Use of AFLP marker to predict the hybrid yield and yield heterosis in maize

The relationship between AFLP molecular marker and hybrid yield/yield heterosis was analyzed in maize (Zea mays L,.). The materials consisted of 17 inbred lines and their 136 single cross hybrids in a diallel crossing design. The results indicated that the genetic distance (GD) based on AFLP data was significantly correlated with hybrid yield/yield heterosis, the correlation coefficient being 0.450 3, 0.3714, respectively in 1997, and 0.435 2, 0.325 3, respectively in 1998, but the determination coefficient (r(2)) was law. The correlation between GD and hybrid yield/yield heterosis was different when parent materials tested were changed. In particular, if parent materials were unrelated lines, GD was not correlated with hybrid yield/yield heterosis. The results suggest that AFLPs with high polymorphism can be used to investigate the relationships among maize inbreds, although they are of limited value for predicting the hybrid yield and yield heterosis of maize.