Genetic progress of phenotypic recurrent selection in popcorn

Popcorn is widely consumed in the south of Minas Gerais; however, up to now no specific breeding program for the region has been carried out. Recurrent selection (RS) is a viable alternative for breeding of this crop; nevertheless, it is necessary to frequently evaluate the progress achieved. Consequently, the purpose of this work was to assess the genetic progress obtained after two cycles of RS for the traits of popping expansion (PE) and grain yield (GY). Cycles one and two of the UFLA - E and UFLA - R populations, the original population (UFLA) and two controls were assessed. The experiment was conducted at the UFLA experimental farm in a randomized block design with eleven replications; ten agronomic traits, including PE and GY, were assessed. Gains from selection for the traits studied were observed, as well as that the type of kernel had an influence on the response for genetic progress for the PE trait and that the populations assessed exhibited potential for future selection cycles