Genetics of carotenoids for provitamin A biofortification in tropical-adapted maize

AbstractYellow maize contains high levels of β-carotene (βC), making it an important crop for combating vitamin A deficiency through biofortification. In this study, nine maize inbred lines were selected at random from 31 provitamin A (PVA) maize inbred lines and crossed in a partial diallel mating design to develop 36 crosses. The crosses were evaluated in the field in two locations (Samaru and Kerawa) and their seed carotenoid content were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The modes of gene action, heritability, and correlations between agronomic traits and carotenoid content were estimated. Additive genetic variances (σ2a) were lower than non-additive genetic variances (σ2d) for all the carotenoids, plant height (PH), and grain yield (GY), suggesting a preponderance of non-additive gene action. Broad-sense heritability (H2) was high (H2>60%) for zeaxanthin, days to anthesis, and PH, moderate (30%<H2<60%) for lutein and GY, and low (H2