Influence of cytoplasmic male sterility on corn yield at different plant densities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61308/SXWY8701Keywords:
maize; cytoplasmic male sterility; sterile analogs; fertile analogs; productivityAbstract
This study investigates the effect of cytoplasmic male sterility on grain yield in maize hybrids. The experiment was conducted in 2024 at the Maize Research Institute – Knezha. Five sterile lines and their fertile analogs, crossed with two pollinators at different plant densities (5000 p/da and 6000 p/da), were analyzed. The results were obtained using ANOVA dispersion analysis, and the coefficient of variation (also known as Pearson's coefficient of variation) was calculated to measure the relative variability of the dataset. At all planting densities, F count > F table at the 5% and 1% significance levels, indicating that the differences between the variants were statistically significant. T-tests were applied to determine significant differences between genotypes at confidence levels of 0.1 – 0.05 – 0.01. Based on the conducted studies, we conclude that fertile analogs are more suitable for both high and low planting densities. In contrast, sterile analogs exhibit greater variability in results, making them less predictable and potentially requiring optimized growth conditions and lower planting densities. The aim of this study was to assess the statistical significance of the effect of cytoplasmic male sterility on yield at different planting densities. This analysis determines the impact of factors and their interactions on productivity. By calculating the coefficient of variation, we assessed the degree of variability in the results, which helps in understanding how different factors (such as plant type, pollinators, and planting density) influence productivity and how these variables can be optimized to achieve better results.
References
Chinwuba, P. M., Grogan, C. O., & Zuber, M. S. (1961). Interaction of detasseling, sterility, and spacing on yields of maize hybrids. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1961.0011183X000100040015x
Delibaltova, V., Tonev, T., & Zhelyazkov, I. (2009). Influence of Crop Density on the Productivity of Maize Hybrids, for Grain Grown under Irrigated Conditions in the Region of Plovdiv. Plant Science, 46(5), 412-416 (Bg).
Dimova, D., & Marinkov, E. (1999). Experimental work and biometrics. Academic edition of the VSI, Plovdiv, pp. 137-138 (Bg).
Duvick, D. N. (1965). Cytoplasmic pollen sterility in corn. Advances in genetics, 13, pp. 1-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2660(08)60046-2
Has, V., Tritean, N., Varga, A., Calugar, R. E., Ceclan, L. A., & Russu, F. (2025). Influence of Cytoplasmic Male Sterility on Grain Yield of the “Turda” Maize Hybrids under Different Environmental Conditions, Romanian Agricultural Research, 42, pp. 53-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59665/rar4205
Ilchovska, D. (1991). Selection-genetic studies on "M" and "S" types of cytoplasmic male sterility in maize, Candidate Dissertation, Knezha (Bg).
Jovanović, S., Todorović, G., Kresović, B., Sečanski, M., Štrbanović, R., Stanisavljević, R., & Poštić, D. (2018). Effects of cytoplasmic male sterility on maize hybrids yield. Journal of International Scientific Publications, 6, pp. 64-72.
Kalman, L., Pinter, L., & Pinter, Z. (1986). Comparative study(normal) and cytoplasmic characteristics of male fertility(normal) and cytoplasmic male-sterile fanalougues in maize. (Zea mays L.) Acta. Agx. Acad. Sci Hung., 34, 1-2, 128-134.
Kaul, M. L. H. (1988). Male sterility in higher plants. Monographs on theoretical and applied genetics, 10, pp. 335-336. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83139-3
Khan, A. H., Min, L., Ma, Y., Zeeshan, M., Jin, S., & Zhang, X. (2023). High‐temperature stress in crops: male sterility, yield loss and potential remedy approaches. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 21(4), 680-697. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13946
Mandi, A. H. A., & Ismail, S. K. A. (2015). Maize Productivity as Affected by Plant Density and Nitrogen Fertilizer. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, Tamilnadu, India, 4(6), 870-877 (In).
Mandić, V., Bijelić, Z., Krnjaja, V., Tomić, Z., Stanojković-Sebić, A., Stanojković, A., & Caro Petrović, V. (2016). The effect of crop density on maize grain yield. Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry, 32(1), 83-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/BAH1601083M
Mayr, E. (1986). Joseph Gottlieb Kolreuter's contributions to biology. Osiris, 2, pp. 135-176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/368655
Rogers, J. S., & Edwardson, J. R. (1952). The utilization of cytoplasmic male-sterile indreds in the production of corn hybrids. Agronomy Journal, 44, pp. 8-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1952.00021962004400010004x
Shafi, M., J. Bakht, S. Ali, H. Khan, Khan, M. A., & Sharif, M. (2012). Effect of Planting Density on Phenology Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.). Pakistan Journal of Botany, 44(2), 691-696 .
Stamp, P., Chowchong, S., Menzi, M., Weingartner, U., & Kaeser, O. (2000). Increase in the yield of cytoplasmic male sterile maize revisited. Crop Science, 40(6), 1586-1587. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2000.4061586x
Stevanovic, M., Camdzija, Z., Pavlov, J., Markovic, K., Vancetovic, J., Mladenovic , Drinic, S., & Filipovic, M. (2016). The Application of Protein Markers in Conversion of Maize Inbred Lines to The Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Basis. Genetika, 48(2),691-698. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/GENSR1602691S
Stoyanov, I., & Tonev, T. (2001). Productivity of Maize Hybrids from Different Groups of Maturity for the Conditions of the City of Ruse, Collection of Reports DZI - G.Toshevo, II, 542-546 (Bg).
Vakhrusheva, E. N. (1967). Classification of new sources of cytoplasmic male sterility in maize. Scientific works of Krasnodar Research, Institute of Agriculture, 3, 32-39 (Ru).
Valkova, V. (2012). Study of heterosis and seed production of a new generation of hybrids at the Institute of Corn – Knezha, Dissertation, Knezha (Bg).
Vulchinkov, S., Valkova, V., Ilchovska, D., & Vulchinkova, P. (2014). Maize hybrids testing in system “Plus”. Agricultural Science and Technology, 6(4), 409–412.
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bulgarian Journal of Crop Science

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

