Sweet corn (Zea mays var. saccharata Sturt) is a popular horticultural crop cultivated widely in Indonesia. However, low productivity still hampers the development of its cultivation. The following study aimed to evaluate the combining ability of seven sweet corn parental genotypes (SB8.4.3, SB13.1.3B.1, SM1.1.9, SM6.3.1, SM9.3A.1, SM12.2.13, and T13.1.8.1) with their diallel hybrids and identify the optimal combinations with higher yields. The parental cultivars sustained crossing in a complete diallel fashion to generate the 42 hybrids, studied in comparison with four check cultivars (Secada, Talenta, Bonanza, and Glory) from January to November 2023 at two locations—Pasir Kuda and Leuwikopo, Indonesia. The variables observed include the cob weight with and without husks, cob length and diameter, productivity, and sweetness level. The results showed the hybrid SM6.3.2 x SB8.4.3 had the highest SCA values for all observed traits, except sweetness level, and was also the second-highest genotype for cob diameter at both locations. Moreover, the said promising hybrid had the maximum mean values for yield-related traits, except sweetness level. The hybrid SM6.3.2 x SM9.3A emerged with negative SCA effects and the lowest mean values for all traits. The study concluded that the best hybrid in this study is the combination of SM6.3.2 and SB8.4.3.
sweet corn (Z. mays var. saccharata Sturt), mean performance, combining ability, GCA and SCA, yield-related traits, sweetness level
The results revealed a cross combination with two parental genotypes having different GCA produced the hybrid with a higher SCA and mean performance for most sweet corn traits (Z. mays var. saccharata Sturt). However, the hybrid formed from two parent cultivars with the same GCA produced the hybrid with a low SCA and mean performance.