Assessment of Nutritional and Agro morphological Traits in Zea mays Inbred Lines for Aflatoxin Resistance Using the Side Needle Inoculation Technique

Abstract

Maize is an important staple food, and there is a need to increase its productivity. However, its production is limited by the occurrence of aflatoxin-producing fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. This research pursued to estimate the variation in agro-morphological and biochemical characteristics in relation to fungal resistance through principal component analysis and clustering. There was great diversity identified for resistance against Aspergillus flavus infections. 49 inbred lines were highly resistant, 23 were resistant, 22 maize inbred lines were fairly resistant, thirty exhibited moderate susceptibility, twenty two were vulnerable, and four displayed high susceptibility to fungal infection. Out of 49 elite maize inbred lines identified as highly resistant, UO45, UO43, UO44, UO86, UO68, and UO91 exhibited excellent yield performance and could be openly utilized or integrated into breeding the maize to improve high-yielding genotypes susceptible to Aspergillus flavus. Principal component analysis indicated that the first four components, with eigenvalues exceeding 1, accounted for 70.2% of the total variability in agro-morphological and biochemical traits. Through clustering investigation, 150 maize inbred lines were characterized into five different groups, with clusters 1 to 5 consisting of 37, 29, 26, 46, and 12 lines, correspondingly. Cluster 5 enclosed high yielding lines distinguished by promising traits. Pearson correlation analysis revealed noteworthy relations across all analyzed characteristics. Based on a comprehensive evaluation, UO45, UO43, UO44, UO68, UO92, UO112, and UO86 appeared as favorable high-yielding and Aspergillus flavus resistant lines, endorsed to their greater plant height, longer ears, higher 100 kernel weight, and better grain yield per plot.