Abstract: The trait of ear tip-barren length was generally adopted in studying the ear tip-barren phenomenon in maize (Zea mays L.). However, this phenomenon was classified into two types, tip-barren and non tip-barren, in this experiment. Two inbred lines, lx01-3 (non tip-barren type), wx04-1 (tip-barren type), and their F1, F2, BC1, BC2 generations were analyzed on their ear tip-barren types. Results showed that, F1 was tip-barren type; the ratio of tip-barren type versus non tip-barren type followed a 15:1 ratio in F2 and a 3:1 ratio in BC1 while all ears were tip-barren type except 1 in BC2 generation. Furthermore analysis on the trait of tip-barren length revealed that it did not correlate significantly with dry matter wt./plant, and SPSS analysis indicated it belong to abnormal distribution. Above results mean that, (1) maize ear tip-barren phenomenon is not caused by deficiency of dry matter/plant, but a reflection of fructification habit of the varieties and can be classified into tip-barren and non tip-barren types. Tip-barren type is dominant over non tip-barren type; (2) the type of tip-barren phenomenon is controlled by 2 duplicate dominant genes; (3) the length of tip-barren is a quantitative trait controlled by polygene with major genes expected.

Key words: Maize, Fructification habit, Ear tip-barren type, Dominant, Duplicate genes