The objective of this study was to examine genetic parameters of popping expansion and grain yield in a trial of 169 half-sib families using a Bayesian approach. The independence chain algorithm with informative priors for the components of residual and family variance (inverse-gamma prior distribution) was used. Popping expansion was found to be moderately heritable, with a posterior mode of h² of 0.34, and 90% Bayesian confidence interval of 0.22 to 0.44. The heritability of grain yield (family level) was moderate (h² = 0.4) with Bayesian confidence interval of 0.28 to 0.49. The target population contains sufficient genetic variability for subsequent breeding cycles, and the Bayesian approach is a useful alternative for scientific inference in the genetic evaluation of popcorn.
Zea mays L.; popping expansion; grain yield; heritability
