Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 9, 2026
Agrobacterium-Mediated Immature Embryo Transformation of Recalcitrant Maize Inbred Lines Using Morphogenic Genes
Published on: February 14, 2020
Development, characterization and multi-environment testing of novel male sterile baby corn hybrids
Rajkumar Uttamrao Zunjare1, Vignesh Muthusamy1, Gulab Chand1
1Division of Genetics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.
Background:
Baby corn has emerged as a new high-value vegetable that offers excellent economic benefits to farmers along with exceptional silage for livestock. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) provides an effective alternative to manual detasseling which is otherwise essential in baby corn farming.
Results:
Here we identified, validated, and deployed CMS-Texas (CMS-T), CMS-Charrua (CMS-C), and CMS-USDA (CMS-S) systems to the development of male sterile baby corn hybrids. Markers (T-urf13, orf355-orf77 and atp6-atp9) specific to three CMS cytoplasm were employed to differentiate CMS types. CMS systems were further introgressed into 11 elite inbreds. CMS-T revealed complete and stable pollen sterility, followed by CMS-C. Whereas CMS-S exhibited partial to complete fertility restoration. CMS-T based ABSH4-1 was later commercialized as 'Pusa HM4 Male Sterile Baby Corn (Shishu)'. It recorded a dehusked baby corn yield (BCY) of 2274 kg/ha while the original fertile version, HM4 possessed BCY of 2192 kg/ha across the five locations for the 2 years. ABSH4-2 with C-cytoplasm was further commercialized as 'Pusa HM4 Male Sterile Baby Corn-2', and exhibited BCY of 1655 kg/ha with similar BCY of HM4 across the 20 locations for the 2 years. Both hybrids showed complete male sterility across locations. ABHS-27, a CMS-T version of CMVL Baby Corn-2, also demonstrated stable sterility performance with BCY of 2137 kg/ha across five locations and 2 years, and released as as 'Pusa Male Sterile Baby Corn-3'.
Conclusion:
The study highlighted the successful development, characterization, multi-location evaluation and commercial cultivation of CMS-based baby corn hybrids. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.
More Related Videos
07:42Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
Published on: April 27, 2018
07:43Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation, Transgenic Production, and Its Application for the Study of Male Reproductive Development in Rice
Published on: October 6, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:18Dihybrid Crosses
01:20Monohybrid Crosses
02:27Trihybrid Crosses
Some of Mendel’s crosses examined three pairs of contrasting characteristics. Such a cross is called a trihybrid cross. A trihybrid cross is a combination of three individual monohybrid crosses. For example, plant height (tall vs. short), seed shape (round vs. wrinkled), and seed color (yellow vs. green).
The F1 generation plants of a trihybrid cross are heterozygous for all three traits and produce eight gametes. Upon self-fertilization, these gametes have an equal...
01:24In Vitro Fertilization
The IVF process begins with ovarian stimulation, during which reproductive endocrinologists prescribe hormonal medications to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs instead of the single...
01:59Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
02:50Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...