly.In this paper,we exploit different machine learning algorithms including decision tree,gradient boosting machine,random forest,adaptive boosting,XGBoost and neural network to predict the yield of corn hybrids using data provided in the 2020 Syngenta Crop Challenge.The participants were asked to predict the yield of missing hybrids which were not tested before.Our results show that the prediction obtained by XGBoost is more accurate than other models with a root mean square error equal to 0.0524.Therefore,we use XGBoost model to estimate the yield performance for untested combinations of inbreds and testers.Using this approach,we identify hybrids with high predicted yield that can be bred to increase corn production.

Father of Hybrid Rice Plants Corn

New joint venture strengthens China’s position against international seed companies Yuan Longping Hi-Tech Agriculture Co.Ltd.(Longping Hi-Tech),named after the father of hybrid rice in China,announced on February 10 the establishment of a joint venture(JV) with a subsidiary of Vilmorin & Cie.