CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT: MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF ELITE SWEET CORN HYBRIDS FOR THE CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC MARKET

The long-term goal of this project is to contribute to U.S. agriculture through the development of elite sweet corn germplasm. With thisgoalin mind, we propose to join forces and put forward a multi-institution hybrid breeding program for sweet corn cultivar development. To accomplish this goal, we propose to:AIM 1: Development and multi-environment evaluation of sweet corn hybrids: We will create a total of 400 hybrids by crossing elite inbreds from University of Florida with elite inbreds from University of Wisconsin. The crosses will be tested in key locations and selected for several traits of interest. A subset of these hybrids will then be tested in more locations. We expect to identify superior hybrids that can be released for conventional and organic systems.AIM 2: Double haploid production for selected hybrids: To support the continuous nature of a breeding program and increase the genetic gains in each public breeding program, the elite hybrids selected across multiple locations will be subjected to double haploid production and resulting inbreds will be tested for performance in key environments.AIM 3: Calibration of genomic selection models for hybrid prediction: We will leverage genomic resources available on the inbred lines and phenotypic resources generated in this project to create genomic selection models that predict hybrid performance. We expect that an accurate and validated model will accelerate the development of new inbreds and hybrids and support the sustainability of both programs.