GENOTYPIC EVALUATION OF DENT COMPOSITE (Z EA-MAYS L) HALF-SIB PROGENIES IN LATE HARVEST CROP CONDITIONS

The present work was conducted at FCAV-UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, i n late harvest crop time of 1991. One hundred interpopulational hybrid s obtained from a top-cross between Dent Composite and Flint Composite populations were evaluated. The analyzed characteristics were: Spodop tera frugiperda damages, lodging, damaged ears percentage, and product ivity. Estimates of heritability, variance between progenies and genet ical gain for each character of available population were determined. Estimates of the progenies variance, like those from heritability for the different analysed characters, indicate that there is an adequate genetical variance for the utilization of that material on subsequent genetic breeding programs, though allowing genetical gains, on the fol lowing selection cycles for the characteristics: grain weight, lodging and damages caused by armyworm larvae, whereas for the other characte ristics the obtained results were not satisfactory.