Peer review

Inheritance studies involving amylose synthesis in corn require precise estimates of the genetic potential of the genotype. Information on the effect of nongenetic factors on the amylose-amylopectin ratio are necessary. Corn plants are often subject to loss of photosynthetic area by such factors as hail, insect damage, leaf blights, and mechanical damage. Previous workers have shown that defoliation treatments at pollinating time did not influence grain quality, but affected grain yield by a reduction in the number of developed kernels. In this study, defoliation treatments at pollinating time were used to simulate loss of photosynthetic area. The treatments changed the amylose-amylopectin ratios of the endosperm only slightly. The removal of the 6 upper leaves at pollinating time reduced the amylose percentage in high-amylose inbred lines and hybrids by 1 to 3%. While statistically significant, these small reductions would be of little importance in interpreting the results from an inheritance study of amylose synthesis in corn.

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