BIOCHEMICAL AND GENETIC-STUDY OF QUALITY AND FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION OF DIFFERENT HIGH OIL MAIZE INBREDS

Kernels of four inbred lines of Zea mays L. and their reciprocal hybri ds were examined in search for a possible correlation between oil and protein contents, scutellum size and scutellum quality parameters to f ind an applicable selection method for quality breeding. The oil and p rotein contents were determined in both intact kernels and excised scu tellum and the results suggested that selecting for increased scutellu m size could result in inbred lines with improved quality. From the an alysis of the fatty acid composition of the lines and their reciprocal crosses, it could be concluded that a wide range of genetic variation existed in the genotypes studied, giving the possibility to modify th e fatty acid composition of maize oil according to the special needs o f human nutrition.